Last Updated on January 16, 2024
Experienced chefs usually have a working system and are pretty picky about adding new things to their arsenal. However, it won’t hurt to try and introduce them to new tools they don’t yet know they need or spoil them with some fancy equipment they wouldn’t otherwise get for themselves from time to time.
Here’s a list of cooking-related gifts you can get them, even if your beloved chef likes to think they have everything they need in their kitchen.
1. KROK Mortar and Pestle
A set of mortar and pestle is very underrated kitchen equipment. The physical motion bursts the cells open, letting all the aromatics out, as opposed to blender blades that cut through everything. If your favorite chef doesn’t have a mortar and pestle, such as a KROK, it’s your chance to introduce them to the world of pastes, salsas, and freshly ground spice mixes.
2. Japanese Knife
The best knife set a cook can have is a chef’s knife and a few useful ones like a boning knife and a bread knife. The other knives in a set usually end up as part of the countertop decor.
Japanese knives are an exception to this. Thanks to the unique angle of these blades’ edges, a Japanese knife, such as a santoku, allows you to perfect your cut with ultra-precision. So, even if your beloved chef already has all the blades they need, they will probably appreciate a high-quality Japanese knife.
3. A Good Knife Sharpener
A good knife is in its best condition when you first buy it, but the edges deteriorate over time. Sharpening and honing are absolutely necessary to keep the knives sharp for a long time.
To make their job easier and keep blades sharper, you can get your beloved chef a knife sharpener with honing features, such as Chef’s Choice 4643. There are also knife sharpeners suitable for knives with different angles, like a santoku, which would make a quite nice gift if your chef friend is also a knife collector.
4. Steel Herb Cutter
A good cook can chop up anything easily, making it look like a child’s play. But a herb cutter works faster and makes it easier to chop those greens into the fineness you desire. This ZYLISS FastCut Herb Mincer also keeps your fingers safe from the blades. With only one hand, you can finely chop parsley, chives, fresh oregano, rosemary, and vegetables you want to mince, such as garlic and onion.
5. Himalayan Salt Cooking Block
Think outside the normal cookware and gift your favorite chef a Himalayan Salt Cooking Block! This solid block of Himalayan salt can be used on top of stoves or grills, or chilled in the refrigerator for cold dishes. They can cook their favorite meat or vegetables on this block and it will be infused with the natural and delicious flavors of Himalayan salt. Then they can serve directly on this beautiful piece. Or they can chill the salt block and use for serving cold dishes like ceviche, sushi, or their favorite dessert. (Sponsored Ad)
6. Sushi Socks
The kitchen doesn’t have to be the only place where a chef thrives. If your beloved chef has everything they need, you can complement their passion with a pair of sushi-printed socks. If they aren’t fans of East Asian cuisine, there are countless other options, from avocados to sunny-side-up eggs, fruits, or doughnuts to socks that are packed like sushis.
7. Magnetic Knife Strip
Speaking of additional knives in the kitchen, do you know the best way to store knives? Using a magnetic knife strip, of course. You can install it on a wall behind the counter or inside a cupboard. A magnetic knife strip will help a chef keep their knives organized and in mint condition and also prevent accidents.
8. Indoor Herb Growing Kit
Fresh herbs can elevate a dish from good to fantastic. But when you buy herbs from the grocery store, you usually get products that have been on the road for some time already, unless you regularly visit the farmers market. And wayworn herbs don’t last long in the refrigerator, even if you follow all the storing tricks.
The solution is simple: You can grow them in the house with an indoor herb garden like AeroGarden. Your chef can garnish the onion soup with fresh chives or aromatize the tomato sauce with fresh basil, straight from the branch!
9. Tofu Making Kit
Tofu is an irreplaceable food item for vegetarians, vegans, and omnivores who love East Asian cuisine. But the store-bought tofu usually contains lots of preservatives and is very expensive in some places. If your beloved chef is an Asian cuisine enthusiast, you can get them a tofu-making kit, such as this Soyajoy Premium Total Tofu Kit.
You’ll notice the freshly made tofu tastes much nuttier than regular tofu. It’s also much healthier. You can pair the tofu-making kit with a bottle of high-quality soy sauce to make it an even more authentic experience.
10. Pizza Stone
Even without a wood-burning pizza oven, a chef can make phenomenal pizzas if they have a pizza stone.
A pizza stone retains the heat in the oven and helps it stay hot. This way, it allows you to make cracker-crisp pizza crust and speeds up the cooking time. You just need to preheat the stone before you put the pizza dough on it, and buono! You have an excellent pizza crust!
11. Stainless Steel Soap
Some people can’t get enough garlic in their dishes, and we support their noble quest toward the peaks of garlic deliciousness. However, it can be quite unpleasant when that garlicky smell gets stuck on your hands. Regular soap doesn’t do the trick quite well, but a piece of stainless steel, such as this Numy Vanpersie stainless steel soap bar, instantly removes the smell.
A stainless steel soap is a piece of stainless steel in the shape of a soap bar that provides you with the witchcraft to eliminate or neutralize those strong odors from handling durian, guava, salami, fish, garlic, or onion.
12. Indoor Stovetop Smoker
A stovetop smoker allows you to smoke vegetables, meat, fish, and more right on the stovetop. You simply place the ingredients you want to smoke over the rack and place the wood chips on the bottom. The lid provides excellent coverage to keep the aromatic smoke in there.
Even though indoor stovetop smokers can’t replace industrial smokers, they let you spice things up in the kitchen in a whole new way. With the help of an indoor smoker, such as Camerons Stovetop Smoker, you can smoke delicious salmon, trout, shrimps, potatoes, sausage, scallops, pork, and chicken… Anything you can think of, right in the comfort of your home.
13. Beeswax Reusable Wrap
Saving leftovers is important for reducing waste in the kitchen, your personal economy, and the environment. But the plastic wraps we use to keep things fresh come at a cost, both on your wallet and the environment. Instead, you can gift these Bee’s Wrap reusable wraps to a chef to help them use less plastic in the kitchen!
These little pieces of fabric covered in beeswax allow you to store food in the fridge, pack sandwiches on the go, and keep bread slices fresh in their container. There won’t be plastic bag rustle coming from the kitchen anymore. You can pack anything with these wraps, as they are quite easy to shape with the warmth of your hands. And when you’re done, the beeswax solidifies, letting you enjoy the sustainable way of organizing in the kitchen.
14. Cutting Board Care Kit
A nice wooden cutting board should be the first thing a chef gets for themselves, so you can’t really hit the gift-giving bingo with one. But a nice cutting board requires proper maintenance every once in a year — or more often if you like to be extra neat. For that purpose, you can get your beloved chef a cutting board care kit, such as this CLARK’s cutting board oil and wax kit.
This set includes everything you need to care for a wooden cutting board: soap, a condition, a neutral oil, and wax to clean, maintain, and protect the wooden boards.
15. Culinary Torch
A kitchen torch is one of those tools that a chef doesn’t know how desperately they need until they have one. As we always say, cooking is basically playing with the chemistry of ingredients, and what’s better than a personal flame torch to do that?
With a culinary torch, such as this Superior RX professional kitchen torch, you can make glaze meat on the spot and mesmerizing pastries like creme brulee and indoor s’mores.
16. Fancy Condiments
When a cook has everything they need, a consumable gift basket full of interesting stuff they wouldn’t get for themselves can save the day.
Get a basket and fill it with some interesting condiments. You can throw in a bottle of balsamic vinegar straight from Modena, high-quality soy sauce, oyster sauce, mushroom sauce, sriracha, chimichurri, pomegranate molasses, or garlic aioli. There is an infinite number of condiments to choose from all around the world. You can go with these recommendations or do some research and figure out what would compliment your favorite chef’s menu the best.
17. Book: Salt Fat Acid Heat by Samin Nosrat
Alice Waters declared Samin Nosrat “America’s next great cooking teacher,” and she’s not very far from the truth. In this masterpiece, Nosrat bridges the gap between the home kitchen and a professional kitchen and demystifies the four pillars of good cooking in a language that anyone can follow. The book also contains 100 recipes — with their variations — to put everything to practice. After reading this book, making balanced vinaigrettes, caramelized roasts, and flaky pastry doughs will be as easy as duck soup.
Over and Out!
Shopping for a cook who already has everything can be challenging. But if you pay close attention, you can still get them a useful and sentimental gift, as a token of your appreciation for their presence in your life.
