Top Gifts for the Cooking Enthusiast

Cooking enthusiasts are especially fun "targets" to shop for during the holidays. Typically, these are the people who whip up the most interesting (and sometimes most fattening) treats around this particular time of year. Most "chefs" love entertaining, and getting others to sample their goodies. So it's not a bad idea to supplement their cooking arsenal with a few special finds. Here are a few examples of things that any cuisine aficionado would appreciate as a gift:

1- Specialty Cookbooks - Sure, this may seem like the easy way out in terms of gift-giving. But there are so many new cooking styles and cuisines, that there is certainly something that your cooking enthusiast has missed. The knack in identifying that perfect cookbook (or books) lies in understanding what your recipient's specialties are. Perform a bit of trickery to find out what kinds of cuisine they are interested in. Many cookbooks are just as entertaining as they are informative. Perhaps you might even purchase a "gag" cookbook as a funny holiday joke. Cookbooks of every variety are most commonly found in traditional bookstores like Border's or Barnes & Noble. However, you might just as easily find some of these wonderful items in your local supermarket. For a recipient who is the die-hard chef, a small collection of these references would be great if included in a gift basket.

2- Cost Plus World Market Gift Cards - If you have never heard of the Cost Plus World Market, you are certainly missing out on some really exotic treats. The cooking buff will go crazy over a hefty gift card from this store. Specializing in home décor, collectibles, and kitchen items, this is the store which caters to those who are in the market for imported items from foreign locales. Cost Plus features many different kinds of gourmet cooking appliances and accessories. Any contraption of cooking convenience can be found at this wonderfully extraordinary store. Take a conspiratorial peek around your recipient's kitchen to better gauge what kinds of things he or she is missing from the "arsenal"-and let the gift hunting begin.

3- Wine Tasting Tickets - Typically, those who really enjoy cooking also enjoy a good glass of vintage wine. Assuming that your holiday gift recipient is not enrolled in Alcoholics Anonymous, then you've got yourself an innovative choice in gifts. Check your local area for wine tastings, or visit a few websites which list wine tastings in your state. Some small resorts also include wine tastings as part of their vacation packages. You might even book one of these mini-vacations as the gift itself. Either way, wine tastings are really chic social events where the tasters get to learn about the specific grapes that the wines come from. A cooking enthusiast will love to pair their sumptuous concoction with a great glass of vino.

4- Cooking Show DVDs - What is an even better gift than a cookbook? A digital one of course. There are just as many cooking DVDs as there are books, if not more. Your "chef" will love to follow along with Martha [Stewart] or Julia [Childs] DVD as he or she aims to prepare some of their famous mouth-watering delicacies. These DVD's can be located on Amazon.com. Martha Stewart has her own website where she markets all sorts of items. The DVDs are great because you can actually see how the dishes are prepared instead of wondering when and how to add certain recipe items. It would be a ninth wonder of the world, if your holiday gift recipient isn't appreciative of this present.

5- Spices - Anyone who has attempted to follow verbatim a fancy gourmet recipe, knows that the key to preparing the perfect dish is in the spices. However, many exotic spices are rather expensive. So purchasing 15 or more of them at the same time may be a bit stressful for the cooking enthusiast. Why not take away a little of the frustration by presenting a fully-stocked gourmet spice rack to your holiday gift recipient? Tubularspices.com has several different types of racks in a plethora of styles. Some of them mount on the walls; some are counter-based racks. The prices range from as little as $20 dollars to as much as $150. Again, it's a good idea to do a little nosing around in your cooking buff's kitchen to get a better design on what kind of space he/she is working with. Either way, you simply cannot go wrong with a rack that contains over 20 herbs and spices.

It might seem a little selfish to contribute to your gift recipient's cooking stash simply for the purpose of partaking in a bit of gourmet meal tasting. However, the average die hard cooking enthusiast will certainly appreciate any attention to detail where it regards the preparation of delectable meals. Use a bit of creativity in your presentation in order to customize the gift to your recipient's personality. You may find that the holiday present(s) you choose keep on giving year after year…