36 Splurge-Worthy Food and Kitchen Gifts for People You REALLY Love

Searching for the perfect presents for my food-loving friends and family is one of my favorite activities, and it’s even better if I’ve got a big budget. Sure, you don’t have to spend a lot to find good gifts for the cooks in your life, but it's certainly fun to splash out a little. Below, I’ve compiled a list of the 36 best, Serious Eats-approved splurge-worthy food gifts. Every item has been tested, approved, and recommended by my colleagues and me. Don’t forget the gift wrap! 

Kitchen Essentials for Serious Cooks

Dutch ovens are iconic, but I’ve gotta tell you: I use my Le Creuset braiser so much more often. With a wide, shallow cooking surface, it’s perfect for cooking golden-brown chicken thighs, finishing pasta in sauce, and simmering meatballs. I also use it regularly to make skillet desserts, like crumbles and crisps. The five-quart size costs around $300, but it comes with a lifetime warranty, and its enamel glaze is practically indestructible. If I could influence you to buy just one thing on this list, it’d be this amazing pot.  

Thick end-grain cutting boards don’t just look snazzy on a countertop. They actually keep knives sharper for longer than edge-grain wood fibers. That’s why they cost a lot. (Well, that and it requires a lot of wood and labor to make them!) But I’ve never met a cook who hasn’t gone misty-eyed over a good end-grain board, and The Boardsmith is the best. It’s also customizable—you can add feet, a juice groove, or finger grooves for carrying. 

Want to really impress the knife nerd in your life? Get them a carbon steel knife. Carbon steel blades, which have a high wear resistance and stay sharper for longer, can also be visually striking. (They’re the kind of knives you want to display on a magnetic rack proudly.) This one, made by Shun, has a birch wood handle and a blade that’s made by layering two different steels in a Damascus pattern. It’s a gift that will be cherished forever.

This smooth cast iron skillet is pure luxury to cook with. It weighs just a little over four pounds, making it much more manageable to use than many other, heavier cast iron pans. It’s pre-seasoned and slick, so you can cook with it straight out of the box. Plus, it has a pretty bronze hue that’ll wow them as they unbox it. (Like all good cast iron pans, it will become black with use.)

We don’t typically recommend cookware sets. Too often, they contain filler pieces and aren’t very good quality. Not so with this 10-piece All-Clad D3 set. All-Clad’s pots and pans have topped many of our reviews, including stainless steel skillets. This set comes with two (8.5- and 10.5-inches). This tri-ply set is durable, has great heat retention, and, in addition to those two skillets, comes with a 1.5-quart saucepan, three-quart saucepan, three-quart sauté pan, and eight-quart stockpot with lid.

Okay, one more cookware set recommendation—and this is a really good one. These pans heat fast and evenly, with no edge-to-center difference in temperature. Unlike every other copper set we tested, this one's skillet didn't tarnish when used over high heat. (They can withstand temps up to 680˚F.) Copper cookware is a special investment for a serious cook, and there's no better set than this one.

Pricier serving platters are the kind of thing you might not buy yourself, but you'll absolutely use. This is also what makes them a great gift. This trio from Williams Sonoma has lovely, wide, looped handles.

Snazzy Electric Appliances

I immediately got this blender after testing it. With 10 presets, including nut butters and spice grinding, the Vitamix Ascent X5 pushes the boundaries of what a blender can do. It’s discreetly luxurious with special upgrades like a removable tamper holder and smart technology that tells you when to tamp. It’s a truly special gift for the cook who appreciates the little things.

As useful as they are, most air fryers aren’t very attractive. The ClearCook Air Fryer is an upgraded version of our overall favorite from Instant. It has the same intuitive control panel and roomy fry basket, but boasts a sleek window in the front panel that allows you to check food without opening it up. It has six settings (air fry, roast, broil, bake, reheat, dehydrate) and can get as hot as 400˚F.

We recommend a few of Breville’s air fryer toaster ovens, but this is the crème de la crème. It achieves what very few combo toaster ovens can: It’s a great air fryer and excellent stand-in for a traditional oven. It has a large cooking chamber and tons of presets that help you achieve the perfect bake or fry. The cherry on the cake (or should I say, the Buffalo sauce on the chicken wings) is its app connectivity—you can monitor and control it right from your smartphone.

The bowl-lift feature is what sets this stand mixer apart. (It’s the preferred mechanism among professional bakers, as opposed to the tilt-head style.) It has a very generous seven-quart capacity—certainly enough for a triple batch of holiday cookies—and comes with extra stainless steel attachments that won’t crack or break. I’m willing to bet the serious baker in your life wants this stand mixer, even if they haven’t said so yet.

A food processor is useful. A food processor with nine attachments is versatile. The 16-Cup Paradice comes with three slicing discs, three blades, and three dicing blades. It can be used for grating cheese, creating perfect slices of potatoes, mixing dough, and emulsifying sauces. And like all Breville appliances, the Paradice has a chic stainless steel finish that would look good in a variety of kitchens. 

Gear for Grillers and Pizza People

This gas grill has a whopping 787 square inches of cooking space—it’s a fantastic option for grillers who regularly feed a crowd (or just a hungry family). It has three burners plus an extra-hot sear burner for finishing steaks to perfection. The large side tables are big enough to hold a sheet pan. Most impressively, this grill comes with a 12-year warranty and Weber’s top-notch customer service. 

We’ve tested almost every Traeger grill on the market, and we think this splurge is worth it. The Timberline functions like an outdoor kitchen—it can simmer, bake, grill, and, of course, smoke. The Timberline is the answer to grillers who think pellet smokers don’t offer a lot of oomph: With a Super Smoke function, you can inject even more flavor into whatever you’re cooking. It offers 880 square inches of cooking space and has an extra roomy hopper that you won’t have to refill that often. Put a bow on top of this Traeger if you want to make somebody’s entire year.

In our tests, the Gozney Arc made incredible pizza. The secret to its success? A huge flame that arcs from the side to the top of the oven, cooking the entire pie before you can say, “Hand me that pizza peel!” This is one of our winning pizza ovens and an editor-favorite, and the XL is big enough to handle pizza for a crowd. With a cream-colored matte finish, it’s a looker.

Moving a full cooler can feel like a full-body workout, which is why most of our favorites have wheels. This Yeti is large, but not too big, making it perfect for an overnight getaway or a day at the beach. Of course, it has great cold retention, too.

This fire pit churns out tons of heat with very little smoke. My colleague Grace tested it and was impressed with the adjustable grate, which could be moved closer to the fire for searing or lifted for low-and-slow grilling. It has a wide opening and rims that make adding logs feel safe. It’s a splurgy option, but well worth it for cooks who live for backyard hangs. 

Smart, Techy Gadgets

Immersion circulators keep water at a precise temperature while your food cooks. But most take a long time to heat up. Splurge a little, though, and you can get the Anova Culinary Precision Cooker Pro. In our tests, it heated a water bath in 32 minutes—that’s less than half the time of other sous vide machines we tested. It’s app-compatible and has a big, bright onboard display. At 1,200 watts, it’s the most powerful immersion circulator we recommend.

Our entire team loves the Thermapen ONE. We’ve been recommending it for years because it registers temperatures faster than any other instant-read thermometer we’ve tested (in just a second or two in most cases). Its screen automatically rotates 90 and 270 degrees, so you can clearly read it, no matter how it’s situated. I’ve owned my ONE for four years, and it’s still as fast, accurate, and bright as ever. I’ve gifted many of these to family and friends, and they are always appreciated.

My colleagues and I have been testing espresso machines for years. We have recommended many impressive machines, but I think the Oracle Jet is the most giftable. It has a built-in grinder, and the touchscreen walks you through every step of the process. This machine weighs, grinds, and tamps your beans, and creates the perfect espresso (or espresso-based drink). And it’s not just for beginners: My boyfriend, who owns a café, was so impressed by the Oracle Jet that we now use a larger version of it at home.

Nothing says “quiet luxury” like a sleek electric wine opener. (Okay, maybe having a personal sommelier to open the bottle for you. But the gadget comes close.) The Peugeot was leaps and bounds better than any electric opener we tested. Its corkscrew entered the center of the cork every time, with no crumbled corks or false starts. Using it is a sleek, quiet, and seamless experience. Pair the gift with a wine subscription, and you’re guaranteed a thank-you card.  

When we first tested induction cooktops, we hesitated to recommend this one. It’s our favorite—and the one we use in our test kitchen—but it’s pricey. However, after a recent round of additional testing, we added it to our winners’ list. We don’t gatekeep! The Control Freak shows the target and current temperatures, so you always know exactly how hot the surface is. In addition to specific temperatures, you can set three intensity levels. If you’re serious about induction cooking, this is the burner to buy.

There is nothing like this countertop oven. It’s made to identify whatever food you put in it and suggest cooking presets. When Grace tested it, the Anova successfully ID’d chicken, frozen pizza, and bread slices. There’s a steam feature, too: It’s a clever idea for making extra-tender vegetables, but it’s really useful for bread bakers. (Steam helps create crisp crusts and tender bread!) Of course, there’s an information-rich app to help you make the most of your purchase.

Gourmet Food & Entertaining Gifts

Marky's Caviar is a trusted name in the biz (the caviar biz, that is). About 25 years ago, Marky's imported beluga, sevruga, and sterlet broodstock to breed and farm their own caviar, in addition to fine imports from Italy and California and wild-caught options. The Beluga caviar is particularly good with a lightly salted flavor that lingers with notes of heavy cream. It may be pricey, but you can rest assured this is the real deal: We've done our homework and Marky's passes the test.

Natural wine is all the rage, but finding good bottles of low-intervention vino can be tricky, especially if you don’t live somewhere with an abundance of retail options. Our team loves Mysa’s natural wine clubs because the wines are always thoughtfully curated, and each shipment contains hard-to-find bottles. The mixed wine club offers a good mix of bottles, although you can opt for red-only or orange-only bottles if that’s your preference.

These wine glasses come in an array of stunning hues, including rich emerald, light pink rose, and mint. They make every glass of wine feel special, and are fun to sip nonalcoholic drinks from, too.

We recently ate our weight in steaks, pork chops, and chicken thighs to test popular meat delivery services. We recommend six, but for gifting, you can’t do better than Pat LaFrieda. The name is synonymous with good quality in New York City restaurants, and when we tried the delivery service, we were wowed by the quality (and size!) of the dry-aged ribeye we received.

Chocolate mice! What’s sweeter than that? This box of bonbons has been a longtime favorite among my colleagues. The mice are adorable in addition to being finely crafted: They come with ribbon tails and are filled with rich chocolate ganache. Each order is hand-made in New Hampshire, and includes dark chocolate with orange and almond, white chocolate with port wine and cinnamon, and milk chocolate with espresso. They’re divine.

Fresh oysters are a luxury. Fresh oysters delivered to your front door? Now that’s love. The Real Oyster Cult Monthly Membership was one of the best food subscriptions we tried. Your gift subscription includes a branded shucking glove and an oyster knife. The oysters themselves were fabulous. 

Fruit baskets are so last year. Okay, fine, they're still fabulous. But you know what also makes a show-stopping edible gift? A fully assembled charcuterie board with artisan cheeses, gourmet cured meat, and all of the little snacky stuff, like salted caramel walnuts and fancy crackers. Boarderie ships their holiday boxes as pictured, right down to the adorable cheese people and festive ribbons. They're expertly wrapped and packaged, so yours will arrive in mint condition—even if it has to sit on the porch for a few hours before your giftee receives it. It even comes with bamboo cutlery.

These glasses are for serious whiskey drinkers. They’re ideal for drinking a dram neat, as the glass’s capacity is about one-third full with a two-ounce pour. They’re made from crystal and nicely balanced, and a set of four is the perfect present with a bottle of your favorite single malt.

Everything Else

I'll admit that this one might be more aligned with a "Gifts You'll Want to Buy Yourself" list. Happy Holidays to you! This air purifier can be customized to include a filter made specifically for odor removal. This filter has activated charcoal woven through its fibers to trap stubborn odors like fried food. I’ve been using my A3 since 2023, and I can’t imagine cooking without it. Even pan-fried fish smells don’t linger past dinnertime. The aesthetically minded will appreciate that Rabbit sells additional front panels printed with artwork.

A sharp knife is nice, but a tool that empowers you to keep your knives in top shape is a wonderful gift. The Tormek knife sharpener uses an angle guide and whisper-quiet rotating stones to sharpen knives. It’s the perfect solution for cooks who don’t want to bring their knives to a professional for sharpening, but would rather not learn the intricacies of using a whetstone. My fellow editors and I don’t like most electric sharpeners, but we love the Tormek.

This is no ordinary carbonator. The InFizz Fusion can turn any liquid into a bubbly beverage: lemonade, cocktails, you name it. It uses a special cap with three valves to absorb the extra pressure that builds up when other-than-water liquids are carbonated. When I tested it, I noticed that the cap also kept drinks fizzier for longer. It’s a gorgeous appliance, too: It comes in chic colors like Damson Blue and Olive Tapenade.

I immediately put my old coffee maker in storage after testing the Ratio Six: It’s the best drip coffee maker I’ve ever used. What makes it so good? There’s a built-in bloom cycle and a well-designed showerhead that evenly saturates the coffee grounds. The water gets sufficiently hot during the brewing process (right around 200˚F), which helps bring out the nuances in the coffee beans. The result is a cup of coffee that tastes like it was brewed by a coffee professional. This is the gift to give a coffee enthusiast.

This clever mug keeps your coffee at the perfect temperature for hours—no microwaving required. The Ember Mug is designed to keep coffee (or tea) at a precise temperature—anywhere between 120º to 145˚F. It has a chic, modern aesthetic and comes in plenty of pretty colors. This mug is a favorite among our coffee-loving editors who like to sip all day long.

Why We’re the Experts

• Rochelle Bilow is an editor at Serious Eats. She’s a culinary school graduate and former line cook.
• Rochelle has been testing gear for Serious Eats since 2022 and has reviewed hundreds of products.
• She has tested and owns many of the products on this list.