Shopping for the Foodie in Your Life? Here Are Some Gift Recommendations from Chicago Hospitality Industry Pros

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December is a busy time for folks employed in the hospitality industry. But a few chefs and artisans in Chicago made time to tell us what holiday gifts they’re giving their loved ones this year – many of which are ideal for the foodie in your life.

For the Kitchen Nerd

Leigh Omilinsky, pastry chef and partner at Daisies restaurant in Chicago, plans on ordering a set of ingredients from Noma Projects, the product line from famed Copenhagen restaurant Noma, for the kitchen nerds in her life. Their aged vinegars, hot sauces, and other ferments will help bring the umami to the pantry for geeky cooking into 2025.

For the Wine-Lover

Omilinsky and her husband Scott Stroemer, the beverage director at Galit,love to shop for hard-to-find wine gifts, particularly from the Middle East, at Sarah’s Tent Kosher Market in Skokie, where they live. Says Omilinsky, “People always say, ‘Where did you get this?’” One of their specific recommendations is Dalton Asufa Majestic dry red wine, a light Israeli red from Galilee that Stroemer pours by the glass at Galit.

For Those Who Want Experiences Instead of Things

Similarly, for Chef Sebastian White, founder and executive director of The Evolved Network, giving is all about sharing meals with fellow food lovers, friends, and family. “I’ve never been one to give traditional gifts. For me, it’s all about sharing experiences of connectedness and understanding – especially ones centered around food and supporting small businesses. As a chef and someone who believes food is a love language, I love gifting meals over the holidays at my favorite spots, like eden, Prairie Grass Café, Demera for delicious Ethiopian cuisine, or Soul & Smoke for incredible BBQ,” White says. White also suggests helping your favorite non-profit by giving in the name of a loved one.

For the Collector

Jason Rice and Elle Lei from Sugoi Sweets create and sell artisan chocolates online and from their West Town shop. The pair love to support local craft markets“because they support makers and their passion,” Rice says.His personal wish list includes a subscription to Solemn Oath's barrel-aged beer club. Lei, meanwhile, has stocked up on Chicago-made Beer & Cigarettes soap from Soap Distillery for stocking stuffing, and loves to shop for Japanese city pop vinyl finds at Dusty Groove. She’s hoping a gift card for a ramen date with Jason at Akahoshi Ramen in Logan Square lands in her inbox.

For the Chicago Coffee (or Cocktail) Enthusiast

David Mor has had a busy year: he opened Truce, a Bucktown coffee and cocktail bar, and creates and leads the bar programs at Mirra, a new Mexican Indian restaurant on Armitage Avenue, and Lilac Tiger and the Coach House on Division Street. He plans on doing all his 2024 gift shopping at his own Chicago establishments. “I’m giving the gift of ‘Support your brother, son, and friend by supporting his bars and restaurants he just spent the past year opening.’ It may seem self-promotional, but truthfully, a bag of coffee beans from TRUCE, a batched “Moment of Clarity cocktail from Lilac Tiger… and a gift card to dine at Mirra all feels like the best way for me to share the Chicago love.”

For the Skilled Home Chef

For Madalyn Durrant, Executive Chef at Bar Parisette in Logan Square, several culinary items come to mind. Her personal wish list includes an olive oil “with good provenance,” like one produced by a winery. “COS and Montenidoli both make excellent products that are good finishing oils, both for savory and sweet things.” Spice blends from West Town’s Epic Spices also made the cut. “Their harissa powder and Italian blends are both awesome, high quality, and it’s such a fun shopping experience.”

Durrant loves giving cookbooks that are “accessible to home cooks in a world of TikTok chefs and…influencers publishing…recipes for things that don’t really need recipes.” My America by Kwame Onwuachi is one of her favorites, both for the versatile recipes for spice blends and oils, and for the historical and cultural context contained in each recipe introduction. Another favorite, The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen, a James Beard Award-winning cookbook co-written by Minnesota Native American chef Sean Sherman, “definitely forces you to think differently about what eating local actually means.”

Finally, Durrant recommends a gift card for the baked goods at cozy Spinning J Bakery and Soda Fountain in Humboldt Park. “Even as someone who loves to cook, this is one of my favorite day-off places.”