Great Gifts for Cooks + Food Lovers: The 2025 Holiday Gift Guide

Holiday shopping just got more fun: Our 2025 Holiday Gift Guide for Cooks rounds up the greatest gifts for home cooks, bakers, foodies, and chefs of all budgets, ages, and skill levels. From clever stocking stuffers to the best, splurge-worthy cookware, these are thoughtful picks to delight any cook and food lover.

How to Use This 2025 Gift Guide

This year’s guide is packed with great gifts for cooks across every category and price point—from clever stocking stuffers under $25 to splurge-worthy chef’s tools. These ideas are tailored for every kind of food lover: new bakers, seasoned pros, avid entertainers, and even kids who want to help in the kitchen.

Here’s a taste of what you’ll find inside:

• Stocking stuffers: think kitschy kitchen accessories, food candles, and helpful culinary tools
• Edible gifts like fancy French mustard, chef-favorite salt, and good olive oil to upgrade the pantry
• Holiday hosting and entertaining enhancements like serving pieces and elegant linens
• Food-themed accessories like charms and luxe pajamas
• Splurge-worthy equipment and chef’s tools that they’ve always wanted
• Kid-themed gifts for young cooks

(And definitely check out some other Unpeeled gifting roundups, including the gift guide to the best Mother’s Day gifts, and the Best Food Advent Calendars.)

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Stocking Stuffers for Cooks and Foodies Under $25

Small gifts can make a big impact. This section is packed with clever stocking stuffers for cooks, foodies, and home chefs. Think fun kitchen gadgets, gourmet pantry treats, food-themed trinkets, and little tools that bring joy to meal prep.

Fun, Food-Themed Gifts and Essential Small Tools

1. A Realistic Food Candle

This candle looks like a super realistic bowl of party mix — all the more fun when people do a double take and see it alight! Perfect as a fun party centerpiece, or as a kitschy kitchen or office decoration. Available at Amazon.

2. Pasta-Shaped Food Clips

Food-themed pantry clips will be a perfect little upgrade to all those home cooks still using basic clips or worse, binder clips. These are high quality, and look great. Available at Amazon.

3. Fancy Cookie Cutters

Cookie cutters always make a good gift for bakers at the holidays, but a deluxe set of cutters add a classier touch. I particularly like this kransekake set from Williams-Sonoma. Make individual snowflake cookies, or stack them to create a beautiful and buttery Christmas tree. Available at Williams-Sonoma.

4. A Pro-Level Kitchen Thermometer

Every chef — home or professional — should have a good cooking thermometer. The wireless ThermoPro is the chef’s go-to for a reason. It’s the most accurate way to tell how your meat is cooked, and makes an essential pastry tool for caramel, cake, jams, and more. Available at Amazon and ThermoPro.com.

5. A Fabulous Cookbook

A gift guide for cooking lovers wouldn’t be complete without a cookbook. Rule of thumb: If Joshua McFadden cooks it, you want to eat it. The chef’s Six Seasons of Pasta (a follow-up to his must-have original cookbook, Six Seasons) is my pick for best cookbook of the year. Available at Amazon, Book Larder (limited signed copies available), and at local booksellers.

And find other top cookbook options in the The Unpeeled Guide to All-Time Essential Cookbooks for iconic picks that are always in season.

6. The Cutest Notepad

This is a great kitchen gift stocking stuffer. E. Francis is one of my favorite brands for stationary and paper goods. These pretty notepads last a while, and make even the most mundane list seem fun. Available at E. Francis.

7. Butter Socks

Everything’s better with butter. These comfy butter socks are the perfect little gift for food lovers, bakers, and cooks.

Pantry Treats and Specialty Ingredients

1. A Stoneware Crock of the Best Mustard

Home chefs and cooks appreciate good-quality ingredients. This one-pound earthenware crock of Pommery grain mustard (“moutarde”) from France elevates everything from sandwiches to marinades. It also looks great on the kitchen countertop, and makes a great vase or utensil older once it’s all been eaten. Available at Sur la Table.

2. A Bucket of Maldon Salt

The ultimate finishing salt, this large flaky sea salt has a lovely, not-too-salty flavor and adds that little special touch to everything from pastas to roasts to avocado toast and more. An essential for every chef ever. This should last for the year. I put this on the list every year, and always will. Available at Amazon and Walmart.

3. Really Good Olive Oil

It is actually quite hard to pick out a truly good-quality olive oil; fraud, rancidity, and other issues abound. Frescobaldi Laudemio’s award-winning, authentic extra-virgin olive oil from Tuscany is fresh, beautifully packaged, and has fresh pepper and grass notes that make it special for drizzling over pastas, caprese, and in salads. Available at Amazon.

4. Vanilla Bean Paste

For bakers, vanilla bean paste has the speckled, fragrant goodness of whole vanilla beans but with extract’s ease. Used by many pastry chefs (like me), this brings pro-quality baking to home kitchens. It’s great for meringue, ice cream, buttercream, and pound cake. Available at Amazon and Nielsen-Massey.

5. The Chocolate Lover’s Chocolate Fudge

Hershey who? Coop’s deep chocolatey hot fudge sauce is made with all-natural ingredients like cream, butter, cane sugar, chocolate, and cocoa. The texture is perfect, and the packaging is a guaranteed smile. (Pro tip: Get the salted caramel sauce while you’re at it!) Available at Amazon and Enjoycoops.com.

6. A Food-Lover’s Advent Calendar

You’ll have to snag this well before that first door opens on December 1, the start of Advent. Advent calendars are definitely popular, for good reason. Check out Unpeeled Journal’s 2025 guide to the Best Food Advent Calendars.

7. The Ultimate Holiday Cheese and Charcuterie Board

Let the good folks at Boarderie (an Unpeeled favorite) send along their artisan holiday-themed charcuterie boards (note the cheese cut to look like Christmas trees and candy canes!), packaged with care and filled with cheeses, meats, condiments, nuts, and even little wooden utensils, served on a reusable wood board. High style, and high quality. Available in multiple sizes.

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Practical & Inspiring Kitchen Gifts for Cooks $25 to $100

Top kitchen gifts don’t need to break the bank. From high-quality utensils to fun and clever gadgets, these mid-range picks are both practical and inspired, designed to upgrade cooking, baking, and entertaining. These are great gifts for cooks and food lovers who would appreciate a little culinary boost.

Top Everyday Tools, Utensils, and Household Goods

1. The Best Vacuum-Sealed Travel Coffee Mug

There are travel mugs, and there are Travel Mugs. The Zojirushi is a serious travel tumbler with all kinds of cred. It keeps beverages piping hot seemingly forever, and won’t spill. The 20-ounce is my favorite; it holds a nice amount of liquid, but maintains a sleek shape. The company also makes 12-ounce and 16-ounce options. Available at Amazon.

2. Serving Utensils

I don’t know anyone who couldn’t use more serving utensils, especially around the holidays with big family gatherings. Crate + Barrel always has a good selection. But I really love the options at Williams-Sonoma, with numerous styles like this elegant vine pattern. Available at Williams-Sonoma.

3. An Authentic French Crêpe Pan

Bring a little Paris to your favorite home cook’s kitchen with this authentic, well-made crêpe (or tortilla!) pan. It’s ergonomic, just the right size, and made of heavy carbon steel to last a lifetime. This is the one I use. Bonus: The spreader and spatula tools are included. Available at Williams-Sonoma and Amazon.

And you’ll want this recipe for authentic French ham and cheese galettes to go with that new crêpe pan.

4. The Essential Apron

We usually recommend an apron in my holiday gift guides for cooks. Hedley & Bennett is our perennial go-to option. Hedley & Bennett aprons are well made, well-sized, and come in a variety of styles and colors, from Star Wars™-inspired to florals to color block. Available at Hedley & Bennett.

5. Baggu Tote Bags

The best and most stylish grocery totes of all.  I’ve been a Baggu fan for years; I often use them as a purse, in addition to all my grocery runs. These bags are strong, weigh nothing, fold up into a tiny pouch, hold a ton of groceries, last forever, and come in many cool prints. Also, great prints! Goodbye, bulky canvas totes. Hello Baggu. Available at Amazon and Baggu.com.

6. An Avocado Vase

Don’t trash your avocado pit; turn it into an elegant plant for your windowsill. You’ll have fun — and get a great-looking little plant — watching the pit become a leafy branch and root system right in your kitchen thanks to this sleek best seller from the MoMA Design Store.

And here’s how to make the best avocado toast.

7. A Next-Level Picnic Basket

Even in winter, this deluxe Sunflora picnic backpack will get your loved one dreaming of summer meals al fresco. This practical, insulated backpack comes with a wine cooler, blanket, cutting board, cheese knife, wine opener, little salt and pepper shakers, and place settings and stemware for four. Brilliant! I gave this as a gift earlier this year. Available at Amazon.

Thoughtful and Essential Gifts for Bakers

As a professional pastry chef and avid home baker, baking-related gifts are near and dear to my heart. Useful tools make baking easier and more fun, and some gift ideas are designed to bring a smile.

1. A Bread Lamp

Yes, it’s real! And it’s spectacular. Japanese artist Yukiko Morita takes real bread and pastries and turns them into little lamps or “pamp shades.” A cute conversation piece of food-as-art that would make any baker or bread lover smile, you can also choose from rolls, full baguettes, and more. Available at yukikomorita.com.

2. Bread (and More Bread) from Poilâne

If you like food and have been to Paris, likely your wanderings have taken you to famed bakery Poilâne, a jewel box artisan bakery making the best bread in France. A Francophile food lover will flip for a loaf of their big sourdough miche loaf with its signature swirl “P.” And while you’re at it, throw in a bag of “punition” butter cookies for yourself. Available at Poilâne.

3. The Cake Turntable Used by Professional Bakers

A high-quality cake turntable is one big reason bakery-made cakes look so nice. A turntable lets bakers cut even layers and spread buttercream smoothly, and creates a stable, raised surface for decorating. Professional chefs (including yours truly) use this sturdy Ateco with a cast-iron base. Available at Web Restaurant Store and Amazon.

Plus: Learn how to frost and decorate a cake the right way!

4. A Beautiful Bundt

Sure, regular round layers and sheet cakes taste great, but do they look like this? A bundt cake adds a special “wow” factor and makes a perfect centerpiece dessert for holiday baking. Nordic Ware brand bundt pans are the best in the biz. These are a great gift for any cake baker. Available at Amazon and NordicWare.com

Want an amazing holiday bundt cake recipe? Christmas is the time to make the copycat version of the Tom Cruise Coconut Bundt Cake — the one he sends to his friends at the holidays.

5. A Blow Torch

Think mile-high meringue and crême brulée. Julia Child is (falsely) attributed as saying, “Every woman should own a blowtorch.” She may not have actually said it, but I agree. This blow torch from the Web Restaurant Store is an affordable buy. You just can’t get the same result under the broiler, trust me. My personal pick is a Messermeister: Available at Amazon.

6. A Pretty Cake Pedestal

This pretty ruffled jadeite cake pedestal from Martha Stewart looks much more expensive than it is, and will be just the thing for displaying a special holiday cake, cookies, brownies, or fruit for holiday celebrations. Available at Amazon.

7. Fun Christmas Ornaments

So pretty and realistic I kinda want to eat them. These Kurt Adler Italian cookie ornaments are just the thing to add a little sweet whimsy to a cookie lover’s or baker’s Christmas tree. Available at Amazon.

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Splurge-Worthy Gifts for Chefs and Serious Home Cooks: $100 and up

A few thoughtful, pricier gift ideas for the cooking lover in your life. These great gifts for cooks and chefs fall into the category of “What to get the cook who has everything?,” and are designed to impress and indulge loved ones who take their cooking — and eating — seriously. Think artisanal cookware, professional-grade gear, and experiences that elevate the kitchen and cooking experience.

Professional-Grade Cookware, Appliances & Chef Tools

Items like heirloom-quality pots, next-level knives, and standout kitchen dear every home chef dreams about.

1. A Proper Espresso Maker

For the home cook or coffee nerd who is ready to level up their morning beverage, a high-quality countertop espresso machine may be just the thing. This one gets great reviews, looks sleek, and won’t take up a ton of space. Available at Amazon and Crate & Barrel.

2. A Better Go-To Kitchen Knife

A Global santoku knife is an everyday cooking workhorse: slice, dice, chop, you name it. This is my personal go-to knife in my own kitchen, and is used by many professional chefs and home cooks alike. These Japanese steel knives are balanced, light, ultra-sharp, handle great, and will last forever and then some. Available at Amazon and Crate & Barrel.

3. A Genius Cooling Rack

This handy invention from pro chef Laura Briscoe (who is one of the most dynamic, passionate people I’ve met) combines ingenuity and practicality: a space-saving, countertop sheet pan rack so home chefs can stack multiple sheet pans of cookies, roasted vegetables, and so on — and save counter space. Best of all? It folds up after use so it can be stored away neatly. Available at Laurasgourmet.com.

4. A Kitchen Aid Pasta Attachment

A KitchenAid mixer is a gift that keeps on giving. Not everyone knows that KitchenAid mixers can be outfitted with front attachments, like this pasta attachment for fresh lasagna and long noodles like linguine and spaghetti. I received this as a gift several years ago, and it is one of my favorite kitchen tools. Available at KitchenAid and Amazon.

5. An Updated Dutch Oven

The little 3.5-quart cast-iron Dutch oven from Great Jones feels like the cool younger sister of traditional Le Creuset Dutch ovens (which we also love — a lot). It comes in a bunch of cute colors. Sturdy meets chic. They also make a larger version, the Dutchess. Available at Great Jones. I own this exact pot in green and love it for stews and soups.

6. Ooni Pizza Oven

Want to turn your home into an authentic Italian pizza kitchen in minutes? You need an Ooni pizza oven. Ooni has options for electric, wood, gas, and multi-fuel ovens that can heat to a whopping 950 degrees Fahrenheit in about 15 to 20 minutes. The electric one can even be used indoors, perfect for satisfying any winter pizzaiola. Available at Ooni.

Elegant Gifts for Entertaining

From silver pitchers to artisan table linens, these pieces make hosting holiday dinners and beyond feel extra special.

1. Special Table Linens

A tablecloth adds something special to any dinner gathering. I first discovered French-brand Souleiado in the South of France, and have collected a few table linens since. This Provence-based company still employs traditional Indienne and Southern French patterns and printing methods to product beautiful, Provençal linens that will last a lifetime. Available at Souleiado.com.

2. A Stunning Pitcher

Sleek, elegant, timeless — Georg Jensen always delivers. This pitcher will enhance any dining table, and would also make an extraordinary vase for greens or flowers. Available at Georg Jensen.

3. A Deep-Dish Pottery Pie Plate

I love a beautiful piece of pottery. Vermont-based Farmhouse Pottery is a longtime favorite of mine for hand-thrown mugs, serving pieces, and more. This sturdy deep-dish pie plate says homey and baked with love. It’s a special heirloom piece the baker in your life deserves. Available at Farmhouse Pottery.

4. An Heirloom Pasta Bowl

Italian company Vietri takes pride in their longstanding tradition of hand-painted pasta bowls, serving platters, and more. For a food lover and home cook who appreciates the art of a good family-style pasta meal, a sturdy, rustically charming pasta serving bowl makes a special gift.

Food-Inspired Lifestyle Gifts

Beyond the kitchen, these food-themed finds bring culinary style into everyday life.

1. A Fancy Wine Tote

Dinner party guests, picnic lovers, and restaurant BYOB goers alike can travel to the meal in serious style with this leather two-bottle wine tote from Mark & Graham. (Note the separate pouch for the bottle opener.) This is a fabulous gift for serious wine lovers. Monograming available. Available at Mark & Graham.

2. Food-Themed Pajamas

A hardworking home cook deserves a beautiful night’s rest, especially in nice pajamas. Bedhead’s comfy, stretch jersey “Let’s Do Brunch” pajama print features breakfast foods, champagne, and flowers. This happy apple print pajama set is also a top pick. Available at BedHead.com.

3. A Food-Themed Charm for a Charm Bracelet or Necklace

Beware: You may will fall down the rabbit hole browsing Rembrandt Charms’ collection of food-themed jewelry charms, including vegetables, candy, kitchen utensils, and more. Available in different metals to suit price ranges (from silver to pure gold). Available at Rembrandt Charms.

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The Best Kid-Friendly Cooking Gifts

Great gifts for home cooks doesn’t just mean grownups. Young chefs will love these gifts designed to inspire creativity and make children feel like real cooks.

1. A High-Quality Kids Knife

Here’s a high-quality children’s knife that actually works, with a grip designed just for small hands. This comes in three colors, and will have any child chopping and slicing right beside the grownups. Price around $39. Available at Amazon and Sur la Table.

2. The Children’s Cookbook “Bible”

America’s Test Kitchen’s essential Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs is filled with over 100 recipes for kid-friendly food that isn’t dumbed-down, like fluffy buttermilk pancakes, turkey meatballs in homemade tomato sauce, and tacos. This has been a best-seller for years, and deservedly so. Price around $9-19. Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

3. A Children’s Apron, Just Like the Pros Use

We’ve featured always-outstanding Hedley & Bennett aprons in our grown-up kitchen gift guides over the years. But the children’s aprons are just as outstanding. They’re well made, come in great prints, and designed to stand up to even the messiest cooking projects. Price around $52 to $66. Available at Hedley & Bennett.

4. A Rockstar Lunch Box

Your kid will look like a total rockstar — and be the envy of the cafeteria — with this lunchbox designed just like a guitar case. It fits plenty, and kids can decorate it with stickers or drawings as they like. Price around $19. Available at Amazon.

5. Mini Waffle Maker

Is this cute? This nonstick mini waffle iron makes an adorable addition to any home cook’s toolbox. It gets too hot for kids to use alone, but this could make a fun gift for a parent-child breakfast project, and comes in many colors. Price around $12. Available on Amazon and Target.

6. A High-Quality Children’s Kitchen Set

Melissa & Doug is the go-to brand when it comes to well-made children’s toys that spark imagination. Bonus: minimal plastic. Their children’s kitchen set comes complete with oven, stove, microwave, sink, refrigerator with working ice dispenser, storage cabinets, and more. Price around $139. Available at Amazon.

Rounding Out the 2025 Guide to Great Gifts for Cooks and Food Lovers

No matter who’s on your list (pro chef, passionate home cook, or a major foodie) this 2025 holiday gift guide gives you all of the year’s great gifts for home cooks and holiday gifts for foodies. From playful stocking stuffers to splurge-worthy kitchen tools, these smile-making gifts will delight, inspire, and make every meal a little more special this holiday season.

This article was originally published in December 2023. Updated: 2024 and November 2025. Prices are approximate, reflect the time of publication, and may vary.