Every year, we get a mountain of requests from folks looking for the best cookware-related holiday gifts, whether for the beginner home cook or for the seasoned pro. This year, we decided to do something about it: featuring all of our co-founder Jake Kalick’s personal favorite cookware items and accessories, welcome to the 2024 Made In Holiday Gift Guide.
Stocking Stuffers
We put just as much stock (sorry) into stocking stuffers as we do into regular gifts. Here are some of our favorite small, yet high-impact, cooking-related gifts.
Birds’ Beak Paring Knife
The handy little Bird’s Beak Paring Knife features a short, hooked blade, making it a favorite of chefs and prep cooks for fluting mushrooms, hulling berries, and making paper-thin curls of citrus zest. It’s the sort of thing your giftee would (probably) never think to buy for themselves—but one they’ll get a ton of use out of.
Kitchen Candles
Our Kitchen Candles are expressly designed to eliminate unpleasant kitchen odors, leaving your kitchen smelling fresh and clean (aka, not like 3-day-old fried fish). Available in three culinary scents—Tear of Basil, Zest of Lemon, and Pinch of Salt—and made from high-quality paraben-free wax, they’re nice enough to please the biggest candle snobs.
Measuring Cups
Precise and hard-wearing, our stainless steel Measuring Cups make a great small gift or stocking stuffer. They’re also designed to be aesthetically identical to our Stainless Clad cookware (down to the rivets), so they essentially look like tiny pots and pans—adorable.
The Main Gifts
From a small (but mighty) Butter Warmer to a whole set of Japanese steel knives, these are some of Jake’s top-recommended items for gifting this holiday season.
Butter Warmer
Jake’s personal most-gifted item, a butter warmer, is perfect for warming up individual portions of sauce, making condiments like chili crisp, or even heating milk for a toddler or baby (one of our HQ employees also recommends using it as a meat mallet). Our Stainless Clad Butter Warmer is made from premium 5-Ply Stainless Clad, so it’s just as durable and high-performing as our other stainless steel cookware.
Copper Frying Pan
For the person you *really* want to pamper, our luxurious, 2-ply Copper Frying Pan offers truly unmatched heat control and precision. All of our stainless steel-lined copper pots and pans are made in France—aka, home of the best copper artisans in the world—so we can guarantee that this pan is just as durable and high-performing as it is stunning to look at.
5.5QT Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven
Versatile, rustic-chic, and incredibly hard-wearing, enameled cast iron Dutch ovens are an ideal gift for the budding cook in your life. However, not all Dutch ovens are made equally: our Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven is made from best-quality French cast iron, enameled by hand for a flawless, durable finish. If your giftee doesn’t have one yet, this is a gift they’ll use over and over (and over!) again.
Griddle (Plus Accessories)
A griddle is the best gift for your partner, dad, or really any home cook who hates having to return inside once grilling season is over. For the complete griddle-cooking experience, pair our premium seasoned Carbon Steel Griddle with our 4-piece Griddle Tools set and/or Griddle Utility Bag, plus the stainless steel Grill Press that helps maximize contact between the food and your pan, grill, or griddle.
Japanese Damascus Steel Knife Set
Some of the best knives in the world are made in Japan, which is why we partnered with master bladesmiths in Seki City, Japan for our Japanese Damascus Steel Knives. If your giftee is serious about their knives, these full-tang, lightweight, high-carbon blades will just about ruin them for any other knife.
3QT Saucier
Highly specialized, yet super versatile, the 3QT Saucier is perfect for the serious cook (or the cook looking to get a little more serious). With the Saucier’s rounded, cornerless sides, the giftee will feel like a pro making silky pan sauces, perfect bechamel, and more of their favorite cheffy preparations.
Steak Knives
Steak knives make the perfect gift for your sibling, cousin, or anybody who just moved into their first big-kid apartment. These sleek, full-tang French Steak Knives slice cleanly through any cut of meat, and look extra classy on a dinner table.
Ready to Shop?
When it comes to holiday gifts, nothing quite measures up to high-quality cookware: equal parts personal, practical, and beautiful, a well-made knife, frying pan, or Dutch oven really takes the (Christmas) cake.
Whether you choose something off this list, or use it as a starting point for your holiday shopping, we hope your gift-giving season is just as sweet as your dessert lineup.
