Graduation Gifts for a Culinary Student
If your friend or family member has completed a step toward fulfilling his dream of become a professional chef by graduating from culinary school, celebrate the accomplishment with a practical gift that he can use throughout his career. Select a graduation present that will simplify the cooking process, offer inspiration for new recipes or provide a place to record them.
Knife Kit
Ensure the graduate is prepared to chop, slice, peel, mince and debone with a set of knives ranging from a chef's knife to a boning knife to a paring knife. If the culinary school graduate already has a set of knives that he's partial to, consider getting him a sharpening steel--also known as a "honing steel," according to Roxanne Webber of Chow magazine--to keep them razor sharp. You can also give the grad a new personalized knife bag or box with his name etched on the side.
Small Appliances
Help the culinary graduate perfect her technique and experiment with new recipes with an assortment of professional-grade small kitchen appliances such as a food processor, stand mixer, blender, juicer or a deep fryer. When wrapping the gift, slip a gift receipt into the card to make the gift easy to exchange in case the chef already owns a favorite version of the appliance or would prefer a different brand.
Cookbooks
Give the cooking school graduate a collection of cookbooks to learn more about the cooking philosophies of seasoned or "celebrity" chefs, discover new flavor combinations or cooking tips. Consider giving cookbooks written by chefs who specialize in the same type, style or region of cooking such as American, French, Italian, Southwestern or pastry. Celebrity chefs often have DVDs of their cooking shows, travel adventures that lead to culinary discoveries or cooking techniques that you can present along with the cookbooks.
Gadget Basket
Compile an assortment of kitchen essentials that the culinary graduate can use at home or in a restaurant kitchen, such as a cutting board, pepper mill, measuring spoons, grilling tools and a mandoline to chop, julienne and slice. As a deluxe touch, also throw in a gift card to a chef's warehouse or store that specializes in cooking equipment and gadgets, where the graduate can buy additional items.
Package the goodies in a practical container such as a large roasting pan, a baking dish or a metal mixing bowl that the cook can also put to good use.
Leather Notebook
Give the culinary graduate a leather journal where she can jot down inspirational ideas for new flavor combinations, recipes or food and wine pairings. Look for a refillable leather book that you can personalize with the chef's name. Wrap it with three to five paper refills so she'll have plenty of space to record her thoughts.
Tags: culinary graduate, culinary school, Culinary Student, flavor combinations, Gifts Culinary