Best Gifts for Chefs, Chosen by Chefs
by Lilly Bouldin
What do you buy a chef who already owns a lot of very good kitchen kit?
The best gifts for chefs aren't gadgets for the sake of it. They're clever tools, brilliant cookware and properly considered pieces of equipment that make a noticeable difference at the stove, oven or chopping board.
Best Gifts for Chefs & Serious Cooks
As the buyer at Sous Chef, I spend a lot of time talking to chefs, makers and producers – and an equally large amount of time getting slightly obsessed with what makes a piece of kitchen kit genuinely good.
For this guide, I've picked gifts that a serious cook will actually reach for, from exceptional knives and pans to precision cooking equipment and specialist baking tools.
Looking for more inspiration? Explore our kitchen knives, cookware, baking equipment and luxury gifts.
1. Best Gift for a Serious Baker
Best luxury gift for a baker
This is for the serious baker who has strong opinions about their stand mixer.
The Swedish-made Ankarsrum Assistent Original is particularly brilliant for bread. Rather than simply spinning a dough hook, its bowl rotates as the dough is worked, closely mimicking the action of kneading by hand.
It's powerful enough for substantial bread doughs but equally at home with cakes, biscuits and pastry.
Beautifully engineered and designed to last, it's the sort of piece that earns its permanent place on the worktop.
2. Best Gift for a Sourdough Baker
Best gift for someone obsessed with their sourdough starter
This is for the person whose sourdough starter has essentially become a member of the family.
Goldie creates a warm, stable environment for a sourdough starter, helping keep it in the 24–28°C 'Goldilocks Zone' where fermentation is more predictable.
Paired with Sourhouse's Starter Jar, it takes some of the guesswork out of knowing when your starter will be ready to bake with.
It's pleasingly nerdy, genuinely useful and exactly the sort of present a serious bread baker might not buy for themselves – but will quickly clear worktop space for.
3. Best Gift for a Chef Who Loves Precision
Best gift for perfect roasts and barbecues
For the cook who wants to know that medium-rare isn't a matter of opinion.
The MEATER Block includes four wireless temperature probes, allowing you to monitor several pieces of meat simultaneously without repeatedly opening the oven, barbecue or smoker.
Each probe monitors internal and ambient temperature, while the app lets the cook keep an eye on progress remotely.
It's particularly useful when you're cooking different cuts – or cooking steaks to different levels of doneness for different people.
Give it to the chef who would rather have data than guesswork.
4. Best Knife Gift for a Chef
Best knife set for serious cooks
This is a gift for the chef who will absolutely notice what their knife is made from.
Both ARC Edge knives have a powdered steel core designed to hold a very fine edge, surrounded by 73 layers of Damascus steel that create the distinctive rippled finish.
The 20cm Chef's Knife has a curved profile suited to rock-chopping, while the flatter 18cm Santoku excels at precise push-chopping.
Together, they cover an enormous amount of everyday kitchen prep without filling the knife block with blades that rarely get used.
For someone who genuinely enjoys chopping onions with an excellent knife, this is a very good present indeed.
5. Best Gift for Someone Who Takes Care of Their Knives
Best chef gift for keeping knives sharp
Buying an excellent knife is only half the job. Keeping it excellent is the other half.
The 1000-grit side of the ARC Edge Combination Whetstone restores a tired straight edge, while the finer 5000-grit side hones and polishes it.
The set also includes a stone leveller, angle guide and non-slip wooden base, making it an excellent introduction to proper whetstone sharpening.
There's something deeply satisfying about sharpening a knife properly and then feeling it glide through the skin of a tomato afterwards.
Give it to the cook who takes care of their equipment and expects it to last.
6. Best Gift for a Bread Baker
Best gift for the bread obsessive chasing the perfect crust
The Challenger Bread Pan is serious bread-baking equipment.
Its thick cast iron absorbs and radiates powerful heat, while the domed lid traps steam around the dough during the crucial first stage of baking.
That combination helps create the deeply caramelised crust, good oven spring and open scores that keen sourdough bakers are constantly chasing.
The wide, shallow base also makes transferring and scoring dough easier than lowering a loaf into a deep Dutch oven.
Give it to someone whose weekends are already dictated by bulk fermentation and proving times.
7. Best Small Gift for a Chef
Best small chef gift for cookbook lovers
For the cook who has the serious kit – and seemingly every cookbook ever published.
This organic cotton tea towel is covered with colourful hand-drawn illustrations of much-loved cookbooks, from Dishoom to Persiana.
And unlike plenty of novelty kitchen gifts, it's still a genuinely useful tea towel.
Use it to dry hands, cover proving dough or deal with the inevitable aftermath of an ambitious Saturday-afternoon cooking project.
8. Best Non-Stick Pan Gift for a Chef
Best hardworking pan set for everyday cooking
This is for the chef who expects their non-stick pans to work as hard as they do.
Scanpan HaptIQ combines a stainless steel construction with Scanpan's resilient non-stick cooking surface, giving excellent release for foods such as eggs, fish and crêpes.
The set includes 20cm and 26cm frying pans, so there's a useful size for everything from a couple of fried eggs to a larger dinner.
They're pans designed to be reached for constantly rather than saved for special occasions.
9. Best Gift for a Pasta Lover
Best chef gift for making fresh pasta
For the cook who knows there's really no such thing as just making pasta.
Imperia's classic Italian pasta machine rolls dough into beautifully even sheets ready for lasagne, filled pasta or cutting into ribbons.
There's something particularly satisfying about starting with flour and eggs and ending with a bowl of fresh pasta you've made completely from scratch.
Give it to someone who loves spending a Saturday afternoon cooking for the people they love.
10. Best Practical Gift for a Chef
Best gift for recipe writers and experimental cooks
Chefs are constantly scribbling things down: quantities, timings, ideas for dishes and the tiny adjustments that turn a good recipe into a great one.
Stone Journal's chef's notebook was designed for exactly that environment.
Its limestone paper is resistant to water and grease, so kitchen splashes can be wiped away, while the lay-flat construction lets it stay open beside the chopping board.
It's a deceptively simple gift that makes enormous sense for anyone constantly developing and tweaking recipes.
11. Best Frying Pan Gift for a Chef
Best luxury frying pan for serious cooks
This is for the chef who cares just as much about what's happening underneath the food as what's happening on top.
Hestan's NanoBond technology creates an exceptionally resilient cooking surface using thousands of titanium nanolayers, while the tri-ply aluminium-core construction heats quickly and evenly.
The 22cm size is a particularly useful everyday pan for browning, searing and sautéing.
It looks spectacular, performs beautifully and is designed for the sort of cook who expects a pan to be used hard rather than simply admired.
12. Best Gift for a Chef Who Loves Precision Cooking
Best chef gift for sous vide, prep and food storage
For the chef who enjoys precision and probably owns a thermometer with more features than strictly necessary.
A reliable vacuum sealer is essential for sous vide cooking, but that's only the beginning of what makes this useful.
The Anova Professional Vacuum Sealer can also be used for portioning ingredients, marinating and keeping food fresh, with moist, dry and pulse settings giving greater control over different foods.
It's a little nerdy, extremely practical and exactly the sort of kitchen equipment a keen cook will keep finding new reasons to use.
What Is a Good Gift for a Chef?
When you're buying a gift for a professional chef or very keen home cook, avoid novelty gadgets unless they solve a genuine problem.
Experienced cooks tend to care about performance, materials and durability. A great knife, pan or piece of specialist equipment should make something they already do easier, more precise or more enjoyable.
Think about the kind of cooking they love most. A bread baker will get far more pleasure from a Challenger Bread Pan or Sourhouse Goldie than another general kitchen gadget, while someone obsessed with meat cookery might use a MEATER Block every weekend.
What Do You Buy a Chef Who Has Everything?
Go more specialist rather than more extravagant.
A chef may already own excellent knives, for example, but they might appreciate a proper whetstone to maintain them. A prolific recipe writer might use a grease-resistant chef's notebook every day. And a sourdough baker who owns every conventional baking tool might be delighted by a temperature-controlled home for their starter.
The best gifts for chefs often aren't things they don't have. They're better versions of things they use constantly, or specialist tools that help them get better at something they already love doing.
Which Gift Should I Buy for a Chef?
- For the serious baker: choose the Ankarsrum Avid Baker Bundle.
- For the sourdough obsessive: choose the Sourhouse Goldie & Starter Jar Kit.
- For the barbecue or roast expert: choose the MEATER Block.
- For the knife enthusiast: choose the ARC Edge Knife Duo.
- For someone who already owns great knives: choose the ARC Edge Whetstone.
- For the bread baker: choose the Challenger Cast Iron Bread Pan.
- For the cookbook obsessive: choose the Quite Nice Clothing Cookbook Tea Towel.
- For the everyday cook: choose the Scanpan HaptIQ Frying Pan Set.
- For the pasta maker: choose the Imperia Pasta Maker.
- For the recipe developer: choose the Stone Chef's Notebook.
- For the cookware obsessive: choose the Hestan NanoBond Frying Pan.
- For the precision cook: choose the Anova Professional Vacuum Sealer.
Are Kitchen Knives a Good Gift for a Chef?
Yes – provided you choose a knife for the way they actually cook rather than buying a large set for the sake of it.
A Chef's Knife and Santoku are two particularly versatile shapes. A curved Chef's Knife suits cooks who like a rocking chopping motion, while a flatter Santoku suits push-chopping and precise downward cuts.
If you're buying for someone who already owns good knives, sharpening equipment can be an equally thoughtful chef gift because it helps them maintain the tools they already love.
Shop gifts for chefs and serious cooks at Sous Chef
Looking for more inspiration? Explore our kitchen knives, cookware, baking equipment and luxury gifts.
About the author
With a Fine Art background, Lilly has a keen eye for colour, print, and product balance. Her expertise is in kitchen and homewares buying and has worked at some of the biggest brands in the UK.
