The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 letter word STOVES
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
S
T
O
V
E
S
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "cooking equipment" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case cooking equipment = stoves.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does STOVES mean?
STOVES noun- A heater, a closed apparatus to burn fuel for the warming of a room.
- A device for heating food, (UK) a cooker.
- A hothouse (heated greenhouse).
- A house or room artificially warmed or heated.
- To heat or dry, as in a stove.
- To keep warm, in a house or room, by artificial heat.