Yes, Chef: 16 Gift Ideas for the Home Cook in Your Life

Yes, Chef: 16 Gift Ideas for the Home Cook in Your Life
Contributor: Bree Grant, Isabella Noyes
At Lifehacker, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.

When you know a foodie, or just someone who enjoys cooking, it can be tough to plan what gift (or gifts) you’re going to surprise them with under the Christmas tree. You want to get them something that’ll put a big cheesy grin on their face, but it also needs to be something practical that they’ll actually use. After all, what’s the point of buying someone a nice gift if it’s going to sit in the back of the kitchen cupboard for five years?

It’s always nice to treat someone to a gift they can use regularly while also thinking of you every time they pull it out. Who knows? Maybe they’ll even whip up a scrumptious meal to thank you for such a thoughtful gift.

From reusable baking paper and pasta makers to lush tablecloths and knife sets, here are the best gift ideas for cooking enthusiasts.

The best gift ideas for home kitchen cooks under $50

A cookbook

best gift ideas home kitchen cooks
Image: Lifehacker Australia

If you’re buying for someone who is constantly looking to level up their skills in the kitchen, a good cookbook is one of the options around. Not only will you help them broaden their culinary horizons with new recipe ideas and cuisines, but if you’re lucky, they might make one of those dishes for you too.

Here are a few of our favourites:

Alfresco Picnic Basket with Cooler

Image: Alfresco

What about this wicker picnic basket to transport all their marvellous creations in? This picnic basket comes with two sets of cutlery, a ceramic plate, a corkscrew, two wine glasses, two napkins, stainless steel salt and pepper shakers and an insulated cooler bag. It also has a matching blanket, which is perfect for summer festivities.

Where to buy:

Sharpening Stone Set

Image: BRITOR

Know someone who loves their fancy kitchen knives? If they don’t already own one, a sharpening stone is one of the best things you could gift them. Dull knives are an unavoidable thing, but a whetstone will help any chef maintain a sharp edge across their collection of blades.

This set includes two dual-sided whetstones – 400/1000 grit and 3000/8000 grit – along with an angle guide, a flattening stone and a leather strop, which is everything they’ll need to make sure their knives are always on point.

Where to buy:

The Cooks Collective Silicone Baking Mats

Image: The Cooks Collective

Help your foodie friend do away with single-use baking paper with the aptly named Un-Baking Paper by Seed & Sprout. It’s super simple to use and incredibly stylish. This reusable silicone sheet is a must for every home baker.

Where to buy:

The best gift ideas for home kitchen cooks under $100

Furi Pro East/West Santoku Knife Set

best gift ideas home kitchen cooks
Image: Furi

Everyone should own at least one fancy knife, and this Furi set is a great place to start your gift recipient’s collection. Furi is known for its high-quality blades at fairly affordable prices, and this gift set will make for a great addition to anyone’s kitchen.

A Santoku is a great multi-purpose knife and will make quick work of cutting vegetables or slicing up cuts of meat. Since this set comes with two (13cm and 17cm), you can use one for meat and the other for fruit and veggie prep.

Where to buy:

Mosey Me Apron

best gift ideas home kitchen cooks
Image: Mosey Me

Bring style into the kitchen with one of Mosey Me’s aprons. There’s a range of aprons with an array of floral patterns and graphic shapes, that’ll bring a pop of colour to their kitchen. We’re so obsessed that we want one for ourselves.

Where to buy:

Lodge Cast Iron Skillet (26cm/10.25″)

Image: Lodge

Depending on what your gift recipient loves to cook, a cast iron skillet is one of those things that once they own one, they’ll wonder how they ever managed without it. Lodge is pretty well-known in the cast iron space, thanks to its affordable, quality pans. This skillet comes pre-seasoned, so they can start cooking right away. If cared for properly, this cast iron skillet will be the gift that keeps on giving.

Where to buy:

Automatic Pan Stirrer

Image: Uutensil

As big foodies, we have to admit that if someone threw in an automatic pot stirrer as one of our gifts this Christmas, we might just cry tears of relief. While cooking is one of our favourite hobbies, it can add to your mental load when you’re thinking about all of the things you have to keep track of in the kitchen.

Don’t let the sauce stick to the bottom, don’t let the gravy clump and absolutely do not let your roast chicken burn. An automatic pan stirrer can solve two of those issues. These gadgets let your cook skip the arm workout and focus on chopping veggies or anything other than standing in place and stirring until your sauce thickens up. A godsend, for sure.

Where to buy:

Luxear Fresh Containers

Image: LUXEAR

These containers are the gift that keeps on giving. These airtight containers will help to keep fruit and veg fresh for up to two weeks. They also include removable colanders, so you can easily wash your produce before storing it. They’re also quite light and easy to store, making them a good option if you want to bring some fresh fruit to any summer picnics.

The best gift ideas for home kitchen cooks under $200

Sunbeam Aviva 6L Multi Cooker

Image: Sunbeam

Cooking can be a complicated process and sometimes, we don’t all have the time to stand around and wait for a succulent meal to be whipped up. That’s why a multi-cooker is so handy since you can do the whole “set it and forget it” overnight or before you leave to go to work.

This baby can also steam dumplings, cook rice and sauté some veggies. But we think the better question is – what can’t it do?

Where to buy:

Joseph Joseph Folio Cutting Board Set

Image: Joseph Joseph

You can’t go wrong with these index cutting boards from Joseph Joseph. They’re expertly designed to reduce cross-contamination of different food types. It comes with four chopping boards with a slim storage case.

Each board has a textured surface and non-slip feet, along with a stainless-steel bar that makes pulling out the board you need easy. While it is on the more expensive side of gift-giving, it’s a bloody good one to get your mates, siblings or parents to go all in on for the foodie in the family.

Where to buy:

Marcato Atlas 150 Manual Pasta Maker

Food gifts
Image: Marcato

No true cooking enthusiast’s kitchen is complete without a pasta maker. This one from Marcato is the perfect addition to any chefs artillery. Nothing tastes better than fresh, authentic homemade pasta and learning how to make your own noodles couldn’t be easier than when you’ve got your own pasta machine. This one allows you to make three different pasta shapes, lasagne, fettuccine, and tagliolini. Mama mia!

Where to buy:

The best gift ideas for home kitchen cooks over $200

Mosey Me Tablecloth

best gift ideas home kitchen cooks
Image: Mosey Me

Every entertainer needs a beautiful table setting, and that’s exactly what they’ll get with a tablecloth from Mosey Me. Perfect for summer dining, these multi-coloured tablecloths provide the perfect backdrop for any cooking enthusiast’s feast.

Where to buy:

KitchenAid 4.3L Classic Stand Mixer

best gift ideas home kitchen cooks
Image: KitchenAid

Anybody who loves cooking has clasped their hands together and wished for a KitchenAid stand mixer at some point in their lives. Imagine hand-mixing all of your batter like a peasant. This is one of the best gift ideas for cooking enthusiasts – you know if you truly love them (just kidding, maybe).

Where to buy:

Staub 5.5L Oval Cocotte

Image: Staub

Staub is a worthy dupe to cult favourite Le Creuset’s enviable Dutch ovens range. With this 5.5L cocotte, you can make hearty casseroles, roast dinners and even bread thanks to its handy dandy wear-resistant enamel interior and durable cast iron make. It’s all-round designed to last you years, even if you only decide to pull it out in winter.

Where to buy:

Breville The Smart Scoop Ice Cream Maker

Image: Breville

Who doesn’t love ice cream? Of course, this find might be a little selfish of us considering we’d gift it to our foodie friend in the hopes of eating fresh ice cream at every dinner party, but why not? The Breville Smart Scoop Ice Cream Maker automatically senses the hardness of the mixture based on your selection and keeps it ready until it’s time to serve, so you’ll have perfectly creamy ice cream every scoop.

Where to buy:

More Lifehacker Australia gift guides

Need more Christmas gift ideas? Explore these gift guides if you want to ensure you nail the perfect present this year:

Image: Furi/Mosey Me/Lodge


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At Lifehacker, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.

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