40 Unique Gifts For Chefs Who Have Everything

By Laura Fiebert | Updated: December 23, 2022

    Is there a chef in your life? Lucky you if you live close! Want to keep those delicious meals coming? Why not buy them something close to their heart next time?

    Chefs are food lovers like no other. They live, breathe, and, well, eat the stuff! Truffled, braised, and sous vide! They can whip up gourmet pancakes faster than you can say, “carbon steel griddle!” and they’ll lovingly strip down herbs as delicately as a gardener.

    Whether you’re looking for gift ideas for a working professional chef or a friend or loved one that really should be a chef, we have 40 great gift ideas to ease your shopping fatigue. We’ve researched what chefs like and what chefs need. 

    From steel soap to sushi knives, food smokers to cedar planks, garlic roasters to steamers, shears, and salt cellars. There is something for every budget.

    Here are our favorite, unique gifts for chefs.

  1. Chef’s Knife Roll-Up Bag
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    Chefs are fussy about knives. They don’t want to use your crummy Walmart knives when they cook at your house, so they bring their knife set along. This bag makes porting knives easy and safe. It holds eight knives and has a zipper pocket for additional “can’t do without it” cooking utensils.

  3. Indoor Herb Growing Kit
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    Chefs need fresh herbs over-dried; the flavor is fresher. Now you can grow fresh herbs year-round and in your own home. This kit sits right on the kitchen counter and can be used to grow salad greens, flowers, and vegetables. The kit is hydroponic; the plants grow in water, so no dirt is mucking up your kitchen!

  5. Personalized Cutting Board
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    A chef already has a cutting board, but they probably don’t have a personalized cutting board! These custom boards are made from maple and personalized with last or first names. Help keep your chef’s countertop looking good with this great holiday gift!

  7. Stainless Steel Soap
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    Regular soap doesn’t get the smell of things like onions and garlic off your hands. Weirdly, rubbing your hands on stainless steel does! You rub this “soap” on your hands under running water, and the smell disappears. 

  9. Portable Pizza Oven
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    This oven burns gas and is perfect for an outdoor kitchen. The oven heats up in just 15 minutes and can cook a 13-inch pizza. Chefs, foodies, and home cooks alike will love this oven. Hmm, how about a white truffle pizza, Chef?

  11. Japanese Knife
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    There are standard cutlery kitchen knives, and then there are Japanese kitchen knives. This gift guide is about high-quality products. We’re opting for the Japanese-style knife for cutting fish and sushi. Seasoned artisans handcraft the ruthlessly sharp edge to a mirror polish at the 12-15°single side. Because of its special single-sided and sharp blade – that doesn’t crush or tear the ingredients’ structure – it can slice sashimi and sushi into very thin slices. 

  13. Food Smoker
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    A food smoker suffuses food and drinks with natural smoke flavor for that artisan touch. The smoker comes with wood chips, but you can also use herbs, tea leaves, herbs and spices, and dried flowers to flavor food and drinks. 

  15. Copper Measuring Set
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    Nothing says professional kitchen like copper everything! This set includes copper measuring spoons and cups so their home kitchen can look as gleaming as their work kitchen! The set comes packed in a box, ready for gifting. 

  17. Culinary Torch
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    Chefs love fire. Fire and knives. That’s why they became a chef. Now they can play with fire right in the kitchen! We mostly think of these torches to caramelize sugar, but they can be used for all sorts of things; searing meat, making roasted red peppers, melting cheese, and toasting breadcrumbs. This is one handy kitchen gadget.

  19. Japanese Salt Cellar
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    The history of producing ceramic ware is ancient. It began hundreds of years ago. This company takes traditional skills from history and combines them with newer techniques to make modern products. The perfect presentation for Chef’s cooking salt.

  21. Gourmet Finishing Salt
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    If you’re not much of a cook, you might think salt is salt. Au contraire! These are finishing salts and come in six flavors, Smoked Bacon Chipotle, Hawaiian Bamboo Jade, 5 Pepper, Garlic Medley, Rosemary, and Hawaiin Black Lava. This set makes a great housewarming gift for the home chef. 

  23. Where Chefs Eat
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    While many chefs enjoy cooking at home, you can see why they sometimes want someone else to cook for them. This book covers a lot of ground, with more than 3,000 restaurants in more than 70 countries. So your chef will never go hungry. 

  25. Gelato Maker
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    This cooking gift is a little pricey, but we promise they would love this DIY Italian gelato maker!  Make decadent ice cream, rich, creamy gelato, and light sorbet that your family will love, all in the comfort of your own home. The easy-to-use, fully automatic machine features a commercial-style compressor, so you can make batch after batch without waiting. Two unique mixing paddles and a 60-minute countdown timer work to ensure your homemade gelato, ice cream, or sorbet has a perfect consistency.

  27. Steel Herb Stripper
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    This beautiful herb slicer and chopper cut up herbs beautifully. The chopper is crafted from superior-grade stainless steel, which conserves its ability to perform multiple tasks in the kitchen. The holes in the blade allow you to pass and strip your favorite herbs and leafy greens. This easy-to-use stainless steel chopping tool is top-ranked among cooking enthusiasts and chefs.

  29. Funny Oven Mitt
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    Honestly is the best policy. If your loved ones would love a funny kitchen gift and your chef friend has a good sense of humor, this oven mitt will be a perfect gift for them. It also helps hold hot pots. Super-insulated and 100% cotton.

  31. Sous Vide Cooker
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    Precision cooking enables you to produce impossible results through any other cooking method: no dry edges or rare centers. Food comes out perfectly moist and tender. This allows you to have results that are impossible to achieve through any other cooking method. Download the Anova App to easily monitor, adjust, or control the device from your iPhone and Android or other smart devices. 

  33. Knife Sharpener
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    As previously mentioned, chefs are fussy about knives, and part of that means they like to make sure their knives are always sharp. It’s a safety thing. Cutting things with a dull knife is dangerous; pressing down hard enough to cut can cause the blade to slip and cut your hand. This knife sharpener will keep knives in tip-top shape. This knife sharpener would make the perfect gift for the chef in your life.

  35. Garlic Roaster
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    Roasted garlic is nature’s original sweet and savory combination. This is like a dutch oven, but for garlic. This terra cotta roaster holds multiple bulbs of garlic and can be used to roast onions. The inside is glazed, making for easy cleanup, and the roaster is oven and microwave-safe.

  37. Coffee Mug
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    I mean. Can you think of a more perfect definition of a chef than this? This coffee mug sums it up pretty well! The mug holds 11 ounces and is microwave and dishwasher-safe. 

  39. Chef’s Mat
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    One of the best gifts for chefs is the gift of a relaxed and happy body! If you’ve ever had a job where you were on your feet all day, you can appreciate why this is a wonderful gift for a chef. This mat helps cut down on back and knee pain and the fatigue those who stand a lot can develop. 

  41. Mixology Gastronomy Kit
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    A good chef can turn out a good cocktail, and this molecular mixology kit will help them do just that. It includes everything a beginner gastro-mixologist needs to take their cocktails to the next level. There’s sugar foam, caviar bubbles, gellification, emulsification, and suspension. No shakers required!

  43. French Press
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    This isn’t just any French Press; it’s a Le Creuset! Forget the old-school drip-coffee maker. Coffee made in a French press tastes better, and chefs have discerning palates. And if you’re going to have a French press, why not one made by one of the most respected cookware makers in the world Oooh, la la!

  45. Bamboo Steamer
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    This bamboo steamer basket is great for making dumplings, dim sum, cooking rice, staying veggies, and more. The steamer is available in eight-inch and ten-inch versions. The steamer includes two sets of chopsticks. 

  47. Digital Food Scale 
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    This digital kitchen scale is a great addition to any chef’s kitchen! This 22lb or 10kg Multifunction Precision Kitchen and Food Scale can help you weigh your ingredients accurately, ensure healthy portion sizes, and make it easy to follow recipes more closely, making baking and cooking much easier.

  49. Kitchen Scissors
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    It might seem strange to a non-chef to use scissors in the kitchen, but there are some tasks that they are much more suited for than a knife-like butterflying a whole chicken, cutting bones, and snipping herbs. You can also use these scissors for cracking nuts and opening a beer. 

  51. Serious Chef’s Mitts
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    Chefs suffer a lot of burns no matter how careful they are, so why not try to cut down on that number? These mitts protect from heat, cold, and slippage. It’s water repellent, which helps prevent steam and liquid burns, the nastiest kind. 

  53. Electric Salt + Pepper Mills
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    If you only have one free hand, these electric salt and pepper grinders are what you need! These elegant, sleek electric grinders are ideal for cooking in the kitchen and grilling BBQ outside and stylish addition to your kitchen and dinner table.

  55. Bluetooth Meat Thermometer
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    Search “chugod” in Appstore or Google Play, or scan the QR code in the instruction with your phone. Then plug in the bbq thermometer. Probe the food, then choose the food type and degrees in the App. The oven thermometer will do the rest. Super easy to read the current data, also has a super backlight so that the barbecue can be done at night as usual.

  57. Cutting Board Care Kit
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    What is the best way to clean and care for wooden cutting boards? It’s probably the most frequently asked question related to cutting boards, butcher blocks, and other wood kitchen tools. This complete cutting board maintenance kit is the answer to this critical question. Other companies sell different wax forms, and a few sell oil, but no one gives you a complete solution. This gift set will get tons of use! 

  59. Family Recipe Journal
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    Take the family recipes with you. From grandma’s lasagna to mom’s bundt cake, every family has recipes that transport them back to the kitchen instantly. Help bring those food memories back to the table! The book includes space for over 160 recipes.

  61. Cast Iron Cleaner
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    Cleaning cast iron sucks! You can’t just toss it in the dishwasher. But chefs like it because it’s such a good cooking surface. This badass, chain mail-looking scrubber makes short work of dirty cast iron. Also, you will feel like you are in the Middle Ages, which is fantastic. 

  63. Cedar Grilling Planks
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    Cooking food on a cedar plank infuses it with a lovely cedar flavor. Salmon is the go-to, but you can also use these planks for cooking other fish types, beef, chicken, and pork. 

  65. Sur La Table Gift Card
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    Can’t decide on a gift? We have a great solution: a Sur La Table gift card. They’re perfect for family and friends, and you can let the recipient delight in choosing from their fabulous culinary collection.

  67. Mason Jar Kitchen Set 
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    Mason jars are an American classic. They’ve been around since 1858 and can be almost considered American folk art. This three-piece set includes a spoon rest, measuring spoons, and stackable measuring cups. All are made of “Tiffany-blue” ceramic (though other colors are available.)

  69. Loch Ness Monster Ladle
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    Look how cute! Little Nessie is poking out of your soup pot!  She’s made of nylon, and her little feet keep her standing upright on the counter and in a pot. With a nice smooth grip, you can now, with ease, serve all your favorite Soups, Stews, Chilies, and Sauces. 

  71. Mini Fire Extinguisher 
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    Even seasoned (see what I did there?) chefs aren’t immune from the occasional kitchen fire. Easier to use than a fire extinguisher, these are great to keep in the kitchen for those small fires that can happen to anyone. 

  73. Mortar and Pestle
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    A mortar and pestle are very versatile. They can be used to muddle herbs for drinks or recipes, grind spices, and guacamole! This unfinished granite set is beautiful and rustic, and the bottom of the pestle is lined, so it won’t damage the counter or tabletop. 

  75. Beeswax Reusable Wrap
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    Don’t want plastic touching your food? Trying to be more environmentally friendly? Then you will love this food wrap. It’s all-natural, made from beeswax, organic cotton, organic jojoba oil, and tree resin. It’s reusable, lasting up to a year when properly cared for. 

  77. Bookends
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    Tired of having so many cookbooks that pile up all over the house? Why not add some elegance to your bookshelf or kitchen with these unique cooking bookends that will organize all your cookbooks? The chopping board book stoppers are the perfect gift for all those cooking friends and family members who love to read

  79. Cast Iron Basting Set
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    A true grill master’s dream, they’ll get a cast iron pot, an extra-long 18″ basting brush, and two replacement cotton mop heads that are washable and reusable. The iron basting pot retains maximum heat, while the elevated platform base keeps sauces from burning.