Gift Guide Part 3:
20+ of my favorite, and coveted, kitchen items, from local, small, and black owned businesses!
To go along with my Local Sonoma county food and beverage guides, I thought some kitchen items would be a nice accompaniment. I love beautiful, useful gifts that people will use often, and will serve (ba dum bum), as a reminder of you, the amazing gift giver!
Kitchen Gift Guide # 1-12
- New World Sourdough I jumped on the sourdough bandwagon in the spring, and reached out to Jenna, from III Rivers Kitchen for some guidance, and she directed me to Bryan Ford. He laid back, comfortable cooking style is super approachable. I was really excited when his cookbook (and now video companion!) came out. His recipes combine his Honduran roots with his New Orleans upbringing. Highly recommend as a gift for anyone who loves sourdough baking, or is interested in it. And give them this starter, too!
2. Banneton Baskets Having the right tools for job really does make a difference sometimes, and I’ve found that to be the base with these bannetons while baking sourdough bread. Laura, from A Beautiful Plate, has a great list of tools, and she recommended these. If you watch her bread videos, you’ll understand why I trust her!
3. Meat Thermometer If you are like me and can never tell when chicken is done, and notoriously over cook it, this is a must have in the kitchen. I didn’t really think about needing one, or how much it would help until my dad give me for Christmas, and I found myself using it all the time. SO helpful. Recommend you anyone who cooks meat.
4. Ceramic Pie Dish from Petaluma’s local kitchen store, I Leoni would make a great gift for a baker. Maybe even bake them a pie in it to get them started!
5. Wine Stopper and Pourer I like adding something like this to a a gift of wine. Aerates as it pours, as well. Also, check Etsy for more personalized options.
6. Vintage Knife My friends at Savage Sublime make and curate a stunning collection of items. Their eye for design, appreciation for the natural world, and craftsmanship make for some truly display worthy, yet fully useable and practical gifts. Stunning items on their site, and an ever growing inventory.
7. Handmade Ceramic Mug The black woman behind this artisan owned shop turned her hobby into a business, selling her beautiful ceramics. I think mugs are such a nice gift, because as someone sits down with are warm beverage, they are reminded with every sip that someone cared about them enough to give them a thoughtful gift. Also check out this mug.
8. Baywood Cutting Board These boards are gorgeous creations are from Savage Sublime, and are truly a labor of love. Brandi does everything from collecting the wood from trees on her property (in a sustainable way), to milling and planing the wood, to sanding and finishing the boards into beautiful, functional works of art. I have one on my wish list!
9. Joco Travel Cup These glass mugs are great, and really elevate the travel mug experience. They are glass, and withstand dishwashers and microwaves, and are especially nice when they have your favorite coffee logo on them! Gift with a bag of coffee, or coffee shop gift card!
10. Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat You might have been living in a cave (hmm, sounds pretty good this year…) and not heard about this book, so I’m here to tell you, you need it! And then go watch the Netflix series, and listen to Samin’s podcast, Home Cooking. Samin is such a joy. She is an amazing chef who does not take herself too seriously. She has an infectious laugh and smile, and she will cheer. you. up! Her cookbook is a combination of instruction manual, and recipes, with whimsical illustrations by Wendy MacNaughton. If you need a go-to cookbook to gift, make it this one!
11. Tea Infuser If you have ever thrown one of those spoon tea infusers out the window because it was super annoying, you need one of these. I went from thinking loose leaf tea was too labor intensive (i’m lazy), to it being all I want to drink. Game changer. Also, it fits in a wide mouth tea pot, which is a nice bonus. Combine with a bag of tea, and mug, and you’re set.
12. Wood Coasters hand painted with flowers, make a unique gift on their own, but I’d pair with a bottle of something like this!
Kitchen Gift Guide # 13-21
13. Bench Scraper I need one of these, so your other home chef friends might, too. Perfect for sourdough baking. Add some banneton baskets, and some flour, and a dose of humility, and it’ll be the perfect gift.
14. Dish Towels I’m always tempted to think that dish towels are too practical or impersonal, but in reality they are a great gift, that will make you think of me every time you do the dishes, or dry your hands for the 500th time that day. Great in gift baskets, too!
15. Rose Colored Glasses for real. These are from an upscale, black owned boutique in Oakland. Definitely a splurgy, luxury gift. Would be perfect with this wine, or a wine club membership.
16. Bread Lame (pronounced LAHM). I need one of these, too, Santa. My dull knives just don’t cut it…Another must have for the bread baker.
17. Handcrafted Mugs Another great option from the a black artisan. I love her designs, and they seem to be flying off the shelf, so hopefully you can one!
18. Ceramic Pitchers from Good Gray, in Petaluma, are hand crafted in France, and I would use for everything from flowers to utensils, to iced tea. A timeless gift, for sure.
19. Tea infuser with stand Another day another tea infuser. I just think they make nice gifts. And the handcrafted stand is a really nice touch. This shop has a lot of great items, for all kinds of people.
20. Beeswax Food Wrap from the man who brought you “Buzz Off Honey” from the Goah Way Ranch. And for a really outside the hive box, Serge can help you with all of you bee keeping needs, including swarm management. Can you bee-lieve it? Sorry.
21. Kitchen wares and other gifts from one of my favorite Petaluma restaurants. They have some of their gift items available to order online, and more in the restaurant. They beautiful glass ware, bowls, and specialty Swedish candy, to name a few. The owners are great, and I’m sure would be happy to help with any gifting needs. Fuel your holiday shopping with some of their food, like my favorite salad.
Checkout my other blog posts for more gift ideas, including local food, beverages, jewelry, kids stuff, and lots of other cool things from small businesses!
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