🎁✨ The 2024 Holiday Gift Guide

For Food People, People Who Don't Cook, and Your Fur Babies

🌟 Welcome to The Flavor Files! 🌟

Dive into the delicious world where science meets food! You'll get a new recipe each week, links to even more mouth-watering dishes, the latest food and science news, and more.

📚✨ Exciting News! My new cookbook, Veg-Table, is now available wherever books are sold! This book delves into the science of vegetables and features 100 recipes for all skill levels, along with tips and tricks to make your cooking journey fun and accessible. Get your copy here!

Do you own a copy of Veg-Table? I’d love to hear what you think! Please leave a review on Amazon (even if you didn’t buy it there). Your reviews help make the book more visible to others.

You may find affiliate links sprinkled throughout this newsletter. Happy browsing!

Thank you for being part of this flavorful journey! 🙏🏾 Your support means the world to me.

I’m offering 20% off on annual subscriptions until November 30, 2024, to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday season. ⤵️

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It’s that time of the year when I get to share a few of my favorite things with you. There are gifts for you, your friends and family, and your fur babies. 🎁✨

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Cookbooks

If you’re thinking about gifting a cookbook this year, let me suggest three of my own: Season (Amazon/Now Serving), The Flavor Equation (Amazon/Bookshop), and Veg-Table (Amazon/Bookshop). Each is packed with recipes celebrating bold flavors, vibrant ingredients, and the joy of cooking. Whether it’s Season with its creative take on global spices, The Flavor Equation blending science with irresistible recipes, or Veg-Table showcasing the beauty of vegetables like never before, these books are more than just cookbooks—they’re invitations to explore, experiment, and fall in love with cooking all over again. Perfect for chefs, home cooks, or anyone who loves a good meal! (For international editions of these books, see options here.) If you want signed copies of my books, order the books through Now Serving LA (my local indie bookstore).

The Flavor Files Newsletter Gift Subscription

This holiday season, give the gift of endless inspiration and unforgettable flavors—a subscription to my newsletter! Packed with exclusive recipes, insider cooking tips, and behind-the-scenes stories, it’s a treat for food lovers and curious cooks of all levels. Each issue celebrates bold flavors, creative ideas, and the joy of experimenting in the kitchen, offering something fresh and exciting to savor with every email.

Whether you’re shopping for a seasoned home chef or someone just starting their culinary adventure, this is a thoughtful, unique gift that keeps giving all year long. Plus, to make your holiday shopping even sweeter, I’m offering 20% off annual subscriptions now through November 30, 2024! Don’t miss this chance to treat yourself or someone special to a year of culinary magic. Let’s make every meal extraordinary—together!

Food Gifts

Spices are the ultimate gift—they keep giving, transforming everyday dishes into extraordinary culinary experiences in endless ways. If you’re looking to add a little extra magic to your cooking, my Chaat Masala from Oaktown Spice Shop and Achari Masala from Diaspora Co. are here to transform your meals. These blends are inspired by the flavors I grew up with and crafted with the finest spices to ensure every pinch packs a punch. Sprinkle the Chaat Masala on fruit, popcorn, or roasted veggies for a tangy, addictive twist, or use the Achari Masala to bring bold, pickle-inspired flavors to your curries, marinades, and roasted dishes. These spice blends make perfect gifts for the adventurous cook—or a treat for yourself to elevate your kitchen game.

Fancy salts come in various crystal shapes and flavors, and they’ll make any chef happy. Some of my favorites in constant rotation at home are Jacobsen Salt Co. , Halen Môn, and Saltverk.

Gifting panettone has been popular for many years, but it jumped into full gear a few years ago (due to the internet), and they now sell out very quickly, a few months before the holidays. From Roy is perhaps the most popular one in America, but Gucci Osteria by Chef Massimo Bottura also makes one in collaboration with Pasticceria Tiri 1957. The latter comes in one of their signature keepsake tins. I haven’t recommended any other brands because I haven’t tried them, and if I did, I wasn’t fond of the texture. I’ve not tried Giusti’s Panettone with Balsamic Vinegar of Modena, but the flavor combination of raisins soaked into balsamic vinegar sounds intriguing.

I like gifting (and receiving) chocolates at Christmas, and if you have someone in your life who appreciates chocolates, here are some of my favorite stores: Valerie Confections (USA), Gucci Osteria’s Floral Cremini, Fortnum and Mason (the U.K. but they do ship worldwide, check for more details on their site), and Koko Black (Australia/they don’t ship worldwide).

Stuffed Dates - For something different, try the many stuffed date options from Bateel (toasted pecans, pistachios, and ginger are some of my favorite flavors). Michael got me some from a recent work trip, and they are superb. It’s also a great way to taste different varieties of dates that we usually don’t find here.

Fancy EVOO - A few weeks ago, I took a trip to Lodi, California, with a few chefs to learn about olive harvesting with Corto. They make phenomenal high-quality premium oils, and this year, they’ve got a Calabrian chili olive oil produced by their Agrumato-Method where the chiles are blended directly with the olives during the oil production. It is superb on pizza and everything you could think of.

My friend Chitra is the founder of Brooklyn Delhi. She makes high-quality Indian pickles, aka achars, chutneys, and quick curry meal kits. Check out their prepackaged gift sets, which offer many fun combinations. I give all my friends a box of this every year, and it’s always a big hit.

Gifts That Make Your Cooking Sparkle

Zwilling makes gorgeous cookware like their Staub cocottes that can go directly from the oven/stove to the table, their Miyabi knives, and stainless steel Demeyere cookware. Their Black Friday Sale is on now, and there is so much to choose from!

A gift card to Knife aid is worth every dollar. I use the service and love it. It’s convenient, and it keeps my knives in perfect condition. (They’re offering 20% off right now.)

Extras (everything non-food related)

Now for everything else, tangentially related or unrelated to food.

My yearly ritual involves picking up one food-themed ornament for my smaller Christmas tree in my kitchen. (BTW, I’ve never picked up one, more like two or three.) This Christmas tree is strictly food. Look at the usual suspects: Target, Bloomingdale, Etsy, West Elm, etc. King Arthur Baking has this Baker’s Ornament Gift Set on my list.

If you’re looking for fruit trees and incredibly unique citrus and fig varieties, go to Four Wind Growers. I’ve been buying plants from them for years and successfully got fruit (and kept the plants alive).

You might not expect a recipe newsletter to suggest gifting a workout, but hear me out! A few years ago, after my second cookbook launched, I committed to exercising more regularly. That book came out during the pandemic, leaving me feeling stressed and overwhelmed. Exercise became my go-to for finding calm and focus. That Christmas, I decided to gift myself a TRX system—and it ended up being so much more than I imagined. Since then, I’ve shared my workouts on Instagram and received questions about my routine. I’m not a certified trainer and need guidance, so I use online classes in apps to work out. I regularly use the TRX system (with the TRX app) and the Apple Fitness + app, and their instructors are great, and the workouts are flexible. The routines keep me motivated, and I’ve never felt better.

For Your Fur Pals

This Christmas is tough because we lost my ginger tabby, Vesper, a few months ago, and I’ll need to deal with his stocking. My dog Paddington and cat Drogy will have their stockings filled with toys and treats. They lead comfortable lives and don’t need much (though, in their minds, I’m confident they have complaints to file). A Barkbox or Meowbox subscription is always a fun gift and keeps them entertained. I also highly recommend supporting your local pet shelter in your city. We support the Burbank Animal Shelter VBAS, and they even have a list of what the animals need. A lot of these organizations rely on community support and need our help. Give what you can, every bit helps.