5 Great Gifts for the Cook

Far from just practical, today’s top cooking tools are stylish counter accessories that can also make life (particularly around meal time) much simpler. Here, our favourite gift ideas that every kitchen (ahem, even your own) needs. —Vita Daily

one-pot wonder. T-fal’s ActiCook & Stir is the only self-stirring multicooker that infuses flavour at the push of a button, so you can create delicious one-pot meals, without the hassle. From appetizers to desserts, now you can sauté, slow cook and even make yogurt and bread easily and effortlessly, so you can spend more time doing the things you love. The spherical pot’s unique shape offers outstanding heat circulation for even cooking results, while the pot’s ceramic coating offers long-lasting non-stick performance. You can open and season food in the ActiCook & Stir at any point in the cooking process, or put it on DIY mode and set the time and temperature of your favourite recipes. The best part? An auto-rinse function, that cleans the pot and paddle with the push of a button (all components are also dishwasher safe). This cooking whiz is a gifting no-brainer!

soda stylish. SodaStream’s Limited-Edition Rose Gold Fizzi takes tap water from flat to fizzed in seconds. Its compact cordless design doesn’t require electricity to operate so it easily fits in your kitchen. Or bedroom. Or treehouse. Fun and easy to use, simply fill the carbonating bottle with water, push to carbonate and enjoy a refreshing sparkling beverage. The Fizzi’s slimmer design and special rose-gold hue makes it a perfect complement for any modern kitchen décor.

mix magic. The 100-Year Limited-Edition Queen of Hearts 5 Quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixer from KitchenAid will have you head-over-heels in love. Add iconic style to the kitchen with this unique mixing machine, featuring a modern, passion-inspired colour, unique 100-year celebratory features and a substantial five-quart capacity that’s perfect for everyday family meals.

coffee companion. Nespresso’s new Essenza Plus D is always there when you need it. Whether for an espresso, a lungo, an americano or even tea with the hot water option, it’s here for you, and anybody else you want to treat. To fully match your tastes, it comes in two distinctive shapes and colours, making sure it’s always the right fit. To top it all, it even has a smart reordering system at the touch of a button. So it won’t let you run out of your favourite capsules. And to show you how much it cares about your coffee, it even sends out an alert when it needs descaling. A little plus, which might just be essential.

blend friend. From our fave soup-, sauce- and smoothie-maker, Vitamix, the Ascent series constitutes the first collection of premium blenders to incorporate wireless connectivity that lets them “talk” to compatible containers—in other words, these machines can actually sense what size container (big, small or tiny) is in use and automatically adjust its blend settings accordingly. Blending-mind blown.