Black Friday and Cyber Monday whizzed past like a flash. You’ve barely wrapped up Thanksgiving service and now you’re heading into holiday party season. We get it. It’s not that you don’t care about your staff. But you barely have time to catch a breath this time of year, let alone hunt for gifts for the people who most deserve them (your staff not least among them). So we did the legwork for you and went straight to the source. We asked mixologists, chefs, pastry chefs, and somms across the country what was on their wish list this year. And with our annual gift guide, we cover all the bases, from off-beat gifts for under $15 to the stuff of dreams (and winning lottery tickets) for the harried chef, pastry chef, somm, or mixologist in your life to use behind the line, behind the bar, or at home (if and when they finally get the day off). Oh, and to the hopeful mixologist who told us he wanted “an all-expenses paid trip to Oaxaca and a customs agent that was sympathetic to mezcal enthusiasts,” we didn’t put that on the list, but we hear you, man.
(We’ve heard the Chef Picks app by StarChefs.com, Off the Beaten Path Edition is a great holiday gift too. Just sayin.)
Chef and Pastry Chef Gifts
WHAT: Chicken coop accessories: hanging watering cans, large galvanized cans for storage of food and shavings, and feeders
PRICE TAG: $15.98 to $35.99
WHOSE WISH LIST: Chef and Restaurateur
Renee Erickson of
Boat Street Cafe,
Boat Street Pickles, and
The Walrus and the Carpenter – Seattle, WA
HOLIDAY WISH: For “my new chicken coop to be finished.”
WHAT: Adrian Camut Calvados
PRICE TAG: $66.99
WHOSE WISH LIST: Chef and Restaurateur
Renee Erickson of
Boat Street Cafe,
Boat Street Pickles, and
The Walrus and the Carpenter – Seattle, WA
HOLIDAY WISH: “To buy Adrian Camut Calvados here in Washington, now that we have the new liquor law ... rather than hauling it home from France.”
WHAT: “In lieu of an actual meal at Montreal's
Au Pied de Cochon, one can get
one of their rad t-shirts online.”
PRICE TAG: $30.00 Canadian
WHOSE WISH LIST: Pastry Chef
Michael Laiskonis of
Le Bernardin – New York, NY
Mixo Gifts
WHAT: “
Bottle of Sanbitter would be an awesome bartender stocking stuffer ... if bartenders do that kind of thing.”
PRICE TAG: $11.49 for pack of 10
WHOSE WISH LIST: 2011 Houston Rising Star Mixologist
Bobby Heugel of
Anvil Bar & Refuge – Houston, TX
Somm Gifts
WHAT: “A small
Vinotemp for my home wine storage.”
PRICE TAG: $455.99
WHOSE WISH LIST: 2011 Chicago Rising Star Sommelier
Rachael Lowe of
Sixteen at the Trump International Hotel & Tower – Chicago, IL
WHAT: Burgundy wine glasses
PRICE TAG: $193.19
WHOSE WISH LIST: 2011 Chicago Rising Star Sommelier
Rachael Lowe of
Sixteen at the Trump International Hotel & Tower – Chicago, IL
