Powerhouse flavours for your pantry

GURDEEP LOYAL says we don’t need to be chefs to create “incredible, chef-y, flavourful food at home” - we just need a few pantry powerhouses.

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The chef, food writer, and BBC Saturday Kitchen's resident food trends expert, says the key is to keep your cupboard stocked with a few ingredients that act as a shortcut to big flavour - “for absolutely minimal effort”.

He wants to “demystify the whole idea that flavour is difficult to achieve” in a home kitchen.

“I think the pantry is the most incredible resource that we have as home cooks,” says Gurdeep.

“For me, [it’s] a shortcut to full-flavour food.”

His new cookbook, Flavour Heroes, gives a “snapshot” of what the modern home pantry looks like in 2025. There are 15 in total, from tamarind and gochujang to Pecorino Romano - “a wonderful example of the global palates that we have and the amazing things we have access to”, he explains.

Born in Leicester to Punjabi parents, Gurdeep's recipe influences also come from extensive travel, and a belief that just because an ingredient has its origins in a specific cuisine or part of the world, that doesn’t mean you can’t use it in another - like North African harissa in a lasagne or mango chutney with chicken schnitzel. Using more of these store cupboard ingredients could save money too, he reckons.

“These flavour powerhouses can revive whatever you happen to have in the fridge. I wanted to show people that if you invest in a capsule of pantry superheroes, you can create incredibly flavourful, tasty food with the most basic ingredients” - like butter beans, chickpeas or any veg.

“When you have a capsule pantry, you can mix the ingredients.