Shopping for new cooks is a real pleasure. There's so much excitement and optimism to work with! You could probably rattle off a list of must-haves in the kitchen (our Essentials posts do just that) but gifts for new cooks require a little more finesse. They should be practical, yet inspirational, something to not only outfit them for successful cooking, but also get them excited about doing it! In this gift guide we offer suggestions for essential and long-lasting tools that'll make cooking that much easier (a good chef's knife, a cast-iron skillet), as well as a few amped up basics (a jaw-dropping butcher block, a hand-carved wooden spoon) and specialty ingredients to entice them (high-quality olive oil and finishing salts).
TOP ROW
• 1 Starter Salt Set, $38 from The Meadow: the best way to explore finishing salts, and something a new cook could get exited about!
• 2 End Grain Butcher Block, $175 from End Grain Butcher Blocks: Ok, this is the butcher block to end all butcher blocks, and a bit of a splurge. The end grain is better for knives and more sanitary than edge grain or plastic. And, with proper care, it'll last forever.
• 3 Victorinox 40520 Fibrox 8-Inch Chef's Knife, $24.95 from Amazon: A good-quality chef's knife is essential. The Victorinox knives are budget-friendly, sharp, and super durable.
• 4 Lodge Pre-Seasoned 8-Inch Cast Iron Skillet, $11 from Amazon: If you have one pan in your kitchen, make it a cast-iron skillet. You can do almost anything with it, and it easily goes from the stovetop to the oven.
• 5 How To Cook Everything: The Basics, by Mark Bittman, $20 from Amazon: Bittman's How To Cook Everything is a classic. But for absolute cooking novices, it'd be better to start with Bittman's Basics book, which has pictures accompanying every technique and recipe - unlike the original, which has no photos.
BOTTOM ROW
• 6 Kitchen Conversion Poster, $28 from Sweet Fine Day: an easily accessible conversion chart is immensely helpful for new cooks. We love this version because it doubles as kitchen artwork!
• 7 Occhipinti "Gheta" Olive Oil, $28 from BKLYN Larder: teach your new cook to elevate olive oil beyond its everyday cooking qualities. A smaller, more expensive bottle with robust, peppery, or grassy elements feels like a special treat, and it's perfect for finishing dishes and salads.
• 8 Hand-Carved Cherry or Maple Wooden Spoon, $50 from Live Wire Farm: Dana wrote about the beauty and value of a hand-carved wooden spoon, which she called a "once in a lifetime" purchase. Hand-carved spoons are usually expensive because of the time and labor involved, but this makes them a treasure, and a unique gift for a new cook. Need something a little more budget? Go for a basic wooden spoon set ($9.99 from Target).
• 9 Unicorn Magnum Pepper Mill, $31 from Unicorn: A high-quality pepper mill is so useful, and a definite cooking essential. Our readers love this Unicorn Magnum mill. If you're willing to spend a little more, the Perfex Pepper Mill ($80 from Amazon) is almost perfect.
• 10 Labeled Kitchen Mixing Bowl Set, $59 from West Elm: these labeled multi-purpose ceramic mixing bowls have small spouts for less messy food prep. A heavy-duty stainless steel mixing bowl set is another keeper ($34 from Amazon).
Other Great Gift Buying Resources for New Cooks
• Where to Buy Artisanal and Specialty Foods Online: 9 Great Marketplaces: Get them excited about food and cooking with a few special ingredients!
• The Kitchn's Guide to Essential Prep Tools and Utensils
• The Kitchn's Guide to Essential Cooking Tools and Utensils
• The Kitchn's Guide to Essential Cookware
• The Kitchn's Guide to Essential Baking Pans
• The Kitchn's Guide to Essential Small Electric Appliances
• The Kitchn's Guide to Essential Cleaning Tools and Products
What are your favorite gifts to give new cooks?
Related: Useful, Beautiful Kitchen Gifts Under $25
(Images: as linked)
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Thanks for recommending The Meadow. I feel I became a real cook on the day those arrived at our doorstep! Mark Bitterman's book Salt is a good place to start to navigate the huge variety of global salts they offer. They also use reclaimed wood in their shops which sell chocolate too.
Love that knife! I happened across it when I first started cooking seriously 4 or 5 years ago. Today, it is the only worthwhile knife in my kitchen. I use it for EVERYTHING.
Oooh, that poster from Sweet Fine Day is going to be a New Year's present to myself, along with the matching flour sack kitchen towels!
So lemme get this straight: you're advocating a $25 chef's knife, a $11 cast-iron skillet... and a $50 spoon? $38 worth of salt? Is it just me, or are the priorities kinda messed up here?
Julie42, they're suggestions for both practical and indulgent gifts, like we said - reliable, budget-friendly workhorses as well as a few special ingredients and tools that go above and beyond the norm (which new cooks are especially unlikely to have or buy for themselves). Pick and choose what works for you and your newbie cook!
You can never go wrong with Mark Bittman.
The victorinox fibrox chef's knife is fabulous! It's America's Test Kitchen's top rated knife year after year; a top notch knife and a great bargain. Just remember to tape a penny to the knife blade when you wrap it! (Old superstition to keep from severing the relationship).
I like to give both new and seasoned cooks microplane graters. Many people don't have one, and it's a handy tool to have in the drawer. Sometimes I give a really nice potato peeler--they become dull, so a fresh, sharp one is simple pleasure.
That pepper grinder was a gift I received from my brother a couple years ago. It is amazing, and made me realize that I actually like pepper!
The Perfex pepper mill is "almost" perfect because it's actually a pretty crummy peppermill. I have one, and adore it - it's beautiful. It's just not very good at actually grinding pepper.
I agree with Emmi - I ordered a set of salts from the meadow after seeing their shop on CBS Sunday Morning several years ago. The hickory smoked salt is divine! Which reminds me - it's time to reorder!
As a person who has very recently caught the cooking bug, I can highly recommend everything on this list EXCEPT the $50 spoon. Someone who is feeling intimidated by cooking (and let's be honest... that's the biggest reason people don't cook) will look at that spoon like a confused caveman, stick it in a drawer, and forget about it until they move. The more hand-carved expensive something is, the more we'll feel like we don't know how to use it properly.
If you want to buy your newbie something special and wooden, buy them this: http://www.etsy.com/listing/115823497/wooden-spatula-from-cherry-wood I use my flat-ended wooden spatula more than any other tool in my kitchen.
I don't mean to offend, but that pepper mill has got to be the ugliest one I've ever seen. But I agree that a cast iron skillet is a must for any chef! Cheap, durable and versatile.