(Kaitlin Brito / For The Times)
25 holiday gifts for L.A. food fans
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Gift-giving season is here, and if your list is long and you’re feeling completely overwhelmed, food is the answer. Your food-loving friends, family and colleagues will love kitchenware, chocolates, coffee, spices and merch from their favorite restaurants.
This list has something for every kind of food fan. Find sweet-and-savory snack boxes filled with chocolate bars, candies, spicy Calabrian salami and antipasto olives. A monthly subscription keeps coffee fans in the best of expertly roasted beans from around the world. Local tiki bar Tiki Kai commissioned local artist Tom Laura — also known as BigToe — to create vintage-inspired stoneware mugs that serve as art pieces. A colorful prep bowl set from Hedley & Bennett, a chocolate advent calendar, a cake decorating workshop ... we’ve got you covered.
Editor’s note: If you make a purchase using some of our links, the L.A. Times may be compensated. Prices and availability are subject to change. In some cases, listed websites may use location-based pricing.
Showing Gift Gifts
Teas and vintage tea sets from Flowers Finest
Beverage $18-$90 at Flowerhead
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(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
Artisan teas are a go-to gift year-round, but they’re especially cozy at the holidays. Turn to Flowerhead, one of L.A.’s top tea companies, for loose-leaf and tea bag options in flavors such as roasted-corn hojicha blend the Deep Steep, the vanilla-bean English Breakfast Ill Vanill or the new L.A.-inspired blend, Sunset Blvd. Stop by the brand’s Eagle Rock storefront, Flowers Finest, for vintage tea sets, kitsch and housewares to complete the gift.
Knife roll by White Bark Workwear and Japanese Knife Imports
Cooking $180 at Japanese Knife Imports
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(White Bark Workwear)
L.A.’s self-proclaimed “knife dorks” teamed up with one of their favorite apron makers to craft a stylish, small-batch and locally produced knife roll that’ll fill even professional chefs with envy. This collab gift can fit up to seven knives, ranging from small to 300mm. Should you wish to add one, the team at Beverly Hills’ Japanese Knife Imports can guide your purchase just as they do for some of the city’s top chefs.
L.A. Times Food x Big Bud Press market totes
Accessories $48-$68 at Shop L.A. Times
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(Big Bud Press)
L.A. Times Food released a new set of farmers market totes produced with local clothing brand Big Bud Press. Made with 100% locally sourced cotton denim and dyed with non-toxic, low-impact dyes, these designs come in limited editions — so don’t wait to buy everyone on your gift list the totes they never knew they needed. Two styles of totes sport features such as a snap for secureness, a wide gusset for roominess, long straps for comfort or exterior pockets for easy access — with illustrations by Times art director Brandon Ly in a variety of colors and designs.
New totes will be available at 9 a.m. Nov. 1.
New totes will be available at 9 a.m. Nov. 1.
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Hedley & Bennett prep bowl set
Cooking $125 at Hedley & Bennett
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(Hedley & Bennett)
L.A. apron company Hedley & Bennett launched its cookware line in the spring, and its collection of pots, pans and bowls are a color extravaganza. These prep bowls are as practical as they are charming. The set includes four enamelware bowls, and I don’t know if the best part is that they are convenient sizes, very light to handle or the fact that they are nesting. The biggest one is great for tossing and serving salads, the smallest for any kind of mise en place (or for eating cereal), and the in-between for just about anything.
Kumquat Coffee’s monthly subscription
Beverage $29.50 or $49.50 at Kumquat Coffee
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(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
Recommended by Times restaurant critic Bill Addison, Kumquat’s subscription delivers a stellar selection of beans from roasters around the world every month to your favorite coffee lovers. If you’ve been to the retail store Quat in Glassell Park, you’ll recognize it as an extraordinary multi-roaster shop with coffees unavailable elsewhere. An in-house tasting committee of Q-graders and experts tests and scores coffees from global roasters, and options include a one-bag or two-bag monthly delivery.
Dandelion Chocolate advent calendar
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(Rebecca Peloquin / For The Times)
The annual extravaganza that is the Dandelion Chocolate advent calendar holds 25 small boxes that double as tree ornaments. The boxes contain confections created by chocolatiers from around the world, selected by the Dandelion team in a series of blind tastings. And each chocolate is paired with a story about the night sky. This year’s theme is Nordic mythology, drawing from Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Finnish and Icelandic folklore. Danish artist Lisa Grue illustrated the packaging and storybook. It’s no wonder sales of the Dandelion calendar have nearly doubled since 2022, when the company first started selling them. If it’s sold out this year, then plan accordingly for next year’s.
Synonym Magazine subscription
Magazine $8-$300 at Synonym Magazine
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(Synonym Magazine)
L.A.-based independent magazine Synonym explores immigrant stories through the lens of food, and each edition — thick paper, full-color offset print, bound by a luxe spiral — is a collector’s item. The city’s coolest food magazine has also ramped up its website and updated its subscriptions with “scoop,” “pint,” “peck” and “bushel” tiers that come with various perks including gift boxes and other merch, ad-free web content, giveaways and members-only events.
People’s Choice One-of-Everything Beef Jerky Sampler
Specialty Food Store $90 at People's Choice Beef Jerky
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(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
John Bianchetti started People’s Choice Market in downtown L.A. in 1929. Over the years, the business shifted its focus to a sausage- and meat-focused company before transitioning to People’s Choice Beef Jerky in 1987. Now, fourth-generation Bianchetti family members run the L.A.-based company. People’s Choice prepares an assortment of classic and unconventional flavors, like orange honey teriyaki, dill pickle and cherry cola. The sampler box ensures a taste of a little bit of everything.
Tendon Tempura Carlos Jr.’s Carlos donburi bowl
Cooking $50 at Tendon Tempura Carlos Jr.
(Rebecca Peloquin / For The Times)
There’s artistry in the way Tendon Tempura Carlos Jr. fries its shrimp, vegetables and eggs, but there’s endless charm in its owner, Carlos A. Pinto. The Peru-born chef moved to Japan as a young adult and fell in love with tempura, then moved to the U.S. and opened restaurants where cartoons of his smiling, mustachioed face grace the menus and the posters on the walls. This year the restaurant launched a ceramic bowl that’s made in Japan and also features Pinto’s smiling face. The Carlos donburi bowl is the perfect size for building your own rice bowls at home and arrives in its own furoshiki-wrapped wooden box for a perfect gift-giving presentation.
Fujiki Denshiro tea caddy from Kettl
Beverage $155 at Kettl
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(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
For the tea enthusiast, a caddy to hold their favorite tea. Kettl has a store in Los Feliz, and a website where you can find loose leaf teas, matcha and everything you might need to make or store your tea. The Fujiki Denshiro Shoten caddy is made from cherry bark, and handcrafted in the Akita Prefecture in northern Japan. The cherry wood helps regulate moisture, and it also looks pretty great on any kitchen counter.
Timemore Chestnut S3 coffee grinder
Beverage $159 at Timemore
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(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
Grinding coffee by hand each morning is a sensory ritual. For anyone on your gift list who appreciates precision coffee-making and a slow-down moment (or needs a portable piece of equipment for camping or travel), this hand grinder is a sleek machine. It features an all-metal body, 42-millimeter “spike-to-cut” conical stainless steel burrs, an external adjustment ring and a folding magnetic handle. I graduated from a Porlex to this, and grinding by hand has never been as fast, smooth or consistent.
Tiki Kai stoneware tiki mugs
Beverage $85 at BigToe Art
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(Jakob Layman)
Bring the beach to your loved ones with small-batch merch from one of L.A.’s best new bars. Tiki Kai is a tropical, breezy and boozy watering hole that serves mai tais, frozen rummy Dole whip and Blue Hawaiians at the Hermosa Beach pier. To match its classic-tiki vibe and menu, Tiki Kai commissioned local artist Tom Laura — also known as BigToe — to craft vintage-inspired stoneware tiki mugs that serve as art pieces year-round.
Red Bread cake decorating workshop
Class $175 at Red Bread
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(Catherine Dzilenski / For The Times)
Pastry chef Rose Wilde, an expert baker known for her botanical-inspired “perfectly imperfect” cakes, opens up her backyard garden for decorating workshops throughout the year. Wilde, the founder of Red Bread bakery, supplies assembled cakes ready to be decorated, along with lots of buttercream, pastry bags, piping tips and seasonal fresh fruit, flowers and herbs as garnishes. She’s an excellent and enthusiastic teacher for home bakers and aspiring pastry chefs of all levels.
Electric Bleu’s chicken salt
Dry Goods $12 at Electric Bleu
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(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
Add flavor to your stockings with a seasoning blend from one of L.A.’s best new restaurants. In late summer Electric Bleu launched jars of its chicken salt, the sweet-salty spice blend that coats the Mar Vista bistro’s signature “electric fries.” Chef-owner Craig Hopson’s chicken salt is made in L.A. and pure poultry alchemy: This blend of chicken bouillon, citric acid, turmeric, smoked paprika and beyond is tangy, savory and a dream on French fries — or any roast vegetables or meats.
Meals Clothing’s food-inspired fits
Clothing Store $45-$210 at Meals
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(Meals Clothing)
Meals is a clothing line for the hungry fashionista. Find locally made fits in neutral or colorful washes and patterns, each with names like Blue Cheese, Black Sesame, Chocolate, Donut Box Pink or Green Bean. Minimalist shirts say “RIPE” or “Dinner,” while the chef pants, vests, jackets and other workwear include plenty of pockets for holding ingredients. It’s no wonder they’ve amassed a following of L.A. chef fans. Order online or in the Highland Park store.
Diaspora Co. gift box
Dry Goods $15-$100 at Diaspora Co.
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(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
It really is incredible the difference that fresh, high-quality spices can make in your cooking. If you (or your loved one) have had big batches of spices kicking around your pantry for the last decade (or only used pre-ground spices), it’s probably time for a refresh. I like Diaspora Co. because the California company not only focuses on sourcing the best spices possible, but also strives to make a positive impact on the supply chain. It feels good to know your money is supporting farmers in the places these spices come from, and it tastes good too. A variety of gift sets are available.
Jacobsen Salt Co. gift set
Dry Goods $34 at Jacobsen Salt
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(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
Any avid cook on your gift list might want a never-ending supply of this West Coast salt on the kitchen counter: The Netarts Bay flaky and kosher salts come from the cold, high-salinity waters of coastal Oregon. Jacobsen Salt Co. was the first to harvest salt in the Pacific Northwest since 1805. After harvesting, the brine is boiled to remove components that can cause bitterness, and the pyramid-shaped crystals are drained, rinsed and hand-sorted. The infused options — including lemon zest, rosemary and black garlic — are fun for finishing dishes, and the kind of luxury you might not buy for yourself.
Spices, olive oil and wine from Sook
Food $12-$90 at Sook
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(Rebecca Peloquin / For The Times)
Tucked in the corner of sprawling Maydan Market, founder Rose Previte’s West Adams food hall that expands on her Washington, D.C., restaurant, is Sook, with a small marketplace and counter for ordering flights of wine alongside Turkish eggs, kebabs or grilled halloumi. The store features items personally sourced by Previte, like blue fenugreek from Georgia and cold-pressed, single-origin extra virgin olive oil harvested from the West Bank of Palestine. You can also pick up bottles of natural wine sourced from underrepresented regions, like I Will Make Wine in Syria Again, a fizzy Pinot Noir rosé pet-nat made with high-altitude grapes from vineyards in Lebanon by a Syrian refugee and winemaker. The store also carries traditional Lebanese baklava, pantry items, glassware and other household trinkets, making it easy to assemble a one-of-a-kind gift bag. Delivery orders can be placed online, but the best way to shop is in person at the market.
A gallon of Séka Hills olive oil
Cooking $82 at Séka Hills
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(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
If you’re like me, and you find picking out a nice olive oil — like a good wine — to be a bit stressful, treat yourself or someone you love to a gallon of Séka Hills. This is one of the olive oils we used at Chez Panisse and I love it because it is mild enough to cook with and also delicious to use raw in salads, over seasonal vegetables, etc. Plus, having a gallon in the pantry means less shopping, and maybe it’ll encourage the cook in your life to confit some garlic for dinner.
Flamingo Estate Peak-Season Fruit Box
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(Flamingo Estate)
Have a friend who loves fruit but can’t get themselves to the farmers market? Bless them with a peak-season fruit box from Flamingo Estate. All the hard work (like parking, wading through the crowds and trying to pick out the perfect specimens) is done for you. All you have to do is eat while it’s still at its peak. Having someone else pick out the season’s best fruit for you is a true luxury, and if I were a private chef, I’d probably have Flamingo Estate on speed dial.
Prosperity Market’s Taste of Prosperity Box
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(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
The farmers market and food truck on wheels founded by Carmen Dianne and Kara Still features products from local Black farmers, producers and chefs and travels around the city to bring goods directly to customers’ doorsteps. For the holidays, the Taste of Prosperity gift box offers a sampling of some of the market’s most popular items, including Pecan Amor’s gourmet nuts coated in your choice of chili lime, cinnamon or garlic Parmesan seasoning; Savory Bites crackers that range from Jamaican jerk to spicy garlic and sweet-salty birthday cake; raw organic honey from Go Bee Alive in sage, avocado, wildflower or orange blossom flavors; Ghanaian chile oil by Gloria’s Shito; and your choice of whole bean coffee from Crenshaw Coffee Co. or hand-blended loose leaf tea from Tranquilitea.
Now Serving x Fat + Flour notebook
Books $26 at Now Serving
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(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
Now Serving is a dedicated cookbook shop in Los Angeles, a place for all the latest food-related books, merch and a handful of specialty pantry items. The store partnered with Fat + Flour, Nicole Rucker’s stellar bakery, for a limited-edition notebook by Shorthand Press. It features a letterpressed cover and plenty of blank, lined pages to keep track of treasured recipes.
All the Best Sweet & Savory Gourmet Snack Gift Box
Food $132 at All the Best
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(Rebecca Peloquin / For The Times)
Founded by two longtime friends, this Pasadena-based company specializes in gift packages for every occasion. There’s something for the chocolate lover, a box with everything you’ll need for breakfast in bed, and everything in between. The sweet and savory box includes a mix of chocolate, Swedish fish, crackers, olives and salami.
Jewish-deli candles by Belle’s Delicatessen and Ruby Street Candle Co.
Home Goods $33.60-$38.40 at Belle's Bagels
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(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
For the deli lover, conjure comfort and nostalgia by lighting a wick. This year Belle’s joined forces with Ruby Street Candle Co. to create two Jewish-deli scents: a black cherry soda candle, deepening fruit tones with cedar, smoke and leather, and a matzo ball soup candle where carrot, celery and dill lend a savory note to the coconut wax. Each candle, available for purchase in-store, is hand-poured and burns 50 to 60 hours.
Monsieur Marcel Frenchie gift box
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(Monsieur Marcel Gourmet Market & Bistro)
Hidden at the back of the Original Farmers Market, this French grocer is heaven for anyone who appreciates hand-cut cheeses, dry pasta, wine and additional accoutrements sourced mostly from Europe, with an emphasis on French provisions. The selection can be overwhelming, but the Frenchie gift box is sure to please any Francophile with a curated collection that includes bottles of Provençal olive oil and red wine vinegar aged for 12 months, olive oil and basil crackers, fig jam, Niçoise-style onion spread, dark chocolate with nibs, a festive tin of French truffles and butter galettes.
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