The 23 Best Gifts for Cooks Who Have Everything

Are we starting this list with a two-hundred-dollar pepper grinder? You bet we are. The Pepper Cannon has been a Food & Wine favorite for years, taking a top spot in our testing of the best pepper grinders and finding a home on the countertops of many staff members. Executive wine editor Ray Isle calls it “easily the best pepper grinder on the planet.” It’s amazingly efficient, shooting out pepper, at your choice of texture, 10 times faster than standard mills.

Sure, the price is a little absurd, which makes the Pepper Cannon a perfect gift. It’s so well-built and over-engineered that it’s the last pepper grinder the recipient will ever need.

You’ll never have to worry about too-hard-to-spread butter again if you simply store yours on the countertop. Rather than a butter bell, senior editor Breana Killeen prefers this elegant (yet inexpensive) glass dish. “I give these to everyone I know who likes having soft butter on the counter,” she says. “The little container holds two sticks!” To make a complete fancy-butter gift package, Killeen suggests adding on a French Home Laguiole Style Ivory Spreader and a package of cultured butter from Ploughgate Creamery in Vermont.

“I LOVE my Hulken bag,” says assistant editor Lucy Simon. “It makes grocery shopping in a city so, so easy. I’ve noticed a lot of NYC-based food stylists use it, too!” This fold-flat bag incorporates its tiny wheels for easy transport when full, and it can hold the equivalent of five grocery bags at once. Plus, it comes in five different colors (and a smaller medium size that holds three bags’ worth of groceries).

“I love these cheery squeeze bottles of EVOO from Graza, a brand I fell in love with this year. The oils themselves are high-quality (made from Spanish Picual olives), but it’s the convenience of the bottle that makes this set a true must-gift,” says Oset Babür-Winter, former senior drinks editor. Graza is internet-famous, a staff favorite, and a winner of our olive oil taste tests.

If making hot lemon water, a cup of tea, or pour-over coffee is part of your morning ritual, this electric gooseneck kettle can make the process easier. One of the top picks in our tests of the best tea kettles, it impressed us with precision heating at the touch of a button. It’ll even hold the water at an exact temperature until you’re ready to use it. The sleek design makes a gorgeous and functional addition to your countertop — the thin gooseneck is specifically designed to deliver a precise stream at the optimal pour-over flow rate. If you’re looking for a great home chef gift idea, this kettle will provide an instant upgrade.

“I get very excited about filling up my kitchen with fresh fruits and vegetables each week,” says commerce testing editor Jennifer Zyman. “This is the centerpiece of my countertop, which displays all of my hard-won garden tomatoes or apples. I love filling it with citrus for parties because it is a fragrant and beautiful display that lasts longer than flowers.” The real-deal marble material is luxurious, heavy, and one-of-a-kind.

For the aspiring home butcher or barbecue fanatic, that friend who’s who knows their primal cuts and has a favorite wood for smoking, this is the ultimate in meat cleavers. As its over-the-top name suggests, the Obliterator is a massive, thick, and heavy blade that can take on chickens, rib roasts, or even whole animals.

Not only was this one of our favorite cleavers in testing, but it also comes in a gift-friendly package, with a display stand to set up proudly next to a smoker.

“Flavor building in cooking and baking happens in layers, and dried spices and herbs are an essential starting point. This brand sources single-origin, fair trade, and incredibly fragrant essentials from South Asia,” says writer Kristin Montemarano. “Stock a loved one’s pantry with a customizable starter pack for the most impactful savory dishes and sweet treats.” You can choose any assortment you like of three, six, nine, or 12 tins from Diaspora Co.’s list of 35 spices and spice blends. All are sourced sustainably, with a special focus on ensuring farmers are paid fairly.

“After trying out this gently sweet, umami-packed sauce earlier this year, I’ve made sure to have my kitchen stocked with it at all times,” says senior editor Maria Yagoda. It turns even the most basic pantry meals into something really special. I love this on fried rice.” This three-bottle bundle includes the original Bachan’s Japanese Barbecue Sauce and the spicy and citrus yuzu variation, and there are other combos available with the brand’s miso and sweet honey flavors, too.

Any serious home cook should own a few pieces of cast iron cookware; this $8 tool makes the notoriously finicky cleaning process just that much easier. Its rigid plastic edge is a guaranteed way to tackle even the toughest, most caked-on bits of food without scratching the delicate surface, plus the other side has notches to handle filthy grill grates. A durable and sturdy silicone handle makes everything easy to grip. It’s the rare stocking stuffer that will actually find a permanent home in the tool drawer.

“Using quality salt makes all the difference when you’re cooking, and this assortment of Icelandic salts from Saltverk makes a practical home chef gift idea,” says senior commerce editor Danielle St. Pierre. “I use the Flaky Sea Salt on top of ice cream, and the Arctic Thyme Salt packs a ton of flavor for soups and sauces.” This box also includes Birch Smoked Salt, whose sweet smoke flavor melds seamlessly into just about any dish, and Black Lava Salt, which you should try sprinkling in a latte.

The friend who’s into wine probably has plenty of nice wine glasses, but what they probably don’t have is this useful tool for cleaning them. The soft foam bristles can squeeze into narrow stemware and even Champagne flutes for a thorough scrub with no danger to your knuckles and less chance of accidentally cracking expensive crystal.

A waffle maker might not be an absolute necessity, but homemade waffles make an amazing brunch, and the machine gives creative cooks the freedom to cook experiments like tater tot waffles. That’s why it’s a perfect gift. Cuisinart’s vertical model has an unusual orientation that we found helps keep the batter from spilling on the countertop. It’s also a space-saver, and we named this the best waffle maker after our extensive tests.

For anyone who’s outdoorsy or merely enjoys hosting family and friends in the backyard, this smokeless fire pit is a must. Solo Stove’s Bonfire 2.0 took the top spot in our recent test of the best fire pits thanks to its ease and efficiency. It’s designed for optimal airflow to avoid waves of smoke and teary eyes, it provides plenty of cozy heat, it has a removable ashtray for easy cleanup, and there’s even a stand option that makes it safe for wooden decks. And yes, there are cooking accessories, including a wok, a pizza oven, and a cast iron griddle.

These small wooden spatulas are the multipurpose kitchen tools you never knew you needed. They’re perfect for stirring items in a skillet, flipping burgers or pancakes, or for using like a pair of tongs to serve salad. The best part about Earlywood’s spatulas is that they actually look nice: This three-piece set is available in any of four wood finishes, or several combinations. “I’m constantly surprised at how many people don’t yet own one (or three) of these!” says executive editor Karen Shimizu.

This sounds like the kind of ingredient you’d put in a smoothie, but writer (and baking fanatic) Dillon Evans swears by freeze-dried fruit powders for adding easy natural color and flavor to his creations. “I use fruit powders to flavor my baked goods (like cookies, cakes, and tarts) and buttercreams without watering them down or breaking emulsions. Dried fruit powder also has a much more intense color than fresh fruit sauces, so baked goods come out super-vibrant,” he says.

“Fruit powder can be really hard to find in conventional grocery stores, which is why it’s such a great gift for bakers who want to play around with more fruit flavors and natural colors.” Blueberry is Evans’ personal favorite to use, but Micro Ingredients makes lots more options, including strawberry, pineapple, and mango.

Forget cookie cutters; Nordic Ware’s line of decorative pans takes holiday baking to a new level. This sweet piece is perfect for baking up your mini gingerbread village with its cozy design. Made from nonstick aluminum, it ensures evenly distributed heat and consistent cooking throughout all the little nooks and crannies. This pan makes six tiny houses, each with unique and adorable details, and there are options for two medium houses or a single large gingerbread house Bundt pan.

If you’re bringing a pie or a casserole to the potluck, this is the way to bring it in safety and style. The two vertical handles on this canvas tote are made to hold and carry dishes in a flat position without danger of spillage. The colors are cute, the simple design is appealing, and it also reminds the recipient to bring you baked goods once in a while.

For coffee lovers, there’s nothing worse than when a formerly steaming mug cools to bland room temperature. That’s why a mug warmer makes a good gift — and this is the best coffee mug warmer we tested. Perfect for coffee, tea, cocoa, or soup, this easy-to-transport gadget holds its temperature for hours. (It’s a good tech gift for home cooks, too.)

Opening Champagne? Pretty great. Using a sword to open Champagne? Awesome. Made In’s Champagne saber has the traditional look of an old-fashioned cavalry sword, but the blade is intentionally thick and dull to make the show-offy Champagne sabering technique easier and safer. This tool makes every special celebration, from weddings to work promotions, all the more memorable, and it’s a fun addition to any bar cart.

In the decade since Ooni’s launch, it has proven to be the secret to perfect backyard pizza for home cooks. We’ve tested the Ooni during our quest for the best pizza ovens, written about it, and recommended it multiple times, and this magical oven still delivers an incredible bang for your buck. Playing double duty as a savvy appliance and a true centerpiece for entertaining, the Ooni is the perfect gift for the cooking-and-hosting obsessed.

For the home cook who also loves art, this is the perfect coffee table book. First published in 1973, it’s full of recipes from noted Paris restaurants, with illustrations and thoughts from famed surrealist Salvador Dalí. The dishes are no fictional creations; they’re serious recipes, quite labor-intensive old-school fancy French items. But whether the recipient attempts them or not, it’s a fascinating flip-through.

Brooklyn’s Bushwick Kitchen specializes in spiking other condiments with spice to create complex ingredients you’ll want to pour over everything. “This Sweet & Spicy Gift Set offers a great introduction to these small-batch condiments,” St. Pierre says. “The Spicy Honey is awesome on pizza, and the Gochujang Sriracha kicks up the heat in a Bloody Mary recipe.”