Do you have a food lover (and by this I don’t mean McDonald’s addict) in your life who you’d like to get a holiday gift for but haven’t got a clue what to get? Here are ten suggestions for you.

1. On Food and Reading
This was a good year for books on food. Here are some recent books and a couple of classics as well. Click on any of the images to take a look at Amazon.

“The Omnivore’s Dilemma” is food journalist Michael Pollan’s in-depth look at modern food and how and why we got to where we are. The first third of the book looks at America’s top food crop, corn; how so much more corn is produced than the market needs, how this fuels industrial beef production, and all that’s wrong with it. The second part of the book explores the organic food industry, both big and small, with some results that will probably be surprising for Whole Foods shoppers. The final third explores foraging, including mushroom and pig hunting.

While Pollan’s personal agenda is generally clear, his reporting is believable and detailed. I’ve been reading a lot of books about food this year and this is probably the best I’ve read thus far. The greatest praise that I can perhaps give the book is that it has started me really rethinking where I obtain my food from and how I relate to it.

The full title of this book is “Heat: An Amateur’s Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany”, but I’m going to just leave it at “Heat”. “Heat” is a personal memoir that’s also part (very amusing) biography of Mario Battali, part autobiography, part butcher manual and part foodie-musing. Fortunately, unlike some books with multiple masters, “Heat” balances its elements deftly and doesn’t leave you feeling that you wanted more of one and less of another.

“Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise” - Ruth Reichl’s memoir of her times as the New York Times’ food critic. A good review in the New York Times is so important that many restaurants keep photos of food critics posted in their kitchens and offer a bounty to staff who identify critics. Critics, in response, may don disguises and different personae in order to avoid being spotted, hence “The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise”.

“The Artful Eater: A Gourmet Investigates the Ingredients of Great Food”. Food writers sure have a thing for long subtitles, don’t they? Let me first say that I love this book. Each chapter explores a different facet of food, from tomatoes to salt to coffee, in considerable depth. I learned a lot from the book and enjoyed the process tremendously.

“On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen” Anyone who’s serious about working with and understanding food needs to own this book. This is the science bible for food (and cooking). From fermentation to why egg whites turn solid when cooked to how bread really works to artificial and natural sweeteners to pretty much any topic you can imagine, “On Food and Cooking” delves into the science behind the phenomenon. A bit of background in chemistry might help you understand parts of the book, but if you don’t have one and you tackle the deeper subjects it, you’ll probably come away with some new understanding of chemistry as well as food.

2. Magazines - the Gifts That Keep on Giving

Cook’s Illustrated - If you enjoyed “On Food and Cooking” then consider Cook’s Illustrated to be essential. Generally it’s lacking quite the level of science that “On Food and Cooking” has, but they make up for it by roasting thirty chickens to see which techniques work the best, and by wringing out every year some new refinement to how to roast your Thanksgiving turkey.

The Art of Eating - Consider this the companion journal to “The Artful Eater. This quarterly ad-free journal presents an eclectic array of essays that vary from night spots in Tokyo to raising veal calves to New York restaurants. I always look forward to the next issue.

Saveur - The first thing you’ll notice about Saveur is probably the beautiful photography. Saveur gracefully combines travel and food. I hate seafood but Saveur has at times made me want to eat it, and I can’t say that about any other magazines or books. Saveur isn’t just about first class, frou frou travel, either… it’s as at home in a village in Vietnam as it is in Rome or Paris.

Gourmet - 50 years of Gourmet. Part lifestyle, mostly food magazine. Gourmet is about enjoying food, whatever that entails - and mostly that’s just good food, good flavor combinations, good cooking techniques, good travel. Good food isn’t always a ten course five hour meal, too; sometimes it’s a 15 minute weeknight throw-together. Gourmet covers all the bases. And, it’s currently edited by Ruth Reichl, whose book “Garlic and Sapphires” I mentioned above.

4. Laser Thermometer

A friend gave me one of these a year or so ago, and it’s both a great tool and a great toy. Ever wonder how hot that griddle or pan really is? A sauce or melted chocolate? How about the inside of that person’s mouth? Or their butt?

5. Top Chef

Now in its second season, Top Chef was a surprise hit for Bravo. The show is like the bastard offspring of Iron Chef and Survivor. A group of chefs competes for a high-end kitchen and cash reward intended to help them start their own restaurant. Each week they have two challenges, the second of which eliminates one chef and the first of which grants one chef immunity from the elimination. It’s more psychodrama than cooking show, but it’s always entertaining.

You can buy Top Chef from or you can send send it as a gift to a friend by following the iTunes link and clicking the “Gift This TV Show” link.

6. Knives

Very few chefs don’t need a good sharp knife. I don’t mean a Ginzu knife from an infomercial. I mean a good, high quality knife that’s well balanced, fits well in their hand, that they can rely on. Alton Brown’s brand of knives are well-regarded; follow that link to see them on Amazon. If they’re too pricey, remember that all knives dull with use, even the best, and consider a Chef’s Choice knife sharpener. There are several models of these, as well. I use one in my kitchen and it’s a life-saver for keeping my knives sharp so that I never crush a tomato as I try to slice it.

7. Penzey’s Spices

Any serious cook needs serious herbs and spices. Penzey’s it a renowned source of great herbs, spices and blends. Penzey’s regularly grinds their own spices so you know they’ll be fresh and strong. And where else can you get four different kinds of cinnamon?

I don’t usually recommend gift certificates, but in this case they’re likely a good idea unless you know exactly what your favorite chef is craving. As an alternative, they also sell gift boxes with a variety of herbs, spices and blends in them. Penzey’s also has a few retail stores now, too, including one in Arlington, MA. Check out their web site for more info.

8. LA Burdick Chocolate

LA Burdick, famous for their chocolate mice and penguins, are boutique chocolate makers located in New Hampshire, but they’re happy to ship their confections all over the US. They have a store in Harvard Square in Cambridge, and another in New Hampshire. If you make it to their cafe in Harvard Square and you want to feel your arteries harden in delicious chocolatey real time, try some of their hot chocolate.

They’re one of my favorite sources of chocolate; their collections are delicious and their penguins and mice and turkeys are cute and tasty and make great gifts.

9. Tea

And finally: tea. I was a tea snob once, until it all went horribly wrong. But I still love tea, and many foodies find special pleasure in it. When you spend time with it you’ll find depths of flavor in tea that a quick cuppa will barely hint at. And the fussiness of it is hard to beat. I’ll offer you two tea companies that are very special. The first, Imperial Tea Court in San Francisco is operated by Roy Fong, who imports its many teas himself and is even involved in some of the tea plantations that he gets his tea from. I went on a tea tour that was run by Roy and it was a fantastic journey which I’ll be forever grateful for. If you’re not sure what kind of tea to get your favorite tea snob, you can always get them a teapot or tea cup or a subscription to a “tea of the month” club.

The other is Todd & Holland, where I ordered my first really good tea from and accidentally ended up in a nice conversation with the proprietors, who incidentally knew where I lived because their daughter went to the prep school near me. Todd & Holland offers a wide variety of really top end tea, and some very cute gifts like their tea assortment bento boxes.

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