The Best Gifts for Chefs, According to Chefs and Restaurant Owners

If they already own a grill, this headlamp would be a welcome addition to their tool kit. Recipe developer Lee Kalpakis says not many people think of it as a grilling essential, but it’s one of the most useful things to have around when cooking outside because, when it starts getting dark, “being able to focus in and have that precision is really important.” Cheaper models can be dinky, but this one is powerful and has both adjustable brightness and a strap to fit perfectly around their head.

Chef Sohla El-Waylly told us this fish weight — a stainless-steel press designed to sit on top of fish in a pan, allowing for even cooking and a crispy skin — is one of her favorite tools. According to El-Waylly, it would make a thoughtful gift whether or not your recipient cooks fish, because it is quite versatile in the kitchen. “It’s heavy enough to weigh a fillet down, but not so unruly it bruises the flesh, with a thick body that retains and transfers heat,” El-Waylly says. “This makes it perfect for more than just fish — I use mine for everything from grilled cheese and quesadillas, to smashed crispy potatoes and chicken thighs.” While the silver one she has is out of stock, Josh Niland makes the same one in an iridescent rainbow finish that varies slightly from weight to weight.

Editor’s note: Josh Niland lists prices in Australian dollars, so the price below is an approximate conversion in U.S. dollars.

Chef Jeremy Blutstein told us this charcoal grill setup makes a great gift for chefs of any experience. “I just bought this combination for my sous chef,” he says. “It has tons of applications, can achieve a high heat, it’s compact, and produces a great flavor.”

“A donabe is just my favorite thing,” says chef Lauren Stanek. “I find myself wanting more and more of them. It’s the most beautiful version of a steamer that you can keep out on your counter. It feels handmade, with no brand name in sight. Plus, you can also use it as a Dutch oven.” Toiro Kitchen & Supply also makes a donabe specifically for cooking rice that we recommend, too.

Genevieve Ko, deputy editor and columnist at New York Times Cooking, says she would love to be gifted a Yaki Yaki San smokeless indoor grill. Its clay material (heated over an electric or gas stovetop) prevents smoke while a reservoir of water captures excess fat. “I’m fascinated by how it works and would love to be able to grill indoors without smoking up my kitchen,” says Ko. “Also, it’s gorgeous enough to bring to the table as a serving piece.”

Brandon Jew, the chef and owner of Mister Jiu’s in San Francisco, told us he’s “really into the Vitamix Ascent” if you want to splurge on a top-of-the-line blender. Among its many features, Jew “likes the timer, which is built right in,” he told us. “The auto functions are great, too.” If you think your chef would like a blender, but want to shop around, we’ve written about plenty of other options at various price points.

Preeti Mistry, the author of the Juhu Beach Club Cookbook, has a slightly more techy item on her wish list. “I have some ideas I want to play around with on a home sous vide machine,” she says. “I’m not big on modernist cuisine, but I do think a sous vide machine’s interesting when it serves a purpose.” Grub Street editor Alan Sytsma has written about this very gadget for the Strategist, calling it one of only “two real contenders in the at-home sous vide game.”

To sous-vide, you’ll need a vacuum sealer — and even beyond that, it’s super useful to have one for food preservation, curing, and fermenting. This particular machine comes recommended by multiple experts who love that it’s simply designed and easy to operate but always delivers. “I’ve tried a lot of different ones, and sometimes they can be wimpy,” says David Yasuda, director of marketing at Snake River Farms. “This has a lot of suction. It’s powerful.”

If you want to see a grown chef cry, gift them an Ooni. “The Ooni oven is brilliant at achieving very high temperatures near 900 degrees,” says Nik Sharma, author of The Flavor Equation and Season. “And not only is this oven wonderful at cooking pizza, I’ve also found it to be an amazing tool to replicate the conditions inside a tandoor oven. Naan, tandoori chicken, and all sorts of kebabs turn out wonderfully.” The oven also comes in wood and gas varieties and can easily be transported for cooking on the road.

While this was originally suggested by chef Kristin Kish as a gift for novice cooks, it would work just as well for the pro who needs a salt-cellar upgrade. It’s simple but beautiful with an angled opening that keeps the granules contained but is still easy to grab from.

This Microplane spice grater is a similarly affordable and useful gift for chefs, and comes recommended by chef and A Piece of Cake author Bill Clark. Everyone at MeMe’s [his now-closed restaurant] used this spice grinder,” he told us. “Behind the bar, it’s how nutmeg went into our classic punch; I used it for baking, and Libby used it in the kitchen. Honestly we are not gadget people, [but] this is worth making space for (though it’s not even big).”

“These scissors are small and sharp enough to do fine tasks like cutting herbs, but they are also strong enough to go through fish bones, lobster shells, and chicken backs,” says Mike Reilly, former chef de cuisine at NoMad New York. And though scissors don’t seem like the most exciting gift, for a serious home cook, they’ll definitely come in handy. “I use these scissors as much as any other tool in the kitchen,” Reilly says.

Another small but mighty gift idea: this peeler that Pennes says is the best he’s ever found. “When I was doing prep work in kitchens, I would go through multiple 50-pound cases of potatoes all day long with this,” he says, calling out the nice grip and carbon-steel blade that stays sharp. “It will be with you a long time,” he says.

Richard Ho, the chef-owner of Ho Foods in Manhattan’s East Village, told us he wants some sharpening stones for his knives. Specifically, “either the Sigma Power Select II sharpening stones, or the Debado Splash and Go sharpening stones,” says Ho. “No matter how long or short the workday is, there’s always something calming about sharpening knives at the end of a night,” he explains. Gifting a sharpening stone to the chef in your life could be a nice way to kick-start that meditative practice.

Pennes has owned this nonstick skillet for several years and it has held up beautifully, which any chef knows is no small feat. “I use it for everything all the time,” he says, “and it doesn’t even have a scratch on it.” In fact, Made In’s cookware is so durable and high-quality that Pennes says he knows of several restaurants in L.A. (where he’s based) and Austin (where Made In has its headquarters) that have started using it in their professional kitchens.

A chef can never have too many baking dishes. This classic casserole-style one from Dansk, recommended by three pro cooks, would make a gift that’s as nice-looking as it is a workhorse. The inside is carbon steel, so it has strong heat conductivity (good for crispy, browned corners), but the enamel coating makes it super easy to clean. And the handles are comfortable to grip, too.

For a more affordable, but still restaurateur-approved set of glassware, this 12-pack is a favorite of Paul Malvone, a co-founder of the Boston Burger Company, who told us he uses them for serving all kinds of drinks at his restaurant. “They’re a little better-looking than a traditional drinking glass,” he told us, “and are versatile enough for water or a soft drink, or a hard beverage.”

If you want to give a non-rocks glass that is super-special, Anna Polonsky, founder of the food-focused strategy-and-design consultancy Polonsky & Friends, loves to set a dinner table with these drinking glasses. “They stand out without being too much. The base makes them special, but they’re also hardy enough not to feel too precious.”

A nonstandard jigger will up their cocktail game. “You’re measuring small amounts of very potent ingredients, and even an extra quarter ounce can make a big difference,” says Brooks Reitz, owner of Jack Rudy Cocktail Co. He particularly loves this pewter one because “it’s beautiful and will last forever.”

This kettle shows up on multiple Strategist gift guides — but that’s simply because it’s the best of the best. Favored by coffee and tea experts alike, it’s not only sleek, but has exacting temperature control and hold, is well built, and features a gooseneck spout for gentle and precise pouring. Chef Sohla El-Waylly also notes that kettles come in handy for much more than making drinks. She uses a bit of boiling water for cooking all the time, whether deglazing a pan, finishing off undercooked rice, or giving a head start to water for potatoes or pasta.

Just in time for iced-coffee season, they might enjoy this cold-brew maker suggested by Michael Phillips, global director of education and engagement at Blue Bottle Coffee. He says it lands “squarely in the middle of the Venn diagram of coffee function, ease of use, and good design,” and that it “produces a clean-tasting cup with no dilution needed.”

Cometeer’s flash-frozen coffee concentrate pods are a shortcut to truly delicious coffee. They’re made from beans sourced from independent roasters around the country, and making a cup is as easy as hitting up the shop next door. You simply thaw one at a time and add hot or cold water.

Mugs always make a thoughtful gift, and these handblown glass ones are bound to be a bit different from standard ceramics they already have in their cabinet. They’re a favorite of Tom Bomford, coffee director at New York City’s Black Fox, who says “they feel much more expensive than they are.”

Chef Omar Tate told us he’s “always open to receiving books on history, policy, systems, figures, and, of course, black folks and culture.” With that in mind, we reached out to James Beard Award-winning writer Osayi Endolyn — an authority on the the intersection of food, history, and black life — who recommended Dr. Marcia Chatelain’s Franchise, a fascinating history of the longstanding, symbiotic relationship between McDonald’s and black entrepreneurs.

Strategist contributor and cookbook author Priya Krishna also suggests giving reading material to chefs. But instead of any one cookbook, she recommends a subscription to Whetstone magazine, which she calls the next Lucky Peach (a publication she has also worked for). “It’s a magazine that explores the intersection between food and storytelling, started by the food writer Stephen Satterfield,” she told us. “For food people, the magazine reminds us that we are all more alike than we are different as eaters.” Plus, of course, a subscription is a gift that keeps on giving.

Now Serving is a Los Angeles–based cookbook store that Pennes loves to support not just because it’s an independent shop, but because the owners are so knowledgeable. “If you tell them what you want in any way — country or cuisine or ease of cooking — they will find it for you, even if it’s an out-of-print book,” he says. “And a gift card ensures that whatever someone picks out will be special.”

If you feel like giving your food-loving friend something they can enjoy immediately, Nobu 57 executive chef Matt Hoyle has a slightly more practical — and edible — suggestion: “I live in New York City, so no room for more pans, knives, or KitchenAids. I want something to eat. Cheese, for example. A nice selection from Murray’s would do the trick. Half a Stilton, big wedge of Parm, Montgomery’s Cheddar, a triple creme and a Raclette to melt, a bit of something soft and goaty.” Or, if you don’t want to choose, Murray’s also offers some preselected gift sets, like this one.

“Even though I’m the kind of person who splurges on things, it’s kind of weirdly painful for me to splurge on fancy vinegars and condiments and things like that,” says Lauren Stanek, “so I think anything in a category like that would make a great gift for anyone who likes to cook.” She’s particularly fond of exceptionally high-quality tinned fish — and the selection at Güeyu Mar is really something special. “The tins and labels are so beautiful, and the quality of what’s inside will blow you away,” she says. “They taste like someone just made a dish for you at a restaurant right out of the can.”

Editor’s note: Conservas Braseadas lists their prices in euros, so the price shown is an approximate conversion in U.S. dollars.

They likely already have chili crisp in the fridge, so consider gifting this hot-garlic condiment instead. It’s similar in texture to the perennial favorite Lao Gan Ma, but without the fermented beans and with larger chunks of crispy garlic. “There’s a good amount of crunch-to-liquid ratio, with no sticking at the bottom,” says recipe developer and food stylist Chloe Walsh. “The first time I bought a jar I ate it all by myself within a week.”

Michele Goldsmith, the executive pastry chef at both Nobu 57 and Nobu Downtown says this tea from Japan, is one of her favorites. “Tribute Teas supply the ceremonial-grade matcha that we use in our green tea ice cream, and generally carry the best-quality Japanese teas we’ve found,” she says. For even more tea-related gift ideas, head here.

A bottle of fancy olive oil will never go unappreciated. This one is great for finishing steak or dipping bread at home, says Claire Wadsworth, co-owner of La Copine in Joshua Tree, California. It has a peppery kick, “but it’s still buttery and luscious,” she says.

Pennes discovered Zab’s a while back and has since been gifting its hot sauces (and hot honey) to friends. “It’s not too spicy, so I find myself putting it on everything,” he says. “I even keep one at work and one at home.” He also notes the company isn’t trying to do too much or be flashy. “The owner just wants his stuff to speak for itself, and I think it does,” Pennes says. While both sauces are vinegar-based, the St. Augustine has a slightly sweeter edge, each beloved by a couple of Strategist staffers.

Though not a chef, home decorator Carrie Carrollo points out that while salt and pepper shakers are practical, they can also make a visual impact. “One of my best friends sent these to my apartment shortly after I moved in,” she says. “I was in the thick of decorating, looking for accents to bring the space together, and surprisingly, these changed the entire look and feel for the best.”

Another idea for the table: these classic brass candleholders recommended by Girls’ Night In founder Alisha Ramos. They’re not just beautiful, but sturdy, too, making them a practical choice for any serious cook who loves to host.

To go with the above — or even on their own — tapered candles make a lovely gift. You can find cheap ones out there, but these are a particularly nice option: long-burning, smokeless, and dyed beautiful colors.

Kitchen textiles — runners, cloth napkins, tablecloths, tea towels, and placemats — are both functional and nice to look at, and they can provide an instant upgrade for any chef who hasn’t prioritized their table setting. Minna, an upstate New York–based company, sources most of its fabric goods from cooperatives in Mexico. While you can shop nearly all of the aforementioned items from them, we’re particular fans of their runners, which come in many designs.

The great thing about a lazy Susan is that it can be used for organization on the counter or in the refrigerator — or as décor. This wood one would look great on your recipient’s table, whether it lives there with, say, salt and pepper and chili flakes or is pulled out for special occasions when sides and condiments are part of the meal.

Blundstone boots are not only a favorite of Strategist editors — they’re also chef-approved, according to chef Johnny DePierro. He told us he can’t recommend them enough to chefs after getting a pair for himself. “I recently switched over after suggestions from one of my chefs and I’ll never go back to another brand,” he says.

Wanous and DePierro say you can also treat your chef’s feet by getting them a nice pair of socks. Wanous swears by Bombas compression socks, which she says will make “long hours on your feet less painful at the end of the day.”

Hedley & Bennett is an industry favorite for aprons. This is its classic design constructed from cotton canvas, which makes it comfortable but durable (and machine washable, too). The brand offers multiple styles and what feels like countless colors and patterns if you want to shop around.