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Know someone with a passion for cooking that will become their future career? These gift ideas are perfect for the culinary students and future chefs in your life! Give them for Christmas, birthdays, school acceptance, or as a graduation gift.
Whatever the occasion, anyone who loves being in the kitchen will appreciate these thoughtful gifts.
Gifts Culinary Students and Future Chefs Will Love
Most culinary schools provide knives and chef’s coats. Most professional kitchens have uniforms, so they likely don’t need those types of items. Not that they wouldn’t appreciate it, because we all know it’s the thought that counts, but if you want to give them something they might be able to use at work or in their home kitchen, here are some great ideas to get you started shopping for the future chefs and culinary students you know!
Personalized Kitchen/Dough Scraper
This super versatile kitchen tool is a complete game-changer for anyone who spends time in the kitchen. Cut dough, scrape cut veggies into a pan, smash garlic & potatoes – the options are endless. Get any new chef this tool for their collection.
Culinary Gangster Shirt
This t-shirt explains itself! A new chef is genuinely a “culinary gangster.” Funny t-shirts that are cooking themed make the best gift ideas for culinary students!
ChefSofi Mortar and Pestle Set
A granite mortar and pestle is a handy tool in the kitchen. They can use it for mashing spices, herbs, and other small items. Because the material is non-porous, it won’t absorb spices or oils.
Foodie Dice®
You likely can’t get the graduate on TV as a contestant in a cooking show, but you can give them these dice so they can keep their recipe skills sharp at all times. The dice feature several cooking methods and components, enabling limitless combinations and variations!
Artisan Steel
Another great multi-purpose tool for any chef! The baking steel can be used to bake loaves of bread and delicious pizzas and roast vegetables, and it can even be frozen and used as a cold plate. This steel could even be a base for making cold slab ice cream.
Anova Culinary AN400-US00 Nano Sous Vide Precision Cooker
This is one of the most popular cooking gadgets, and it’s so easy to see why! This Bluetooth-enabled cooker uses their phone as a remote control, providing push alerts while the gadget is preheating and reaching the desired temperature. Simply connect the Anova Precision Cooker to a pot, place food in a ziplock bag, and set the temperature and time.
Custom Chef Caricature Gift
Order the graduate a truly customized image that they can display! Choose the setting, submit a picture of the graduate, and see what they create for the new grad.
Finishing Salts from Across the Globe – Set
This natural sea and mountain salt sampler provides delectable flavor and trace amounts of nutrients and minerals. Makes a fantastic gift for the seasoned chef or those just getting started with spices and salts. Plus, they come in cool test tube packaging!
Mercer Culinary Tasting Spoon/Fork
This cleverly designed tasting spoon-slash-fork would make an excellent gift for a new chef. The fork is small enough to fit in a future chef’s coat sleeve pocket, and the distinctive double-ended design ensures that your favorite chef’s tasting spoon never gets mixed up with everyone else’s.
Marble Rolling Pin
Every kitchen wizard can use a good rolling pin and a customized one! Marble is an excellent material because of its weight, surface, and temperature preservation. It’s also smooth and naturally non-stick, making cleaning simple.
Alligator Vegetable Chopper Stainless Steel Professional Grade Chopper
For any chef, prepping veggies for hours on end makes up most of their daily job. Preparation is a duty that no chef can avoid, from dicing onions to julienning carrots. A vegetable cutter is a beautiful gift for easing the prep load and making a chef’s job easier.
SB SOX Compression Socks for Men & Women
Chefs spend their days on their feet, and compression socks can help with swollen ankles, aching arches, and lower back pain. Choose a pair of bright compression socks to fit their personality, or keep it simple to match their uniforms.
Crafthouse by Fortessa Classic Glass Smoke Cloche for Cocktails/Charcuterie/Drinks/Food with Handheld Smoker and Chips
This is one of those high-end items they’ll probably never buy for themselves but will secretly like having and using. They’ll make you something delicious from under its glass cover if you’re lucky.
Food Dehydrator with Temp Control and 72 Hours Timer
Another trendy gadget for the kitchen! Great for chefs and culinary enthusiasts who like making dried food items or preserving them. Food dehydration can save money, reduce food waste, and speed up cooking. Season or flavor food as it dries, making it simple to stock a kitchen with nutritious snacks.
NoCry Cut Resistant Gloves
100% food-safe AND machine washable! The gloves will protect chefs from cutting themselves, typical in kitchen restaurants, and dealing with odors.
Snarky Kitchen Apron
They likely can’t wear this in their work kitchen, but this would be a hit around their own house! A funny apron that they can wear while entertaining in their home would be a clever gift.
Reversible Cast Iron Grill & Griddle Cookware Plate
This model has raised side handles for easier transport to and from the grill and produces a crusty, smokey sear on meals. One side is flat, but the other has raised lines – perfect for the solid black grill lines. It’s great for delicate fish, shrimp, and veggies, too, in addition to breakfast favorites!
Cuisinart KML-KO3B Precision Chef Bowl Electronic Kitchen Scale
This stainless steel kitchen scale would look great in practically any kitchen. It’s incredibly accurate because users can “zero” the scale before adding more ingredients, and the display moves out from the base to avoid shadows from huge plates or bowls.
Newness Stainless Steel Hand Odor Eliminator Remover with Base Tray
Chefs work with a lot of garlic, onions, seafood, and other strong-smelling things. Regular soap isn’t adequate to eliminate these odors, but stainless steel soap works rather well.
A Box of Curated Vintage Cookbooks
This is a super niche idea but could be a great decor or inspiration piece. Some of the recipes may be terrible or even humorous, but they could inspire some new creations for a chef. Easy to find on Etsy or at any thrift shop nearby.
These gift ideas would be ideal for any culinary student on their future journey to becoming a master chef! What other tools would you add to this list for a chef?
