A gift guide for cooking enthusiasts highlights a range of items, from knives to pantry staples and hand care, focusing on quality and enhancing existing interests.
According to the guide, a thoughtful approach to gift-giving for cooks involves identifying their passions and then providing items that either expand on or improve those areas. For those who enjoy elaborate cooking projects, a sleek Japanese santoku knife is recommended as a versatile alternative to a traditional chef’s knife, noted as a favorite among line cooks. The Mercer Culinary santoku is specifically mentioned.
The guide also suggests a traditional Mexican mortar and pestle, or molcajete, for cooks who enjoy grinding their own ingredients. This particular 9-inch version was created in collaboration with third-generation stone artisan Don Enrique of San Salvador El Seco, Puebla, and includes a tejolote, or grinding pestle.
For a pantry upgrade, the guide recommends the tinned tomatoes from Row 7, a company founded in 2018 by chef Dan Barber, plant breeder Michael Mazourek, and seedsman Matthew Goldfarb. Row 7 focuses on flavor-focused produce, and their tinned tomatoes are described as “bright, jammy, and an absolute indulgence.”
Beyond cooking tools and ingredients, the guide also suggests Monastery’s everything balm for hand care, describing it as a combination of Aesop and Aquaphor, a unisex, herbaceous remedy that is non-greasy and non-overly-perfumed. It comes in a silver tube with a roller key. Finally, the guide suggests Finnish dish towels as a useful and appreciated gift.
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