The Best Eater-Approved Gifts for Food Lovers

D.S. & Durga, the perfumer behind both the pistachio perfume and Bistro Waters candle, is making a pasta water candle. It’s in partnership with Jupiter, the new Rockefeller Center pasta spot from the folks behind stylish New York City restaurant King. Top notes of saline water, heart notes of semolina wheat, and, the base note: “chef’s secret.”

The new rose trivet from accessories designer Susan Alexandra is quite pretty.

Cookbook author and Italian food expert Katie Parla is marking the release of her newest book with a small collection of Murano glass. She partnered with Wave Murano Glass on three cups and a plate in blues and yellows meant to evoke the coast, in keeping with the theme of new book Food of the Italian Islands. Both book and glassware are avaIlable to preorder on Parla’s website.

Diaspora Co.’s Salt Tiger is here… kind of. The spice company dropped a limited number of the highly anticipated ceramic salt cellars yesterday. They’re expected to sell out immediately, but you can preorder one for the next drop in August. Maybe you’re in need of a quirky wedding gift then? 

After using one in Paris for a week, I now need one of these bread cutting boards that catches the crumbs and has a place for a bread knife.

Bettina Makalintal says she’s seeing these wavy pastel goblets all over her social media feeds.

An ulu is the crescent-shaped knife Indigenous communities have long used to cut just about everything. You can read more about the tool on Eater, and buy one at Urban Inuk. 

Here’s a planter shaped like a loaf of bread. Plant a meyer lemon tree and call it breadfruit.

Ooni, the brand behind the pizza oven many home cooks swear by, now has a pizza steel you can use to make Ooni-quality pizza in your own home oven.

My favorite item from this holiday gift guide for the avid home cook — an overall very thoughtful list of things to get the person who already has all the basic kitchen necessities — is this, the coolest-looking fish spatula.

Cold Picnic, known for rugs and bathmats in bold graphic designs, now makes napkins, too. There are several abstract designs to choose from. The brand also has tea towels. 

Coming Soon, one of my favorite design shops and, notably, a Staff stockist, partnered with paint company Backdrop on a set of resin coasters in a bright yellow-orange shade they’re calling “Color of the Year,” a sendup of the annual Pantone tradition.

Staff — the brand that takes mundane objects, like toilet plungers and clothes hangers, and makes them fun (typically by throwing on some bright colors and a quirky smiley face) — has applied this treatment to a turkey baster. Get it for an upcoming Friendsgiving.

Zoey Gong recommends this Joyoung soy milk machine, a workhorse in the kitchen if you’re someone who consumes a lot of nondairy milk, not just of the soy variety. It’s also capable of making baby food. 

Ghia, the buzzy nonalcoholic aperitif brand, teamed up with designer Sophie Lou Jacobsen on some stylish stemless martini glasses. You can buy them in pairs on Sophie Lou Jacobsen’s site or at Ghia.

Omsom has expanded beyond its stir fry starter packs with a set of salt, pepper, and MSG shakers, designed with housewares brand Areaware. Contents included.

D.S. and Durga, maker of the Bistro Waters perfume, is making further waves in the food-scent space with a latke candle. Expect top notes of potato (naturally) and etrog, heart notes of black pepper and olive, and base notes of peanut oil and “assorted tubers.”

Homiah, which makes Malaysian spice blends, is selling some adorable tiny food charms for the new year. Miniature laksa and itty bitty molcajetes come either as individual charms or a pair of earrings. 

Lucy & Yak is selling this extremely cheery pair of overalls with the food-themed “Happy Hamper” print. 

The toy food trucks from Candylab are also adorable.

Trovelore makes beautiful beaded brooches in the shapes of fruits and vegetables, including peppers, leeks, pomegranates, and this cauliflower.

Little Owl, the New York City restaurant located in the ground floor of a building best known for its appearance on Friends, now has merch featuring illustrations of that iconic Greenwich Village building, including these cozy beanies.

Sfoglini and Sporkful, the duo that brought you cascatelli, has two brand new pasta shapes. Quottrotini is a tubular pasta with Sicilian origins, and Vesuvio is a swirly little number inspired by the volcano of the same name. 

These chocolate sardines would be a fun “just thinking of you” gift for the person who enjoys both chocolate and sardines.

Giada De Laurentiis’s shop Giadzy has put together some fun gift boxes, complete with everything one might need to throw an Italian dinner party or make a lasagna. This celebration box features a host of the site’s bestsellers.

Back to the Roots recently added shiitake mushrooms to its collection of grow kits.

Chef Virgilio Martínez’s Mater — the research center that powers his restaurant group — has partnered with Simpli on fancy chocolate bars made using Peruvian Chuncho cacao. The bars range from a milk chocolate with 51 percent cacao to a bar that’s 100 percent cacao, but they’re also available in a set of four so you can try them all. 

This masa and masa cookbook bundle from Masienda would be a nice way to start a tortilla- and tamale-making habit. 

As Noma prepares to shift away from the restaurant, Noma Projects, the pantry product wing of the renowned Copenhagen restaurant, has a new membership option that gets you a quarterly shipment of product samples plus invites to virtual events with the Noma test kitchen and fermentation lab. As of now, only the waiting list is available for sign-up. But for a taste of Noma Projects, the smoked mushroom garum is in stock.

The end of the month ushers in the year of the rabbit, and Tea Drunk has a giftable tea sampler to mark the occasion, with each oolong, pu’erh, and white tea variety selected with prosperity and luck for the new year in mind. 

Brooklyn-based St. Agrestis has added another nonalcoholic drink to its lineup, following the popularity of its Phony Negroni. Amaro Falso is an individually portioned, ready-to-drink aperitivo.

Every month, Eater Wine Club ships out boxes of two or four wines, selected by the Eater team’s favorite sommeliers across the country. Eater Wine Club membership also comes with a newsletter and invitations to virtual hangs where that month’s expert will go deeper on the box’s theme.