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The 41 Best Gifts (2022) For Food People
Each year our staff and contributors round up best gift ideas for cooks, eaters, and the kitchen-curious. Read on for our ultimate gift guide for all the food people on your list.
It’s the season for togetherness, charity, goodwill towards mankind! Also presents. Mostly presents. While there are people on your list who require but a token, a trinket, a just-a-little-something (check out our list of gift ideas under $50 for those folks), there are others who require something…more. For your loving hubs, your friend who’s had a rough year, or your favorite child (you know which one), these are the big ticket holiday gifts that will bring a little extra sparkle to the season.
Photo by Emma Fishman
Gift your aunt with the dusty fake orchids in a dried arrangement in one of these sculptural vases made from recycled paper. It will last just as long as faux flowers but is a serious home decor upgrade.
Making rice just got cuter. This ceramic Japanese rice cooker (from Hario, which makes some of our favorite coffee gear) whistles like a tea kettle when it’s time to take it off the flame. Measuring is a snap as well—add enough rice to reach the first line on the interior of the pot, then water up to the second line and you’re good to go.
These hefty marble vessels are handcrafted north of Bangkok from local marble in sumptuous shades of pink, yellow and brown. Use the shallow stand as a catch-all tray and keep your A-List fruit on display in the pedestaled bowl.
Artist Janie Korn crafts candles that look like pimento-stuffed olives, shrimp cocktail, and the face of Tavi Gevinson, but I’m partial to this likeness of an Italian rainbow cookie.
We’ve never met a panettone we didn’t like, but Olivieri 1882’s are in a class of their own. Even your bro whose whole personality is that he studied in Florence will be impressed. Go with the classic or wild out with triple chocolate or salted apricot caramel. On the off chance that you have any left over, get ready for the best French toast of your life.
For your dad who is still buying pre-ground coffee, this incredibly handsome countertop grinder from Fellow, which has recently been upgraded with even better burrs, will take his Aeropress, pour-over, or French press to the next level. If Pops is an espresso drinker, though, this gadget isn’t for him; get the Mazzer Mini.
These opulent goblets ooze holiday cheer. They’re a holiday season extravagance—the geometric crystal stems are hand cut, and the etching on the side of the glasses is incredibly delicate—so this is not the best gift for your clumsy friend.
The gift that is for your clumsy friend? Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken or chipped pottery using gold lacquer, and this kit contains everything she’ll need to mend that cracked teacup.
If you’re traveling for the holidays, gift your host a generously sized mug from Mudwitch and then steal it for yourself every morning. San Francisco ceramist Viviana Matsuda’s wares sell out quickly, so keep an eye on their Instagram for info about drops and restocks.
Photo by Emma Fishman
No shade to those heritage French brands, but these sleek enameled cast-iron Dutch ovens designed by chef Sergio Herman for Serax have us feeling weak at the knees. These are heirloom pieces that will have your future grandkids remarking on your exquisite taste.
If you’ve ever thought, “This bowl is great, but I wish it had three anatomically accurate legs and came with faux leather slides in their own tiny shoebox,” boy, are you in luck.
This brass dabba from Diaspora Co. is a thoughtful gift for the organization enthusiast. It’ll keep their most-used spices neat and within reach instead of perilously stacked on a shelf next to the stove. Each piece is hand-spun by a single craftsman in Bangalore who has been honing his trade for over 25 years, and it comes with your choice of seven jars of high-quality, ethically-sourced spices (including Diaspora’s best-selling turmeric).
This 53″-long runner, made from reclaimed denim linen, is a rare gift that’s appropriate for both your Deadhead uncle and your Gen Z cousin.
Kyiv-based Gunia Project launched their Freedom collection of ceramics and accessories in response to the Russian invasion. This hand-painted, gilt-edged platter features St. George—aka St. Yuri, an important figure in Ukrainian culture—but instead of the traditional dragon, he is vanquishing a Russian warship.
Let your cottagecore nibling live out their pastoral fantasies with this extremely charming picnic basket from Kazi Goods, handwoven in Ghana.
This trio of liqueurs hails from Haiti, and the labels are reason enough
Blake Shelton Just Revealed His Sweet Holiday Cooking Tradition With Gwen Stefani
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Heartfelt traditions are one of the best parts of the holiday season, and The Voices‘s Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani are revealing some of their delicious ones.
“Gwen and I, our cooking tradition has become during Christmas—and not just like your normal, typical [dishes]. But we always challenge ourselves and try to come up with a different, weird, complicated, difficult thing to cook every year,” Shelton told Us Weekly at the 2022 Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting. “It started one year [when] she wanted to do a beef Wellington, which is not easy, by the way.”
The Voices‘s country king went on to explain that cooking and singing with Stefani each have unique obstacles, but cooking is less challenging because they’re both in it for the fun. “Singing with Gwen is way harder than cooking with her,” he said. “Cooking is easy for us because neither one of us really knows what we’re doing, and all we do is laugh the whole time. With music, we actually take [it] serious.”
Related: Gwen Stefani Took a Cute Photo Sitting on Blake’s Lap During The Voice Live Show
Shelton and Stefani have collaborated on many musical projects, with their duet “You Make It Feel Like Christmas” being the perfect bop to play around the holiday season. The couple performed the song at the tree lighting, setting the tone for a night of festive merriment. Officially tying the knot in July 2021, Blake and Gwen will surely create more “weird and new” holiday dishes in their time. And we can’t wait to hear about them!
See more of Shelton and Stefani on The Voices, airing Mondays and Tuesdays on NBC at 8/7c and the next day on Peacock.
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Animal Rebellion occupy Salt Bae’s celebrity hotspot and brand it ‘symbolic of a broken system’
Animal Rebellion occupy Salt Bae’s celebrity hotspot Nusr-Et in Knightsbridge and brand it ‘symbolic of a broken system’ in the latest stunt
- Animal Rebellion supporters occupied Salt Bae’s restaurant on Saturday night
- The ‘ultra-premium’ steakhouse serves gold steaks for a staggering £1450 each
- Group claims actions will continue until the government takes ‘meaningful action’
On Saturday 3 December, Animal Rebellion supporters ‘peacefully’ entered social media celebrity Salt Bae’s famous Knightsbridge restaurant, Nusr-Et.
Eight protestors occupied reserved tables, calling for a plant-based food system and conservation efforts known as rewilding.
Salt Bae, the social media influencer and chef who rose to fame in 2017, has hosted the likes of David Beckham, Snoop Dogg and Leonardo DiCaprio at his ‘ultra-premium’ restaurants.
In November, Salt Bae was slammed on social media after bragging about a customer’s £140,584 bill in Abu Dhabi.
Protesters said staff at Salt Bae’s upmarket steak restaurant had physically removed demonstrators from the venue ‘tougher than police would do it’.
Student Ben Thomas, 20, said: ‘We’re in this restaurant to show the inequality in lifestyle during this cost-of-living crisis with people out in this fine dining establishment while others can’t heat their homes.
‘We’re a group of non-violent protesters also campaigning for a plant-based food system.
‘We just sat there, the wait staff were quite civil, but the members of the public – two of them got quite aggressive at one point.
‘The woman kept giving me really dirty looks just for being there. The customers clapped as we were picked up and taken outside.’
Orin Cooley-Greene, 21, said: ‘It was tougher than the police would do it.’
Salt Bae’s ‘Ultra-Premium’ London restaurant was occupied by Animal Rebellion supporters
Animal Rebellion occupied reserved tables in a peaceful protest on Saturday evening
Animal Rebellion claims these actions will continue until the government takes real action
Mr Thomas also said: ‘Restaurants like these are symbolic of a broken system.
‘Whilst 2 million people are relying on food banks in the UK right now, influencer chefs are selling gold-plated steaks for more than one thousand pounds.
‘Steaks, and other red meats, that we know carry the highest environmental impacts.’
An hour after the occupation of the London restaurant, 16 Animal Rebellion participants entered ‘Mana’, a Michelin Star Restaurant in Manchester’s Ancoats district.
The restaurant boasts a set-menu starting at £195 per person and refuses to cater for vegans.
Two weeks ago, Animal Rebellion staged a protest at Gordon Ramsay’s 3 Michelin Star restaurant in Chelsea.
The group claims these actions will continue until the government takes meaningful action on climate and ecological emergencies.
Animal Rebellion claims the meat served in Salt Bae’s restaurants is among the most carbon intensive foods to produce.
A study last year found meat alone accounts for nearly 60% of all greenhouse gases from food production, with beef and lamb some of the worst polluters.
Salt Bae was slammed online after sharing a £140,584 bill from a customer in Abu Dhabi
Salt Bae’s restaurants are hotspots for the rich and famous, racking up huge bills
Student Ben Thomas, 20, said restaurants like Salt Bae’s are symbolic of a broken system