One of the main features of our listing is a full kitchen to cook in and we get a lot of families who come to visit their students at the local universities and want to make homemade food for them so we stock it pretty well. We include oils (canola, spray, olive and coconut), vinegars (balsamic and rice wine), a good selection (10 or so) of spices and herbs, the basic condiments (mayo, ketchup, mustard, maple syrup, hot sauce), flour, sugar, rice, a stick of butter, baking soda and baking powder, onions and garlic for folks are going to really cook. Otherwise we also provide some fresh fruit, some local soda and craft beer (a couple of each), teas, cocoas and coffee, creamer and sweeteners, instant oatmeal and snack bars. When we have folks that are coming very late or if the weather is turning very bad we usually make sure to put in a box of mac and cheese and a couple of cans of soup (and stash a couple of frozen pizzas in our freezer in case of a snow-in so we have them to offer if needed). The "kitchen you can cook in" is definitely a niche for our place. However, we have a 2-room studio that we'll list this spring with only a minimal kitchenette and that will be very basic for coffee/tea/cocoa and some fruit most likely but will be a different audience. We've had families meet up for days and cook in the apartment, making the whole house smell great and we've even been given some scratch-made pie, definitely making it worth it. The scene is quite heart-warming to me as well so I like providing all the stuff and ultimately, the majority of guests don't use much at all, some use nothing and the ones who cook never use everything - e.g. I'm pleasantly surprised that the restocking is really not much at all. Except the "vegan hot chocolate" which is consumed madly - never ceasing to amuse me since we're not particularly getting vegans. Who would have thought?
