My Holiday 2023 Gift Guide

All My Favorite Gifts and Recommendations

It’s the Holiday Gift Guide and the moment I get to share some of my favorite food and food-related items that I give as gifts to family and friends. In addition to what I’ve shared, you can find more ideas under my Appliance, Tools, and Pantry lists.

Books For Food People

Books remain my top choice of gifts for people, and there are so many wonderful choices from various topics.

My cookbooks, Season, The Flavor Equation, and the family's newest member, Veg-Table, are centered around developing bold flavors in everyday home cooking and rely on science to make cooking easier.

This year, two books on sweets that stood out to me were Samantha Seneviratne’s Bake Smart and Philip Khoury’s A New Way to Bake. Both books are geared towards home cooks; Sam is brilliant with her flavor combinations, while Philip’s splendid book is all about plant-based desserts.

These aren’t cookbooks, they are heavy on science and are thought-provoking. They make a wonderful gift for someone who wants to understand food science beyond the world of cooking.

Gastrophysics by Charles Spence

Neurogastronomy by Gordon Shepherd

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Food Gifts + Treats

The Gulab Jamun Holiday Tree Ornament from Target

Ghirardelli’s Chocolate Squares: Peppermint Bark Collection This needs no explanation; I crave festive chocolate every holiday season.

My Chaat Masala Spice Blend from Oaktown Spice Shop My spice blend pairs well with all my cookbooks (because it often appears in my recipes), but it’s also a wonderful Indian spice blend that works well in sweet and savory dishes.

Staub’s Tall Cocotte This is my go-to pot at home. The tall walls reduce splashes and spills.

Breville’s Control Freak (Breville is currently offering 10% off until December 10, 2023). For people who love to be in control, this is for you. It’s a fantastic stove for all sorts of cooking, from pastry to frying, braising, etc.

Miyabi Chef’s Knife Out of all the knife types, this is the one knife every cook should own.

Nordic Ware Baking Sheets They are sturdy and reliable and will give you decades of service.

An OXO Kitchen Timer A small device that will help you every day.

Zwilling Kitchen Scale Every kitchen needs a good and reliable scale. This one is easy to wipe clean, too.

A Gift Subscription to The Flavor Files - you can gift a subscription to this newsletter.

ChefSteps Studio Gift Pass My pals at ChefSteps are currently running a special 30% off their membership if you use the code SHARMASTUDIO

Are you looking for more kitchen recommendations? Check out my Appliance, Tools, and Pantry lists of the items I use at home.

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World Central Kitchen Consider donating and supporting the WCK and the relief work they do globally.

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For Santa Claus, if you’re reading this. I haven’t thought much about what I want this year for Christmas, but I’ve been eyeing treadmills (I’m debating between NordicTrack and Peloton) for months. I love walking outside with Paddington, but when it comes to running, I strongly prefer running indoors. And just in case Santa wants to deliver one late, I’m open to receiving a treadmill in January, February, etc.