10 Best Holiday Gifts for Food Lovers

Have you ever really had great ice cream if you’ve never tried Graeter’s? (Spoiler: The answer is no.) This Cincinnati-based company has been churning top-notch ice cream for over 150 years; it’s likely denser and creamier than what you’re used to, and trust us: that’s a very good thing. 

Part home décor, part culinary science experiment, this kit starts with cuts of recently felled Aspen and Poplar pre-planted with mushroom spores. Once the logs arrive, you soak them in water and keep them in a cool dark place to await the emergence of the oysters. The log should continue to produce mushrooms for up to three years! 

Ina Garten, national treasure that she is, first tasted this cake at a friend’s house. She fell instantly in love and managed to finagle a copy of the recipe before leaving that evening. One bite and you will agree that this fluffy, deeply chocolate, multi-tiered marvel is the best chocolate cake you’ve ever had. (Ina credits the addition of espresso.) The cake ships frozen, just thaw it in the fridge before slicing.

If you could describe what the city of Chicago tastes like — it might just be this pizza. Traditional deep dish, loaded with toppings (though for the culinary record, Chicago pizza prowess does not begin and end with deep dish), you can get four, 9-inch pizzas delivered from the Windy City straight to your door. They will arrive frozen, just bake, and eat within 30 days.

Who says glasses can’t spark happiness and delight? That’s what these sweet, handmade critters peeking through your seltzer will do with every sip. Plus, since the designs are all different, no mistaking someone else’s drink for your own! 

Do not sleep on Trader Joe’s for your dark-chocolate loving friends. This single-origin gift pack is a masterclass in a dark and (not-so) sweet treat — each bar comes from cacao sourced from a single country, making global comparisons part of the fun. 

Whether you load up this organic, weighty board with gorgeous farm cheeses or softened slabs of butter is up to you — but the one-of-a-kind shape of this natural teak-slice board will convince any guests that you are serious about whatever’s on it.

This oven and its very high temperature interior really makes the difference between run-of-the-mill, home-cooked pizza (often a little rubbery and a little under-cooked) and for-real, restaurant-quality pies. It’s as easy to operate as a gas grill (you just connect the oven to a propane tank), pies cook in minutes and you are rewarded with that spectacularly charred, crispy crust (and pepperoni!). 

A food gift of a very different kind — this one is really the gift of health. Chef-developed meals get packed fresh every Sunday (the menu changes regularly) shipped overnight and arrive frozen in dry ice for you to thaw and reheat in the oven at home. The science-backed plans here also come with expert, thoughtful one-on-one health coaching. These meals include no added sugar, are completely vegan, and will change your relationship with healthy eating. The perfect antidote to heavy holiday indulgences.

For cupcake aficionados, the ratio of buttercream to cake is a huge point of debate (we prefer 1/3 frosting to 2/3 cake) and Sprinkles understands this intuitively. Thankfully, you do not need to live near one of their brick-and-mortar locations to make these delicacies a sweet ending to any meal. And you needn’t plan too far ahead either as Sprinkles ships cupcakes via overnight mail.