The best gifts for the chef (or anyone who loves cooking at home!)

There’s something uniquely joyful about picking up special gifts for your loved ones. The way their faces light up at the perfect item, or the perfect card, or the perfect cookie brings a sort of elation that you just can’t achieve in any other way. So, whenever possible, I throw myself into the joys of gift-giving. I’ll track down the perfect set of toys, the perfect handmade bowl, or the perfect gifts for the chef, like kitchen gadgets and small appliances.

There are people who cook at home, and then there are at-home chefs. It’s a wide division, and one that I’m at the far end of. While I’m a completely proficient cook, I don’t come anywhere near the chef title.

Despite that, however, my ideal gifts for the chef are really just things that I love or want. If you’re going to be in the kitchen for a while (and cooking dinner every day definitely counts as “a while,”) having the right tools really does make a world of difference. They aren’t a substitute for skill or practice, but they can and do elevate the experience! Get ready to get a fine veggie cut, some non-bruised herbs, and a really easy one-pot meal on the table.

Top tools for the chef 

Buying a great tool for your experienced, at-home chef doesn’t have to break the bank. A high-quality chef’s knife is a simple way to upgrade your loved one’s tools, or add to their ever-growing collection.

I know a few chefs who insist that Japanese steel is the very best, but honestly? For many of us, that’s more posturing than anything else. Most Japanese steel is hard but brittle, with a thin edge: ideal for fine work but less than optimal for being a workhorse. German or Swiss steel, on the other hand, will be slightly softer with a thicker blade profile. Japanese knives offer a more precise cut, but German steel handles more forceful tasks far better. I personally love a German Santoku, which is a class of knives with a curved tip that tend to need infrequent sharpening.

Why a Santoku? Well—personal preference, really. Most chefs will lean either towards a  Santoku or a chef’s knife as their primary kitchen tool, so have a peek at your home chef’s knife kit if you can! I grew up solely using chef’s knives, and found them to be unwieldy and difficult to manage. The first time I held a Santoku, I knew immediately that it was a better fit for my wary hands. It felt like a natural extension of my forearm with its snub tip, while 8+-inch pointy chef’s knives have always felt like giant swords to me.

My knife skills improved practically overnight as I adapted to the new dimensions of a knife that was better suited for me. For home chefs who worry about pricking themselves with a knife, Santokus are great. For home chefs who love to precisely pierce ingredients, chef’s knives are perfect. (And hey, if your home chef already has a full knife block, why not look into sharpening stones instead?)

Cast iron gifts for the chef

I’m a huge fan of cast iron in the kitchen, and it’s not difficult to understand why. Cast iron is great at providing an even cooking surface that’s nigh-indestructible. Each cast iron pan develops its own unique seasoning, and a well-seasoned pan can have incredible non-stick qualities. While many chefs are picky about their cast iron pans and will keep them for years, you have a little more gifting flexibility with novelty cast iron cookware, like pizza pans and enamelled cast iron. Staub is a wonderful brand to search for if you’d like to gift someone with a beautiful piece of cast iron that will last for generations, and offers eye-catching pieces in different finishes to match any kitchen.

As much as I love cast iron, however, my heart lies with a great, stainless steel cookware set. I’ve reviewed the Cuisinart 11-Piece Hand Hammered Stainless Steel Cookware Set before, and the weighting and styling of each piece is just incredibly spot-on.

I find that I get a much more even heat distribution with stainless steel, and I prefer it for searing meat or sautéing certain veggies. But cast iron holds heat better, and it’s so much easier to clean—with a good patina, your food slides right off after frying or under hot water.

If you have the space in your kitchen for it, my vote is always to make sure your home chef has both stainless steel for steaks and cast iron for cornbread and scrambled eggs. (For home chefs who may not be able to lift heavy cast iron and stainless steel pans, try gifting them carbon steel instead. Carbon steel pans and woks are harder to find, but they’re light, thin, and also form an amazing, non-stick finish.)

Hardworking stand mixers

A professional-grade stand mixer can be to a baker what a great knife is to a chef. These tools from KitchenAid are perfect for chefs who bridge the divide, and they’re great gifts for big occasions like milestone birthdays and festive holidays.

KitchenAid offers the most popular consumer stand mixers on the market. These iconic mixers feature strong motors, easy-to-clean attachments, and sleek lines for at-home use, which makes them perfect for big gifts. They’ll help minimize exertion while maximizing consistency, but what makes them truly special is that they aren’t just stand mixers. Think of a KitchenAid like a motor covered in a glossy cage: a multi-purpose tool that’s going to do a lot more for you than just make cookies.

With a couple of attachments, a KitchenAid can be a big part of your cooking process, too. (They’re not just for baked goods!) You can use a mixer and its attachments to make pasta, spiralize veggies, grate cheese, grind meat, fill sausages, and slice veggies. Different bowls can make ice cream or heat chocolate, and dough hooks can knead bread. They’re also a great tool to transition into a more conscious workspace, allowing your chef to grind their own raw, organic pet food or spin themselves some fresh zucchini noodles from your backyard bounty.

Gifts for the chef who loves to batch cook

One of the things I like to say about giving a great gift is that the best thing you can give someone is time.

Chest freezers are a great way to do that. They’re super-sized for batch cooking, which can help your recipient get meals and ingredients prepped and ready all at once. I love a chest freezer because they give me the space to make 60 sour cabbage rolls all in one day without having to then eat ten of them a day for the next six days out of the fridge, but they’re definitely useful beyond that! They’re great for storing bulk purchases, like large amounts of free-range meat that you’re getting directly from a local butcher or farmer. (Local bison was a big part of my childhood here in Alberta—we liked that it was more ethical and more affordable.)

Even if you’re not buying groceries for your family in bulk, a high-quality chest freezer or upright freezer can help you streamline your life and lower your grocery bill. It’s so efficient to be able to batch cook for your family on a monthly basis and just pull meals directly out of the freezer. (Anyone who has ever spent 15 minutes digging to the bottom of a chest freezer will quickly see why!) I also love keeping pre-prepped ingredients in my freezer; things that take a long time but you use often, like caramelized onions or shallots. Best Buy’s Freezer Buying Guide is an awesome place to start if you’re looking for a great freezer to spoil a home chef with.

Spoil the chef in your life 

Finally, let’s close out this gift guide with one really big-ticket gift idea. The ultimate gift for the experienced home chef, in my opinion, isn’t a kitchen implement: it’s a brand new, ultra-luxe range.

To seriously treat the at-home chef in your home, consider upgrading a major kitchen appliance to make their life a little easier (and more luxurious).

As far as gifts go, I’m a big fan of induction stovetops. Again, it’s all about time—and induction will save you a lot of it. Induction ranges are easy to clean, heat up quickly, and are very responsive to controls, shaving a few minutes off of your cooking time each day. Look to Café and Bosch for some of the very best, with top of the line features and design.

Another great, gift-worthy major appliance to spoil your home chef are ranges from Samsung and KitchenAid, who offer beautiful ranges with unique features including dual-door ovens, multiple temperature zones, and seamless cabinet-front designs.

Start shopping for the best gifts for the chef today

A new knife, chest freezer, or heavy-duty stand mixer are gifts that any chef would swoon over, and a stunning kitchen range is something that most home chefs only salivate over in their dreams.

To say “thank you” to your favourite home chef and help create a kitchen that they’ll love more with every passing day, shop small appliances at Best Buy for any gifting occasion.