For the kitchen magicians
Everyone has that special person on their holiday gift list: the amateur chef, the passionate baker, the individual who has their winning MasterChef Canada speech already prepared.
Even if your friends don’t love to cook, who doesn’t enjoy something delicious to nibble on? Or sip, for that matter? Here are some great gift ideas for the foodies in your life.
POT DISPENSARY
Make this the year your favourite cook finally replaces all the battered, scratched and dented cookware in the cupboard with highquality pieces, starting with AllClad’s terrific new pouring stock pot. This stainless steel pot comes with a locking lid and helper handle that allows you to pour liquid out while keeping the good stuff in. Available at gourmet retailers, $480. all-clad.ca
SWEET STUFF
Here’s something delicious for your sweetie to wake up to: Cosman & Webb organic, single-forest maple syrup from Quebec’s Eastern Townships. A 375 mL bottle retails for $14, available through Etsy. etsy. com
SKILLS SET
Give the person you love the skills t hey crave with one of Le Cordon Bleu’s short courses. The Ottawa campus of the internationally renowned cooking school offers a wide range of programs for passionate amateurs. These hand- on sessions cover everything from knife skills to cooking with bacon to making French tarts. Tuition is $192.10 for a four- hour program. cordonbleu. edu/ottawa/en
COCKTAIL CULTURE
Wine is fine, but the cool kids know it’s all about the cocktail these days. Put together a gift pack of great bar tools: Japanese cocktail shaker in trendy rose gold, $ 180, teardrop bar spoon, $ 25, Yarai mixing glass, $55, Hawthorne strainer, $ 40, and other accoutrements, all available from Cocktail Emporium, cocktailemporium. ca. And make sure to include a gift pack of award- winning Bittered Sling bitters, $ 50, bitteredsling. com.
APPLIANCES THAT WORK
They do the chopping, mixing, puréeing and kneading so you don’t have to. Cuisinart’s 12- or 14cup food processors, starting at around $250, cuisinart.ca, and the colourful five- quart KitchenAid Artisan stand mixer, starting at around $ 450, kitchenaid. ca, are still widely considered the best countertop appliances for home cooks and bakers. Available at gourmet retailers across Canada.
GREAT GRAINS
Discover just how good farmdirect lentils, quinoa, chickpeas and wheat berries from the Canadian Prairies can taste, thanks to Vancouver- based Grain. Prices range from $8.95 for a box of wheat berries to $11.95 for golden quinoa. And, should you wish to mill your own grains, the KoMo stone mill is the gadget you need, $ 499. eatgrain.ca
CUTTING EDGE
Every cook needs a good knife, and Japan produces the very best. Find a huge range of them at Calgary- based Knifewear, ranging in price from $ 65 to $ 1,500, knifewear. com. Pack those beautiful blades in a distressed leather knife roll made to order by Vancouver’s Divina Denuevo, $ 438 and up, available through Etsy, etsy.com.
CHARMED, I’ M SURE
What could be sweeter than a pretty foodie charm? We love Tiffany & Co.’s cupcake charm, in 18- karat white and yellow gold sprinkled with colourful gemstones. It would be so sweet dangling from a bracelet or a necklace. Find it for $2,350 at tiffany.ca.
A CUTE CUPPA
Make it easy for the tea lover in your life to brew and savour a proper cuppa with Indigo’s Perfect Tea Mugs, $ 22.50. These ceramic cups come with a strainer insert for loose tea leaves and are available in festive designs like cheerful holiday plaid. indigo.ca
HOME ON THE RANGE
If there’s one thing any serious cook really wants, it’s a new range. One of the hottest new trends is the French door oven, with practical doors that swing open to the sides for easy access. You can find the style in top brands such as American Range, La Cornue and the sleek GE Monogram wall oven, which retails for $6,549. geappliances.ca
AND ONE MORE ...
Even the most crowded bookshelf can always squeeze one more volume in — and a good thing, too, because 2016 was a great year for cookbooks that are both practical and beautiful. Just a few to consider: Diana Henry’s Simple: Effortless Food, Big Flavors; Anthony Bourdain’s Appetites; Naomi Duguid’s Taste of Persia; and new books from perennial favourites Vikram Vij, Anna Olson, Michael Smith and the editors of Food 52.