How to choose Clever and Useful Gifts for Cooks and Foodies

This is a bit of a double edged sword. There are literally thousands of gift ideas out there for cooks and foodies, however expert. The problem in particular with gifts for those who cook and/or love food, is that some of them, many of them, fall into the mundane category, and others are so clever they’re practically unusable. Or they’re tech gadgets to be used once and then stored in a cupboard, never to come out again.

If you’re buying a gift for a member of your family be careful that you give something that’s either clever or decorative or both. That new Magimix food processor may be just what you need in your kitchen, but it’ll be seen as an excuse for a gift unless you agree on it in advance or you know that they really want it.

Gadgets can be difficult unless they really are useful and something that makes life easier. I wouldn’t give kitchen gadgets and appliances unless I knew that a) the person needed it and b) it was something that I had used and enjoyed using. Also make sure they don’t already have one.



This is a collection of kitchen tools that I’ve either been given or are on my Christmas list (kids are you listening?). Decorative, fun and useful tools and gadgets are hard to get wrong. The knife above, the Gude Chai Dao is the best chopping knife I have ever come across, and this make is hard to find. The apple peeler and corer was given to me a few years back and is incredibly useful, particularly for apple pies and Tarte Tatin, and the garlic press is good to look at and easy to use.

Think hard about the person you’re buying for - what type of cooking they do, what colours they like, if they’re a traditionalist or a modern techie and go from there. Most cooks can’t have enough good pepper grinders, knife sharpeners and citrus presses. And the NutriBullet? An excellent gift for anyone who likes healthy food and doesn’t already have one.