Throwing a fabulous dinner party at your home is one of the most sophisticated ways of entertaining your friends (as well as getting your family off junk food).
Serving something amazing is often just the result of having the right tools - take a look at some of the gifts we've selected for home cooks.
Tofu has a whole laundry list of health benefits, especially for women around middle age. Once you learn how to cook with it, you won’t be able to get enough. The right texture will become important, too, which this little gadget allows you to achieve effortlessly.
Anyone who enjoys coffee with friends will love getting this little decorating set as a gift. The designs it allows you to make on top of each drink may be short-lived, but are all the more special for that.
The humble hamburger can be infinitely versatile, especially when you start filling the patty with cheese, caramelized onions or whatever you prefer. Using a special press gives them an even thickness for perfect cooking every time.
We’re often told that all plants need to thrive are soil, sunlight and water. Perhaps some people really do have green thumbs, but most of us can do with all the gardening help we can get.
Plenty of people think of sushi as something exotic and nearly impossible to make. They’re right, of course, if we’re talking about upholding traditional Japanese standards. If you just want to create dishes that look and taste good, even a novice can get started.
Following a healthy diet does require some work, but it’s actually easy once you get the hang of it. Whether you want to eat less junk food, practice better portion control or just spend less effort on cooking, these glass storage containers may be just what you need.
This slab of premium rock salt makes a perfect gift for regular grillers, but also a fine addition to any kitchen. It imparts wonderful flavor to any food placed on it and has a couple of other, interesting uses.
Although wine can stay in pristine condition for years in its bottle, it quickly goes to pot once it’s uncorked. You don’t have to finish it all at once, though: you can still enjoy it several days later as long as you take the air out of the bottle before storing it.
You can keep herbs fresh by storing them in glasses of water, which will keep them crispy and green for about three times as long. This works well enough, but these containers let you do it a lot less messily.
A lovely gift for anyone who spends a lot of time in the kitchen, this ingenious whisk reduces mess and lets you salvage the sauce or batter that would normally be left clinging to the wires.
Grilling is a a source of pride and joy for many people. Why not, then, combine it with another hobby and showcase your love of music? These barbecue tools are sure to please anyone who likes both.
If you love Star Wars and also love cooking, why not give the gift of delicious intergalactic food with this official book of Star Wars-themed recipes?
The brightly-colored plastic clip-on bowls from Guyuyii are certain to appeal to children. The cups don’t take up any room on the plate; they help keep sauces separate from foods they’re not meant to mix with.
This wine making starting kit will, with a little effort and a willingness to follow directions, help produce something to actually serve at dinner and gloat fiercely about. An original gift for the ambitious wine connoisseur.
Growing your own herbs is a great hobby. Whether fresh or dried, they taste better just because it’s from your own garden. This particular herb drying rack is bigger than most and keeps flies and birds away – a nice gift for gardeners who also like cooking.
With this bowl you can keep your breakfast cereal from getting soggy by lifting it above the milk. You can also use it for things like separating oatmeal and fruit.
There are various types of implements to make your own noodles, but we like this one because it makes it easy to produce uniform spaetzle every time. A great gift for serious chefs.
This is something for the original and practical home cook. Once cooked, crêpes are best served immediately – this is one good reason to opt for a tabletop crêpe maker like this one.
Although there are numerous similar products around, we like this particular lever citrus juicer for its sturdy construction. It works effectively with differently-sized fruits.
Designed to spice up your basic gin and tonic, each of these flavors add both a hint of natural flavor and visual appeal to your cocktail. It’s a welcome change to a common cocktail.
The humble dough scraper doesn’t seem like much, but this 3-in-1 pastrio bench scraper is one of the most versatile utensils out there. It’s much more useful than you would think.
This “tactical” barbecuing apron is definitely a gift for people who don’t take themselves too seriously, but it does turn out to be surprisingly useful.
With a Gemini-style space capsule as the infuser, this is a nice, thoughtful gift for tea lovers who are obsessed with anything astronautical.
With five types of seeds ready for planting, this funky vegetables kit provides a great way to grow unusual vegetables and enjoy new flavors. A great gift for someone with a kitchen garden.
Kitchen gadgets often solve a problem that doesn’t exist, and do only one thing. This tool, however, seems to be different. It’s not a replacement for conventional tongs and spoons, but will indeed perform the functions of both of these.
These lightsaber-style chopsticks are bright enough to make an impression in daylight. With dimmer illumination, however, they’re simply spectacular. Before long, someone is definitely going to start swinging these around at the dinner table.
Straws are good and plastic is bad, so what shall we do? Enter this reusable stainless steel drinking straw. It’s pretty much immune to rust or abrasion, and comes with a rustic-looking cotton storage pouch.
These ice cube molds are taking your entertaining to the next level. They’re easy to fill and empty, designed to be stacked on top of one another, and certainly make an impression.
Takoyaki is a traditional Japanese dish few people know about. Although mainly a street food, there are also restaurants that specialize it. Now you can too.
There’s nothing in this book that I wouldn’t want to order in a restaurant. Although designed around dogs’ nutritional needs, you can basically make the exact same dinner for a two- and four-legged family.
Not everyone knows this, but most skilled cooks have not one but several kinds of vinegar and flour in their kitchens. This Himalayan pink salt is a good addition to their kitchen as well.