The season of giving is back again, meaning it’s high time to start jotting down your naughty or nice list and coming up with the perfect gift for the ones you love. Thankfully we here at Eater LA are here to help, with a list of Eater-tested gadgets and decadent treats for the food lovers on your list. From sous vide machines to dinnerware that gives back, here are 2016’s best Los Angeles-based gifts for food obsessives.
Looking for even more options? Check out our national edition here.
Oliso Smart Hub + Top
Is your foodie friend the type of person who has every kitchen gadget you could imagine? Show off A+ gifting skills with the tool everyone wants this year, the Oliso Smart Hub + Top, the all-in-one induction burner and Precision SmartTop that allows you to sous vide, culture yogurt, and even pan sear in one handy device. $499.00
Everything I Want to Eat: Sqirl and the New California Cooking
Has a hipper cookbook ever been made than Jessica Koslow’s Everything I Want To Eat? Definitely not, as the Sqirl mastermind has filled her cookbook debut with gorgeous images worthy of an Urban Outfitters catalog. Are there recipes for "flaky-ass biscuits" and fancy toasts? You’d better believe it. $28
Cheeky Dinnerware
It’s always heartening to find new companies (especially when they’re based right in LA) in social entrepreneurship that give to those in needed with every item purchased. Well the next entrant in the food and beverage/lifestyle category has arrived with Cheeky, the disposable and porcelain dinnerware company that partnered with Feeding America and No Kid Hungry to help end hunger. And with such eye-catching designs on beautifully crafted porcelain, it’s never been easier to do a little good this holiday season. $69.99
Hedley & Bennett’s MISE Knife Bag
The ultimate way to share your love with your chef and aspiring chef friends this season is probably with Hedley & Bennett’s newest product, the MISE knife bag. A serious step up from the standard vinyl varieties, this knife carrying case is made with sturdy leather and a brilliant grid system to keep all your tools right where you need them. Is there a sleeker, more coveted knife bag around? We doubt it. $320
Kingbird Mixers
Barman Christiaan Röllich (A.O.C., Lucques) partnered up with Suzanne Goin and Caroline Styne to create a line of small batch premix dubbed Kingbird. Available at The Larder at Tavern and The Larder at Burton Way, these tasty liquor supplements come with directions printed right on the bottle to make you look like a mixologist right in your home. The Pistolero with lemon, honey, ginger, and chile de arbol is our favorite. Each 375 mL bottle makes six cocktails when mixed with your spirit of choice. $18 per bottle
BlueCut Aprons
Every home cook needs a well-crafted apron to keep all your necessary tools right where they need to be. Handcrafted in Los Angeles by a husband and wife duo who worked everywhere from Calvin Klein to John Varvatos to Yigal Azrouel, these aprons are not only made with the finest fabrics and hardware, but also with a serious eye for style. Even better? Order Bestia’s apron with its signature pops of red, and take pride in the fact that 100% of the proceeds from the purchase goes to CoachArt, a South Bay organization benefiting children with long term health issues and disabilities. $85-$87
Knead & Co Pasta
You would be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t love pasta, especially when it comes by way of Bruce Kalman of Union and Knead & Co. Luckily the pasta maven is offering his signature dried pasta that is made in house daily. The Pasta of the Month Club satisfies carb cravings all year around, with a one pound bag of signature pasta and bag of seasonal specialty pasta for a tasty gift that keeps on giving. $75 for three months
Gino Angelini Pasta Sauce
You’re going to need some sauce to go along with those pastas, and there are few better places to get it than from Angelini Osteria’s Gino Angelini. Luckily his sauces have been bottled up and are on offer at his newly opened Angelini Alimentari, with everything from classic arrabbiata to limone. $9.99 each
Rubies + Diamonds CAF Rated Coffee Beans
Hollywood’s hippest coffee shop is offering a product perfect for coffee connoisseurs—CAF rated coffee beans. That’s right, R+D’s Jean Shim uses the unique Caffeine Amplitude Formula to categorize beans based on their caffeine content, which means you can customize your morning brew to have just the right amount of jolt. $13 to $17
Mulholland Vodka
Currently only available in Los Angeles, this new line of spirits is dedicated to its hometown through and through. Not only is the full portfolio formulated here in the City of Angeles, but the brand’s namesake, William Mulholland, is responsible for bringing water to our dear city. Mullholland’s new "water" packs a boozy punch with notes of vanilla and evergreen. Even better? Each bottle is only $19.99.
Sweet Rose Creamery Pint Club
We all scream for ice cream, which is precisely what makes Sweet Rose Creamery’s Seasonal Pint Club a safe bet. Each shipment contains three seasonal flavors from the home-grown scoop shop, plus a special mystery flavor only available to pint club members, making this the ideal gift for true ice cream aficionados. $55 per season
Valerie Confections Chocolates
Valerie Confections is throwing it back this year with a collection of sweet treats wrapped in hip, mid-century modern packaging. Keep a few boxes of the beautiful evergreen truffles or pile of the retro blanc and noir fruitcake bars around as the perfect hostess gift. $10 to $40
Hoxie Spritzers
Keep the holidays light with these all-natural wine spritzers in blanc and rosé varieties. Created by Josh Rosenstein while working in Suzanne Goin’s kitchens, these LA-born spritzers are a tasty, lighthearted way to get into the holiday spirit. $28 for 8 cans
Thyme Café Gift Basket
The holidays aren’t meant for being healthy, which is exactly where Thyme Café’s gift baskets come into play. This Santa Monica marketplace is an easy one-stop-shop for locally made candies, seasoned nuts, and a bottle of sparkling wine to top it all off. Be sure to add CiCi’s butterhorns to your basket—you won’t regret it. Prices vary
KIN White Whiskey
You would never guess this clear spirit is a whiskey by the looks of it, but this Los Angeles-based liquor company was inspired to create a modern take on classic American moonshine. The liquor is never aged, so can be thought of as a light whiskey that can be used in lieu of vodka in cocktail recipes, and would be an interesting addition to a liquor lover’s collection. $41.15
M Café’s Rebalance Holiday Gift Basket
Have a health-obsessed Japanophile in your life? Look no further than M Café’s Rebalance Holiday Gift Basket, chock full of everything you need to get back on track after the gluttony of the holidays. Baskets can contain items like gluten-free kelp noodles and sweet miso that make health nuts go wild. $50