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Gift Picks from Star Chefs

Gift Picks from Star Chefs

By Food & Wine

Updated March 08, 2017

Photo courtesy of Capezzana.

Here, star chefs reveal their favorite holiday gifts to give, from the perfect measuring cup to a mail-order coffee subscription.

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American Caviar

Photo courtesy of Browne Trading Co.

Mote Marine farms sturgeon caviar in Florida. "It's subtle in flavor and elegant in texture, like Iranian caviar." $95 per oz; brownetrading.com.—Zakary Pelaccio, Fish & Game, Hudson, NY

Best Extravagant Gifts for Food Lovers

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Heavy-Duty Sheet Pan

Photo courtesy of Sur La Table

Quarter-sheet pans: That's what chefs call these 9-by-13-inch workhorses. "No pro kitchen could do without them." $20; surlatable.com—Thomas McNaughton, Central Kitchen, San Francisco

Gifts for Artisanal Types

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Pasta Tools

Photo courtesy of Artisanal Pasta Tools

This traditional cavarola pasta board and pin are carved by hand in Sonoma. "Perfecting fresh pasta is one of a cook's greatest achievements." $75; artisanalpastatools.com.—Matt Jennings, Farmstead, Providence

Beautiful Kitchen Tools

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Japanese Knife

Photo courtesy of Korin

"Lighter and more flexible than Western knives, models like this Misono are ideal for chopping delicate ingredients." From $84; korin.com.—Kristen Kish, Menton, Boston

Best Kitchen Knives

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Cast-Iron Pan

Photo courtesy of Staub

"You can't beat it for durability. I use vintage Griswold; Staub is also wonderful." From $145; williams-sonoma.com.—Jenn Louis, Lincoln, Portland, OR

Best Gifts Over $100

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Smoker

Photo courtesy of BBQGuys.com

"The Smokin Tex electric model is great when you don't have all day or all night to tend a fire." $609; bbqguys.com.—Jason Vincent, Nightwood, Chicago

The Best Grilling Equipment

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Italian Feast

Photo © Francesco Sapienza

Mario Batali picks the best from his incredible store Eataly to create these gift collections. $99;eataly.com .—Mario Batali, Eataly, Babbo, Esca, Lupa, Otto; New York City

Great Hostess Gifts

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Gluten-Free Sweets

Photo courtesy of DANIEL and The Dinex Group

Daniel Boulud probably didn't think much about gluten-free cooking before his daughter went GF. Épicerie Boulud, his New York City market and bakery, now ships gluten-free caramel peanut brittle and other sweets nationwide. $79; epicerieboulud.com.—Daniel Boulud, Daniel, Café Boulud, DBGB; New York City

Gluten-Free Desserts to Make at Home

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DIY Tapas

Photo courtesy of ThinkFoodGroupJosé Andrés has teamed up with some of the best food artisans in Spain for his new line. "These are the snacks I grew up eating. I would serve the tuna belly ($20) on bread with a bit of tomato and have the olives ($6) with a glass of wine." joseandresfoods.com.

José Andrés has teamed up with some of the best food artisans in Spain for his new line. "These are the snacks I grew up eating. I would serve the tuna belly($17) on bread with a bit of tomato and have the olives ($5) with a glass of wine." joseandresfoods.com.—José Andrés, minibar, Jaleo; Washington, DC

José Andrés's Barcelona Holiday Trip

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Coffee Subscription and Brewer

Photo courtesy of Tonx.org, courtesy of Chemex Corp.

“I travel a ton, and as much as I want to support all my local people, I love that I get fantastically roasted coffee in the mail. Chemex brewers are only about 40 bucks; they make this pure, simple cup that eschews all the technology to give you the nuances in the coffee really well. Everybody makes fun of being a geek with food or coffee, but now people are just realizing hey, geeks do a lot of things better” (brewer, $48 at amazon.com; subscription, from $28 for two shipments at B lue Bottle).—Hugh Acheson

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The Gray Kunz Spoon

Photo courtesy of Gray Kunz.

“At the restaurant, we can’t have an employee without a Kunz spoon in their knife kit—they need to have one to plate on the line. Gray Kunz designed them when he was at Lespinasse. It’s the perfect-size spoon for everything—saucing, plating, scooping—it’s kind of amazing” ($5.50; jbprince.com).—Scott Conant, Scarpetta

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Winter Truffles

Photo courtesy of Plantin.

“I love to give friends a single, fresh, black winter truffle from the Perigord. The French truffle company Plantin always has the best black winter Perigord truffles on the market” ($45 per ounce; plantin-truffle.com).—Fabio Trabocchi, Fiola

F&W's Christmas Gift Guide

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Cocktail Bitters

Photo © Phil Jimcosky.

“I just started using a new pimento bitters from Dale DeGroff that I love. It’s like Angostura on steroids. It’s perfectly imagined, it gives you the sense it’s been on the market for 100 years” ($13; kingcocktail.com).—David Page, Shinn Estate Vineyards and Farmhouse

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Sheep's Milk Ice Cream

Photo © Rochelle Higgins, Negranti Dairy.

“I recently discovered Negranti Dairy’s sheep’s-milk ice cream in Paso Robles, California; but they also ship their products nationally. They make clever, farm-fresh flavors like salted brown sugar, raw honey, and strawberry-basil. I’m also intrigued by the health benefits of sheep’s milk: They say it’s higher in protein and lower in saturated fats, and more easily digested than cow’s milk. And for people like myself who are lactose intolerant, we’re able to enjoy it more” ($65 for six 16 oz. pints; negrantidairy.com).—Jeff Cerciello, farmshop

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Sparkling Wine

Photo courtesy of Roederer Etsate.

“Roederer Estate is fantastic, especially for the price” ($22; astorwines.com).—Shawn McClain, Green Zebra

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Bacon of the Month Club

Photo courtesy of Zingerman's.

“I’m a big fan of the Zingerman’s bacon of the month club. I’ve been subscribing to it for about 10 years. I first got it as a gift from my staff. And then I probably do it for 8 to 10 people a year—it depends on how much I like them!” ($100 for 3 months; zingermans.com). —Michael Symon, Lola

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Meat Slicer

Photo courtesy of Consiglio's.

“Every house should have a meat slicer. There’s a great Italian one sold by a company in Canada called Consiglio’s for just a few hundred bucks” ($450; consiglioskitchenware.com).—Ethan Stowell, How to Cook A Wolf

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Infused Olive Oil

Photo courtesy of Amazon.com.

“I love Agrumato lemon olive oil. I’m usually not a huge fan of flavored oils, but this company does it really well. It’s nice for finishing fish or vegetables, and is not overly expensive” ($23; amazon.com).—Jenn Louis, Lincoln

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Cast-Iron Pan

Photo courtesy of Lodge Manufacturing.

“Lodge is local to us in Tennessee, and a cast-iron pan, unlike most pans, lasts pretty much 100 years if you keep it in good shape. They’re inexpensive, and they get better with age” ($19; amazon.com).—Hugh Acheson, The National

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Victorinox Paring Knives

Photo courtesy of Victorinox.

“They’re always so sharp, and they’re lightweight and feel good in the hand, they’re ideal for small jobs. Plus if I lose one or one gets dull, they’re so cheap I just get another. You don’t have to carry them in a special protective case like you do with bigger chef’s knives” ($5; webstaurantstore.com).—Malika Ameen, ByMDesserts

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Texas BBQ

Photo courtesy of Sonny Bryan.

“People don’t always know but you can mail order Sonny Bryan’s BBQ. If you want terrific smoked Texas-style BBQ for a fantastic holiday spread (and who wouldn’t), they’re my favorite in town” ($115 to $140, feeds 12 to 15 people; sonnybryans.com).—Dean Fearing, Fearing’s

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Knife Sharpener

Photo courtesy of Fiskars.

“I like to give something super convenient I use at my house—not my restaurant—to sharpen my knives: a Fiskars knife sharpener. One of those sharpeners that you set on the counter, you rock your knife back and forth 10 times and you’ve got an edge again. It doesn’t hurt the knife. Purists say you’ve got to have a whetstone, and that’s what we do in the restaurant. But for the home cook that doesn’t have 20 minutes to sharpen a knife?” ($10; amazon.com).—Grant Achatz, Alinea

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Pyrex Measuring Cup

Photo courtesy of Pyrex.

“Liquids should always be measured in a transparent measuring cup and this old faithful is the best. Plus you can use it to melt chocolate in a microwave” ($10; amazon.com).—Dorie Greenspan, Buerre & Sel

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Combination Timer-Thermometer

“I love my timer. I have one by Polder that’s also a thermometer—I use both all the time” ($19; a mazon.com).—Kevin Sbraga, Sbraga

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Jams and Chutneys

Photo courtesy of Aksha Restaurant.

“We make a lot of jams and chutneys at the restaurant. I like jam, but chutney’s more special and versatile—you can eat it with cheese, chicken, pork” (from $7 each; shop.akasharestaurant.com).—Akasha Richmond, Akasha

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Peanut Butter Cups

Photo courtesy of Harbor Candy Shop.

“We’ve been sending our regular customers chocolates from The Harbor Candy Shop in Ogunquit, Maine for a while now. They make everything themselves, and it’s all fantastic. Their peanut butter cups are my favorite: theirs have a thick layer of chocolate around real, fresh peanut butter” ($25; harborcandy.com).—Marc Vetri, Vetri

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Freshly Pressed Olive Oil

Photo courtesy of Capezzana.

“Every year I give Capezzana Olio Nuovo with a big chunk of organic Parmigiano-Reggiano. I love Capezzana because it’s so grassy and fresh and has this pepperiness, it just wakes up my senses” ($53; cybercucina.com).—Maria Helm Sinskey, Robert Sinskey Vineyards

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Gift Picks from Star Chefs

1 of 27

American Caviar

1 of 27

2 of 27

Heavy-Duty Sheet Pan

2 of 27

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Pasta Tools

3 of 27

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Japanese Knife

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Cast-Iron Pan

5 of 27

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Smoker

6 of 27

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Italian Feast

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Gluten-Free Sweets

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DIY Tapas

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Coffee Subscription and Brewer

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The Gray Kunz Spoon

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Winter Truffles

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Cocktail Bitters

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Sheep's Milk Ice Cream

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Sparkling Wine

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Bacon of the Month Club

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Meat Slicer

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Infused Olive Oil

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Cast-Iron Pan

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Victorinox Paring Knives

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Texas BBQ

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Knife Sharpener

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Pyrex Measuring Cup

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Combination Timer-Thermometer

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Jams and Chutneys

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Peanut Butter Cups

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