Best Christmas gifts for chefs and people who love to cook

Cooking is a necessary part of life for all of us, but for many people it's a passion, hobby or even a profession. If you're shopping for the cooking enthusiast in your life, it can be tricky to sort through the vast number of kitchen items on the market to find high-quality gifts that they'll truly enjoy. To help, the experts at CBS Essentials have compiled this list of the top gifts for cooking enthusiasts to help you wow the chef in your life. 

• Related: How we select our products

From whimsical kitchen gadgets to chef aprons and kitchen tech, we've found gifts for every home cook in your life. Keep reading to explore our top selections.

Best Christmas gifts for chefs and people who love to cook

Shop the best Christmas cooking gifts for the chef in your life.

For the meal prep master: Ototo Ninja cutting board and knife set

Looking for a gift that'll delight any at-home cooking enthusiast? Look no further than this charming Ninja cutting board and knife set. It's an ideal blend of adorable and practical. 

The set includes a wooden cutting board creatively shaped like a Ninja, complete with a slot for the Ninja's sword - which, in this case, is an actual knife included with the set. This knife boasts a wooden handle and a blade tailored for slicing fruits and vegetables with ease.

Why we love the Ototo Ninja cutting board and knife set

For the cook that likes to amp up the heat: Make your own hot sauce kit

Do you know a cooking enthusiast who adores hot sauce and seeks the perfect condiment for heat and flavor? Get them this kit so they can cook up their very own custom blend.

The kit includes an assortment of spices, distilled white vinegar, six glass hot sauce bottles with lids, labels to add to the hot sauces, a funnel, gloves and an instruction booklet.

Why we love the make your own hot sauce kit:

For the chef that can't get enough garlic: Ototo Gracula garlic crusher

Apparently not all vampires are scared of garlic! This adorable Gracula vampire garlic crusher can tackle garlic, ginger, nuts and herbs with ease. It's Amazon's bestselling garlic peeler and a budget-friendly and light-hearted gift that will surprise the cooking enthusiast in your life.

"This is my absolute favorite kitchen gadget," an Amazon reviewer says. "We use a lot of garlic and I've tried garlic presses, rockers, etc. With no luck. The Gracula minces garlic so quickly and perfectly every time. Some complain that the garlic is hard to get out- Just give each side a hefty whack on the cutting board and all but the tiniest bits fall out."

Why we love the Ototo Gracula garlic crusher:

• It's an unexpected and whimsical kitchen item for the cooking enthusiast with a sense of humor.
• Gracula functions as a garlic peeler, mincer and rocking garlic crusher.

For the meat chef: Yummly smart meat thermometer 

We've found one gift that the master meat chef or griller in your life will love. This Bluetooth-enabled smart thermometer is a CBS Essentials bestseller. It boasts presets, timers and alerts for different types of meat, taking the guesswork out of cooking. Just connect to the compatible Yummly app, choose what you're cooking and how well you like your meat done, and it will set up a customized timer and send you alerts when your food is ready.

"This is great for cooking meat of any kind. I've used it in the smoker, grill, oven, air fryer and the meat is perfectly cooked every time," one Amazon reviewer says.

Why we love the Yummly smart meat thermometer:

For the Gordon Ramsay fan: Hexclad Essential 6-piece Japanese Damascus steel knife set

Home chefs will love this steel knife set from HexClad, a Gordon Ramsay-backed premium cookware brand. Each knife is constructed from 67 layers of Japanese Damascus steel, providing a harder blade and sharper edge for easy slicing. 

The set includes an 8-inch chef's knife, an 8-inch serrated bread knife, a 7-inch Santoku knife, a 5-inch utility knife, a 3.5-inch paring knife and a 9-inch honing steel to help keep your knives sharp.

Why we love the Hexclad Essential 6-piece Japanese Damascus steel knife set:

For the expert chopper: Horl 2 rolling knife sharpener

For the home chef with an already fantastic knife set, surprise them with the Horl rolling knife sharpener. It combines diamond and ceramic discs to sharpen knives, including specialty knives.

"I've purchased multiple knife sharpening tools over the years. Sharpening stones and contraptions with clamps and arms with different grits. They worked, But they were such an endeavor to set-up and use that I rarely wanted to use them." explained one Amazon reviewer. "The Horl 2 is so easy to use. I keep it in a drawer right by my knives and I can have it ready to use in 1 minute. Any flat surface works and no clamping or lubricant required."

Why we love the Horl rolling knife sharpener:

For the cook who likes to experiment with flavors: Just Spices starter set

A well-rounded set of spices is an absolute must-have for any cooking enthusiast. That's why this Just Spices starter set is a great addition to the spice rack of any home chef.

The starter set comes with eight spice blends: Chicken Allrounder, BBQ Allrounder, Vegetable Allrounder, Italian Allrounder, Avocado Topping, Casserole Allrounder, Stir Fry and Mexican Allrounder. It also comes with a spice guide book to help the recipient learn more about the spices included in each blend.

Why we love the Just Spices starter set:

• It includes blends designed for use with all kinds of dishes and cuisines.
• It makes an excellent starter kit for those that are just getting into cooking or a great addition to the spice collection of more experienced home chefs.

For the chef that likes to cook in style: Our Place kitchen linens set

The Our Place kitchen linens set can help the recipient cook in style with a matching apron, hot mitts and dish clothes. The set comes in three on-trend colors: blue, sage and lavender. It's a fun way to add a pop of color to the home chef's kitchen and provide them with a refresh on some much-needed kitchen linen essentials.

Why we love the Our Place kitchen linens set:

• They are made from 100% cotton (aside from the mitts which include a silicon shell and polyester fill quilting inside a cotton mitt).
• They provide a stylish upgrade to classic cooking essentials.
• The hot mitts offer heavy-duty heat protection.

For the EVOO enthusiast: Graza olive oil gift set

High-quality extra virgin olive oil is an important tool in the arsenal of any chef. This Graza gift set includes two premium olive oil blends: "sizzle" for cooking and "drizzle for topping or finishing. 

It's a thoughtful, yet practical gift for the cooking enthusiast that already has all of the cooking equipment that they need. Not every chef will need new knives or cookware, but every cooking enthusiast will need more olive oil soon.

• Why we love The Graza olive oil gift set:
  
• The drizzle and sizzle oils contain distinct flavor profiles and are made using different processes to create two different olive oils perfect for each of their intended purposes.
  
• Both oils are made with 100% Picual olives from Spain.
  
• It comes in a nice gift box.
  

For the cottagecore host: The Pioneer Woman Frontier Rose ceramic serving platter set

Ree Drummond's The Pioneer Woman line at Walmart is the go-to for cottagecore cooks. Our readers have not been able to get enough of these adorable serving trays, and neither will the cottagecore chef on your holiday shopping list.

This two-piece floral serving tray set from The Pioneer Woman is perfect for anyone that loves to cook and host dinners. These 14.7-inch serving trays feature a lovely floral design and are made of durable stoneware. They're perfect for serving hors d'oeuvres, desserts or large roasts. 

"We used the serving platters and they were a hit. Everyone who saw them kept asking where they could get a set for themselves," says one Walmart reviewer. Rated 4.8 stars.

Why we love The Pioneer Woman Frontier Rose ceramic serving platter set:

For the pizza master: Ooni Karu 12 wood-fired pizza oven

There's no better way to bake a pizza at home than with a wood-fired pizza oven. That's why a wood-fired pizza oven is the perfect gift for any cooking enthusiast that wants to fire up premium restaurant-quality pizzas.

The Ooni Karu 12 is a multi-fuel outdoor pizza oven that reaches temperatures of up to 950 degrees. It only takes 15 minutes to heat up and can cook stone-baked pizzas in just 60 seconds. It makes pizzas up to 16 inches -- the size of an average large pizza from a restaurant, so you can quickly make enough pizza to feed the whole family or any guests you may be hosting.

Why we love the Ooni Karu 12 outdoor pizza oven

For the person who loves to cook but hates to clean: Our Place Always Pan 2.0

The Our Place Always Pan is popular with cooking enthusiasts and kitchen-decor lovers, thanks to its gorgeous design and versatility. Built to do the work of 10 cookware pieces, the Always Pan 2.0 can braise, sear, steam, strain, sauté, fry, bake, boil, serve and store. And it will look great in your kitchen while doing it. The pan includes Thermakind, Our Place's advanced, long-lasting ceramic nonstick coating to make cooking and cleanup a breeze. 

"I'm obsessed with this pan," one reviewer says. "It has so much versatility in what I can cook! It is not as heavy as I would have thought but that does not mean it's not extremely durable!" 

This gorgeous pan is available in eight color variations, so you're sure to find a colorway that the recipient will love. 

Why we love the Our Place Always Pan:

• It's versatile enough to handle several different cooking functions and just about any dish the recipient would want to make.
• it comes in a range of colors that can upgrade any kitchen.
• It's oven-safe, so even bakers can enjoy the pan.
• The Our Place Always Pan is the perfect gift for the person that loves to cook but hates the cleanup. Its nonstick coating makes cleaning a breeze.
  
• It comes with a steamer basket and beechwood spatula.
  

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