From the Cut: 33 Valentine’s Day Gifts for the Foodie in Your Life
Love someone who loves food? Gift them a cult-fave condiment, engraved skillet, or Ina Garten’s coconut cake for V-Day
Is there a greater love language than food? You could buy my heart with Ina Garten’s coconut cake, some king crab legs, or a heaping tower of chocolate-covered honeycomb. But there are also plenty of food-related gifts — a farfalle-shaped candle! A rhinestone chocolate chip cookie necklace! — that would make a food- or drink-obsessed person really happy this Valentine’s Day.
It’s easy to please a food-lover on such a famously indulgent holiday. (No one ever turned up their nose at caviar and Champagne), but we’d like to offer a few more alternatives for the person who has already done many a lobster dinner, and whose pantry shelves overflow with heart-shaped Le Creuset cookware. They’re the person who orders for the table (whether you agree or not), and they know how to make an elaborate layer cake. You can’t give them something expected, like an Instant Pot. It’s safe to assume they already own every mug ever made or sold at Anthropologie. And don’t even think about getting them a Dutch oven: They already have one in a signature color. These are the gifts they won’t see coming, but will adore — dare we say, savor. Many, if not all of the Valentine’s Day gifts below are also able to be shipped to your loving arms in a matter of days, and given that capitalism’s most cherubic holiday is just around the corner, the time to order really is now.
Below, we’ve rounded up food-related Valentine’s gifts for everyone on your list, from your pasta-loving partner to cast-iron snobs, wannabe wine experts, and everyone in-between. (If this list still doesn’t cut it, get them a good old-fashioned gift certificate to Food52 or Williams Sonoma, which will cover all the bases.)
If They’re Old School
If You Live Together and Want to Reap the Benefits of Your Gift
For the Person You Just Started Seeing
Chocolate sardines are trop chic right now, and are the perfect small, slips-in-your-bag gift for cheekily impressing a food lover — tinned-fish and chocolate-craving folks alike.
If Your Dearly Beloved Is Gluten-Free
For the Person Who Swears You Can Only Get Decent Pizza in New York
For the Situationship With a Serious Sweet Tooth
For the Person With Whom You Eat Takeout Four Nights a Week
If Their Love of Food Is Only Rivaled by Their Love of the Criterion Collection
For the Person Who Weighs Their Coffee Beans
For the Person Who Could Be on The Great British Bake Off
For the Person Who Can Never Decide What They Want to Eat
If You Forgot to Make a Reservation and Everywhere Is Booked and You’re Panicking
If They (or You) Find the Farmers Market Sexy
OK, you love tomatoes — but just how much do you love the umami juiciness of a Roma, San Marzano, Early Girl, or heirloom? Enough to emerge from your boudoir in this gorgeous embroidered tomato bra and underwear set from Fleur Du Mal? Let’s find out. (These would make a great icebreaker for asking to plan a trip to Italy next summer.)
If They Keep Talking About That Scene in ‘Babygirl’
If They Live for an Ice-Cold Martini
If They’re Always Aiming for the Perfect Sear on a Ribeye
If They’re an Aspiring Italian Nonna (or Grew Up With One)
If They’re All in on the Pistachio Trend
And honestly, throw in a jar of real Italian cream of pistachio while you’re at it. It’s just so good.
