The Starter Kitchen
Shopping for the budding young chef with her first kitchen? Don’t impulsively buy every knife, pan and gadget you see. Think of this as a beginner’s bucket list to food greatness. – Spencer Pernikoff
1. Barr-Co. Soap
Clean hands are a necessity for good cooking, but which soap to choose? Barr-Co.’s locally made natural soaps smell wonderful, leave hands silky smooth and will remind guests how classy the cook is.
$32. K. Hall Studio, 8416 Manchester Road, Brentwood, 314.963.3293, khalldesigns.com
2. Culinary Herb Garden Basket
Growing herbs is even easier with a pre-seeded herb garden basket. It includes Genovese basil, chives, oregano, thyme and Italian parsley, plus three herb tools to add beautiful green garnish to any dish.
$50. Larder & Cupboard, 7310 Manchester Road, Maplewood, 314.300.8995, larderandcupboard.com
3. The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science
Say goodbye to The Joy of Cooking and hello to J. Kenji López-Alt’s nearly 1,000-page modern masterpiece. Not only is this tome packed with recipes, complete with step-by-step pictures, but it also explains why recipes and techniques work. This is a must-read for serious culinary scholars.
$50. Left Bank Books, 399 N. Euclid Ave., St. Louis, 314.367.6731, left-bank.com
4. Truffles Butchery Classes
A two- to three-hour class with the expert butchers at Truffles is a win-win: Attendees learn the basics of meat management and take home half a hog. Does your burgeoning chef want to learn how to make sausages? Truffles can teach that, too. Classes can be tailored to any carnivore’s dreams.
$150 per person. Truffles Butchery, 9202 Clayton Road, Ladue, 314.567.9100, todayattruffles.com
5. Facture Goods Cutting board
Facture Goods, based out of Columbia, Missouri, makes must-have cutting boards that are both functional and beautiful. Properly taken care of, these will last for years.
$40. Winslow’s Home, 7213 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314.725.7559, winslowshome.com
The Boozehound
It’s science: People need to drink something. The wise ones, though, drink booze not just for sustenance, but also to improve their wit and their moves on the dance floor. Take the guesswork out of gifting things to the companion who always buys the next round. – Maggie Pearson
1. Cut-crystal glass
Remember those cut-crystal decanters your parents dusted off at parties, always full of mysterious, exciting liquids? Bellbottoms may be out, but glassware never is. And unless Grandma’s attending the shindig, they don’t even have to fill it with crème de menthe.
Prices vary. Jon Paul Design & Collectables, 7014 Clayton Road, Clayton, 314.645.2722, jonpauldesigns.com
2. The Gentleman’s Companion
If your Secret Santa likes pisco, get him a copy of the reissued The Gentleman’s Companion, Charles Henry Baker’s 1939 travelogue combining unconventional (and astonishingly un-PC) storytelling, food and cocktail recipes collected from the author’s travels.
$10. Available for order from Subterranean Books, 6275 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314.862.6100, store.subbooks.com
3. Monthly Wine Club
OK, we admit that wine seems to taste better when someone knowledgeable chooses it. The folks at The Vino Gallery will do that each month with a wine club membership. Fill out a brief wine survey about your friend’s tastes and preferences, and they set aside the bottles. Staying hydrated was never so easy.
$35 and up. The Vino Gallery, 4701 McPherson Ave., St. Louis, 314.932.5665, thevinogallery.com
4. Wild rose liqueur
This Mediterranean specialty is especially romantic when mixed with gin, lemon juice and simple syrup, or when added to a fresh batch of sangria. Don’t stop there, though; drizzle on fresh fruit salads, mix into homemade ice cream or boil with stewed fruit compotes for extra depth of flavor.
$10 and up. Vom Fass, 7314 Manchester Road, Maplewood, 314.932.5262, vomfassusa.com
5. Scrappy’s assorted bitters
A must for any cocktail enthusiast’s collection. Mix and match, choosing from flavors like celery, lavender and aromatic.
$20. Randall’s Wine & Spirits, 1910 S. Jefferson Ave.,
St. Louis; 14201 Manchester Road, Manchester, shoprandalls.com
The Obligatory Gift
Your kid’s teacher. Your girlfriend’s dad. An office secret Santa. There are plenty of people to whom you’re obligated to send a little holiday cheer. Not that it’s a problem – but what the heck do you buy for your roommate’s new boyfriend? Don’t sweat it. From boxes of meat to some light culinary reading, we’ve got you covered on giving generic gifts that are anything but. – Kristin Schultz
1. Mark Bittman’s Kitchen Matrix
Acclaimed food writer and advocate Mark Bittman’s latest release, Mark Bittman’s Kitchen Matrix: More Than 700 Simple Recipes and Techniques to Mix and Match for Endless Possibilities teaches them how to break the rules. Offering flexible ingredients and guidelines, Bittman’s book both educates the home cook and allows for creativity.
$35. The Novel Neighbor, 7905 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 314.738.9384, thenovelneighbor.com
2. Cocoa and Marshmallows
Warm their hearts and bellies with all the fixings for a perfect mug of hot cocoa. Choose from regular, milk chocolate, chai, Mexican or mint chocolate mix and pair it with a bag of pillowy vanilla bean marshmallows.
Cocoa: $6. Marshmallows: $4 to $5. Kakao Chocolate, multiple locations, kakaochocolate.com
3. Cooking Classes
Send them back to school with gift certificates for classes at Kitchen Conservatory. Instructors like Josh Galliano of Companion Baking, Qui Tran of Mai Lee and in-house kitchen pros conduct classes on everything from French pastry to pho. With diverse classes at all price points, there’s something for everyone.
$40 and up. Kitchen Conservatory, 8021 Clayton Road, Richmond Heights, 314.862.2665, kitchenconservatory.com
4. Microgreen microgarden
Pretty and purposeful, this countertop greenhouse from Infarm allows the culinary and curious alike to watch microgreens grow in two weeks or less, thanks to a transparent enclosure, agar-agar and seeds. This reusable indoor garden will keep the planter’s thumb plenty green until the ground thaws.
$28. Bowood Farms, 4605 Olive St., St. Louis, 314.454.6868, bowoodfarms.com
5. Butcher’s Box Meat Packs
Pasture-raised meat and house-ground sausage are always winners. Let Bolyard’s select the meats for you, then choose from a Weekend Warrior Pack, with 3 pounds of breakfast and dinner cuts and a half-dozen farm-fresh eggs, or go big with Meat for the Week – 7 pounds of choice cuts plus pasta, sauce, six eggs and more.
Weekend Warrior: $40; Meat for the Week: $100. Bolyard’s Meat & Provisions, 2810 Sutton Blvd., Maplewood, 314.647.2567, bolyardsmeat.com
The Food Snob
We get it. It’s intimidating to shop for the food snob. Check out these sure-to-please gift ideas for the fancy foodie who isn’t afraid to pick on your barware. Or your olive oil brand. Or your grandmother’s casserole recipe. – Michael Renner
1. Fruit bowl
This Espera Centerpiece bowl-cum-colander design was inspired by “the behavior and the beautiful webbed form of the sea fan” (aka the sea fern – we looked it up). If that weren’t snobby enough, it’s made of hand-polished stainless steel or comes in a 24-karat gold version. No better way to serve your Ruby Roman grapes (aka the world’s most expensive grape – we looked that up, too).
$350. Anna New York by RabLabs, rablabs.com
2. Food snob apron
Food snobs can’t hide who they are, so why fight it? Whether they’re picky about paella or coleslaw, there’s an apron screen-printed with every hoity-toity food or drink you can think of. Comes in white, khaki or lemon. He looks good in lemon.
$24. Cafe Press, cafepress.com
3. Age-your-own whiskey
The food snob likes to be in control. St. Louis’ Still 630 makes DIY whiskey foolproof with its home whiskey-aging kit, complete with a tiny charred white oak barrel, high-proof unaged whiskey (corn, rye and barley mash bill) and two fancy tasting glasses. Here’s to you, Mr. Van Winkle.
$139. Still 630 Distillery, 1000 S. Fourth St., St. Louis, 314.513.2275, still630.com
4. Caviar
James Bond and the Russian czars may have enjoyed it, but the good stuff from the Caspian Sea is all but gone thanks to geopolitics, overfishing and other factors. However, this Sarasota, Florida-based producer farm-raises black sturgeon from egg to fish using sustainable aquaculture methods. Pass the Champagne.
Platinum: $76; Reserve: $95. Healthy Earth Black Opal Caviar, healthyearth.org
5. Artisanal Chocolate
Not just any truffle will do. Thankfully, there’s St. Louis chocolatier Sheila Kleinschmidt of Oh Sheila! Chocolates, who crafts truffles, caramels, bars and chocolate bacon as decadent as her retro dresses and 1940s hairdo. Rum chipotle truffles with smoked sea salt? Bacon, caramel and pecan chocolate clusters? Oh, Sheila!
Prices vary. Kind Soap Co., 20 Allen Ave., Webster Groves, 314.942.2024; ohsheila.com
This article appears in November 2015.