Gift Guide: 20 Ways To Splurge On Your Favorite Home Cook

Bodum Bistro Electric Stand Mixer
A perfect choice for the baker who is ready to upgrade those old electric beaters. This six-speed stand mixer is not only a more stylish alternative to the ubiquitous KitchenAid, but it works just as well as the competition. $400, bodum.com

Core Pro-Baker's Large Measuring Board
Making pastry is an exercise in precision; screw up any weights or measurements and you’re left with a mess. This detailed board is like a cheat sheet that eliminates any of the anxiety that comes with baking. A measurement chart, ruler, and various stencils guide the cook from start to finish. $55, amazon.com

Caso Scale
Another top choice for the home baker, this slick battery operated scale measures dry ingredients down to the half-gram. A well-positioned LCD display screen and collapsible design are smart features that improve upon older designs. $99.95, williams-sonoma.com

Williams Sonoma Chalkboard Wall Planter
City dwellers with little or no outdoor space will appreciate the addition of this vertical wall planter in their kitchens. Constructed of solid pine, it holds 10 separate planting cells—enough to keep the cook from ever buying herbs at the market again. (Who wouldn’t love a living wall in their own home, anyway?) $129.95, williams-sonoma.com

Hand Forged Iron Pans
This classic piece of cookware will last a lifetime. Made of hand forged cast iron, this sturdy skillet is the superior choice for baking cornbread, searing meat, can cooking any dish that needs to move from stovetop to oven. $69, kaufmann-mercantile.com

Ferran Adrià Ingenios DVD
Until the Food Network decides to launch a cooking show that showcases foams, gels and spheres, mail order instructional DVDs are the best learning tool for a seriously curious cook. And who better to lead the way than the godfather of “molecular gastronomy”? In this 150-minute program, Adrià demos 84 recipes for turning dinner into a grand experiment. $49.99, modernistpantry.com

Schmidt Bros. 14-Piece Milled Steel Knife Set
If the Schmidt Bros. 15-piece Downtown knife set is the perfect (but plain) package for starter cooks, the company’s latest milled steel set is its hot older sister. The sexy, high-polished, high carbon steel knives are exceptionally sharp and well balanced for budget tools. And, in keeping with West Elm’s aesthetic, an acacia wood storage block is a stylish bonus that looks great on the kitchen counter. $349, westelm.com

Breville YouBrew
Java addicts will smash their percolators to bits once they get their hands on this easy to use, bean-to-brew machine. Beans are ground to order in pre-programmed amounts to that every pot or cup of coffee is full of fresh flavor. $249.99, amazon.com

Moore And Giles Meehan Utility Bag
A brilliant collaboration between a Virginia leather accessories company and PDT’s master mixologist Jim Meehan, this is the gift of choice for the natty food lover. While its features—multiple compartments, water resistant material, pockets galore—were designed with bartenders (and their many tools) in mind, the bag is also a practical carry-all, weekend, or laptop bag. You can read more about it here. $660, mooreandgiles.com

Intelligentsia Pourover Gift Box
Self avowed coffee snobs will appreciate this gift set, which includes a Hario porcelain dripper and mug. Even paper filters, a 3/4 pound bag of Intelligentia’s house brand coffee, and—for dripper novices—detailed instructions are included to get you started. $65, intelligentsiacoffee.com

Dualit Vario Four-Slice Toaster
Apparently the greatest thing since sliced bread itself, this deluxe stainless steel toaster has a retro body with modern functions. Extra-wide slots let you toast hand-sliced artisan bread, a manual ejector keeps toast warm, and a removable crumb tray makes clean up easy. The perfect pick for an early riser. $326.95, amazon.com

Fissler Portable Induction Cooktop
A great pick for someone who wants to experiment with induction cooktops but doesn’t want to replace his or her gas range. This plug-in countertop model allows home cooks to experience precise, energy efficient, and flame-free cooking—even directly on the dinner table. $298.95, amazon.com

Crucial Detail Porthole
After a successful Kickstarter campaign, the Chicago-based design firm Crucial Detail is now taking orders for this cocktail infuser-cum-objet d’art. Cocktail enthusiasts can spike booze with their ingredients of choice and turn their home into a mini-version of Grant Achatz’s Aviary (where these portholes were originally used.) $99, crucialdetail.com

Togiharu Sujihiki Stag Handle
For those cooks who can afford this one-of-a-kind Japanese knife: congratulations on being in the one percent. Let us know how it works. In the meantime, we’ll just dream about its exceptional hand-forged blade and the incredible stag antler handle. $2,600, korin.com

Stoneware Growler
Handmade in Portland, Oregon, these half-gallon jugs are a great gift for the microbrew obsessive. The airtight top keeps beer tasting like it’s just been tapped for days on end. $65, uncommongoods.com

Ruffoni Copper Cookware Set
These hand hammered copper pots, made in limited numbers in the Italian alps, are an extravagant but unforgettable purchase for the cook who is more romantic than practical. Of course, they’re not just there to look good—copper is renowned for superior performance and heat conducting abilities. $1004.17, amazon.com

Vitamix Pro Series 500 Blender

A single flip of the switch will prove why Vitamix blenders are found in countless professional restaurant kitchens across the country. With its 240 MPH stainless steel blades, this appliance will make quick work of soups, sauces, and smoothies. Serious cooks will thank you for saving time and eliminating strainers from their lives.$649, amazon.com

Molecular Mixology Set
Bartending school meets high school chemistry class with this cutting edge cocktail kit. Ideal for the drinker who has grown bored of old fashioned drinks, this set lets the user create crazy mojitos that are finished with foams and spheres. $30, uncommongoods.com

CyberQ
The oldest method of cooking meets modern technology with this brilliant wifi-enabled device. Once hooked up to a smoker or grill, the CyberQ allows barbecue aficionados to control cooking time and temperature from a smart phone or computer. This means more time to watch the game from the couch and less time fussing over hot coals. $295, thebbqguru.com

Hurom Slow Juicer
Here’s a gift for the friend who has a hard time keeping his/her New Year’s resolution to eat better. This juicer works slowly and quietly to extract as much pulp and nutrients from fruits and vegetables as possible. Results are quick for a machine dubbed “slow,” so your buddy has no more excuses for falling off the diet wagon. $358.95, amazon.com