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45 Cooking Gifts That'll Impress Any 'Foodie'

When their palate is advanced, the gift must be, too.

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The absolute best gift for a foodie is scoring them that impossible-to-get reservation at that impossibly good restaurant and footing the bill for its impossibly complex tasting menu and wine pairing. But, most of us would like to stay in the realm of achievable, or at least not impossible, when doing our gifting. That's not to say this is an easy undertaking. Much like giving a wine lover a bottle of wine is expected, even boring, a gift basket or jar of vaguely interesting tapas spread will fall flat with any food aficionado.

You have some impressing to do, because this genre of self-proclaimed chefs is serious. After all, they religiously sharpen their knives. They dedicate hours to flipping through cookbooks. They plan decadent feasts starting with hor d'oeuvres, followed by impeccable main courses with must-have after-dinner drinks and mouthwatering desserts that are so good, you swear you'll never eat another fast-food meal again. They're obsessed with Italy and Stanley Tucci, and they tell you all about how you're actually supposed to boil pasta. And to top it all off, they have immovable opinions on cookware. But, don't let that intimidate you—let it inspire you. Let it motivate you to buy the best food-focused gift you can.

If you still feel a little bit lost, we rounded up our Esquire home chefs (mostly me, but there are some others), and found all the best gifts for foodies out there. Shop from this list, and I personally guarantee they will not be disappointed.

For the Bread and Butter Lover

CB2 Tatin Black Terracotta Butter Keeper

Tatin Black Terracotta Butter Keeper
For the Bread and Butter Lover

CB2 Tatin Black Terracotta Butter Keeper

$18 at CB2

Nothing runs perfectly warm bread like waiting on cold butter. Straight out of the fridge, no good. Those spreadable plastic tubs my parents always have, also no good. This old-world invention lets you keep butter at room temperature without it going rancid.

Best Gift for Wine Lovers

Vinebox Tour of Europe Set

Tour of Europe Set
Best Gift for Wine Lovers

Vinebox Tour of Europe Set

You know the deal with boxes: a shipment of cool stuff packed up all nice that'll really make their day. With Vinebox, it's wine. Specifically, vials holding single glass servings of different varietals, to keep things interesting. Because when you eat a lot of excellent food, you need a lot of excellent wine to pair it with.

Best Charcuterie Board Gift

Murray's Cheese The MVP Charcuterie Platter

The MVP Charcuterie Platter
Best Charcuterie Board Gift

Murray's Cheese The MVP Charcuterie Platter

The Murray’s MVP platter is just that: a spread of the most valuable players to ever grace the charcuterie board field. You can’t go wrong with a Murray’s gift if they love cheese.

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Best Tasting and Best Looking Olive Oil

Baroncini Import & Co. Sicilian Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Sicilian Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Best Tasting and Best Looking Olive Oil

Baroncini Import & Co. Sicilian Extra Virgin Olive Oil

A fancy olive oil in a tin beautiful yellow tin. It's gonna be front and center the next time they post a tablescape on Instagram.

Best Foodie Garden Gift

Organic San Marzano Tomato Seeds

Organic San Marzano Tomato Seeds
Best Foodie Garden Gift

Organic San Marzano Tomato Seeds

Technically, they will never be able to call these San Marzanos. That's a legally guarded distinction that requires the tomatoes to be grown in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius... But! They can grow the world's most famous tomato in their backyard, and they'll almost taste the same.

Best Gift for Hosts

Uncommon Goods Compact Swivel Cheese & Tapas Board

Compact Swivel Cheese & Tapas Board
Best Gift for Hosts

Uncommon Goods Compact Swivel Cheese & Tapas Board

This collapsible tapas board is for big entertainers. They can use it for cheese nights, appetizers, desserts, and more.

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Best Gift for the Crisp Lover

34 Degrees Snaps Variety Pack

Snaps Variety Pack
Best Gift for the Crisp Lover

34 Degrees Snaps Variety Pack

Maybe they are always whipping up their own charcuterie boards. In that case, these are literally the best crisps on the market. Oh yeah, umami crisps exist.

Best Mini Gift

Brightland The Mini Artist Series

The Mini Artist Series
Best Mini Gift

Brightland The Mini Artist Series

More from Brightland because we literally can't resist this mini assortment of olive oils.

Best Wagyu Beef Gift

Snake River Farms Wagyu Starter Pack

Wagyu Starter Pack
Best Wagyu Beef Gift

Snake River Farms Wagyu Starter Pack

Now 17% Off

If they're a regular at Michelin-star restaurants, then they've surely tasted the top-notch quality that is Snake River Farm's wagyu beef. This starter pack will have them cooking up five-star (we hope) creations in their own home.

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Best Food Gift For Pasta Lovers

Williams Sonoma Imperia Pasta Machine

Imperia Pasta Machine
Best Food Gift For Pasta Lovers

Williams Sonoma Imperia Pasta Machine

They’ve graduated from their Airbnb experience at Nonna’s kitchen in Tuscany, so now they can make fresh pasta by themselves at home.

Best Foodie Subscription Gift

The Caviar Co. Sapphire Membership

Sapphire Membership
Best Foodie Subscription Gift

The Caviar Co. Sapphire Membership

Everyone likes caviar, but even foodies rarely get a chance to taste caviar. Outside of restaurant menus, where they use caviar to just increase price, you rarely get to eat caviar.So, any foodie would love The Caviar Co. twice yearly subscription. Every May and November, they'll get a special shipment of 3-4 ounces of caviar and caviar-adjacent items.

If you want to give them a little taster on Valentine's Day, the wild harvested Hackleback is phenomenally fishy, or the farmed White Sturgeon is so smooth you could eat it by the spoon.

Best Food Delivery Gift

Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen - 2 Dozen Biscuits

Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen - 2 Dozen Biscuits
Best Food Delivery Gift

Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen - 2 Dozen Biscuits

As a Georgia Boy, I can make decent biscuits, but once every few months I get a deep craving for the biscuits from this roadside joint where my girlfriend went to school. (I'd do a lot for a chicken biscuit right now...) Thankfully, they ship on Goldbelly now. If your foodie is from the South, get them biscuits. If they've never had good biscuits, get them biscuits.

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Best Balsamic Vinegar to Gift

Kosterina Fig Balsamic Vinegar

Fig Balsamic Vinegar
Best Balsamic Vinegar to Gift

Kosterina Fig Balsamic Vinegar

This is the best balsamic vinegar I have tasted in my entire life. If they're older and more traveled than me, it'll have competition, but it's up to the challenge. It's perfect in oil with bread, and it's phenomenal in a homemade vinaigrette.

Best Charcuterie Board Gift

The Citizenry Tikal Wood Serving Board

Tikal Wood Serving Board
Best Charcuterie Board Gift

The Citizenry Tikal Wood Serving Board

A serving board that can also handle some light cutting is the best kind of gift, since its dual-purpose makes it incredibly functional.

Most Practical Gift

The Citizenry Linen Apron

Linen Apron
Most Practical Gift

The Citizenry Linen Apron

An apron that looks so good they might forget to take it off once they've finished cooking and cleaning.

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Best Veggie Cookbook

Ottolenghi Flavor: A Cookbook

Ottolenghi Flavor: A Cookbook
Best Veggie Cookbook

Ottolenghi Flavor: A Cookbook

That said, a more confident foodie might want some more challenging recipes. No one does veg as good as Yotam Ottolenghi and crew. The ingredients lists are long and the recipes are sometimes quite complex. It's exactly what a foodie will love.

Best Cooking Textbook

Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking

Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking
Best Cooking Textbook

Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking

Give a man a fish or teach a man to fish—you know the saying. This isn't a cookbook full of recipes, it's a textbook on how to cook. If they're one of the last people on Earth without this book, this year is the perfect opportunity to gift it.

Best New Piece of Cookware to Gift

GreenPan x Stanley Tucci Essential Stanley Pan

Essential Stanley Pan
Best New Piece of Cookware to Gift

GreenPan x Stanley Tucci Essential Stanley Pan

Stanley Tucci is now a cookware mogul, on top of everything else. Everything from the actor's GreenPan collaboration is great, but if we had to recommend one piece, it would be this huge pan. Make pasta for a crowd, a fish stew on a weeknight, or use it like a wok for fried rice. It can do pretty much everything.

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Best Tinned Fish Gift

Fishwife Fly By Jing Smoked Salmon Trio

Fly By Jing Smoked Salmon Trio
Best Tinned Fish Gift

Fishwife Fly By Jing Smoked Salmon Trio

You want me to get them tinned fish? Yes! They want you to get them tinned fish too! They see Fishwife at every specialty grocer but can never justify the purchase, this is an easy one.

Best Cooking Gift

Our Place Always Pan

Always Pan
Best Cooking Gift

Our Place Always Pan

Now 32% Off

If they're a foodie, they know what this popular Our Place pan is all about. If not, we'll break it down. It can be used as a frying pan, saute pan, steamer, skillet, saucier, saucepan, nonstick pan, and as a spoon rest.

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