A chic air-fryer, mammoth panettone and seafood scarves – essential Christmas gifts for food lovers

We've assembled some of the most delightful and desirable culinary-adjacent items you might wish to give, or receive, this season.

Kitchen utensils that are as aesthetically pleasing as they are useful, quirky homewares and jars of things we love to eat – our list runs the gamut from "essential" to "truly essential".

Wonder Oven A multifunctional air fryer/oven that actually looks good on your countertop. £195, fromourplace.co.uk

Gestura chef's spoon The act of measuring out one tablespoon – or freeing your poached egg – has never looked better; the flared lip means every skerrick of sauce can be scraped up, and drizzled over dishes with style. From £34, souschef.co.uk

Penguin cocktail shaker An elegant, bow tie-wearing bird from which to dispense your pre-dinner drinks. £30, johnlewis.com

Letterbox brownies Top-tier brownies, made fresh and delivered to your door from Exploding Bakery. A truly first-class postal service. (See also their standout, gluten-free Christmas cake.) £15.95, explodingbakery.com

British tinned fish Seafood from British waters, preserved in Sea Sisters' craft cannery in west Dorset – an exceptional product. £10, seasisters.co.uk

Fennel tea towel Also available in beetroot, carrot, and spring onion. £8.50, re-foundobjects.com

Toast toppers ... and beyond Indulge in one of the year's food trends with pistachio butter, £14.90 eataly.slerp.com ; Pollen Bakery's croissant butter is rich, addictive and best eaten straight from a spoon, £10, delli.market ; the clue is in the name – Sublime butter in flavours from chilli-lime to bearnaise to finish steaks, from £4.50, sublimebutter.com

Mauviel M'150B saucepans Classic, covetable kitchenware; a copper pan that's gold standard. From £279, boroughkitchen.com

Blasta books The Irish publisher's 2024 range of cookbooks from new voices in food writing covers fish cookery and fermentation, and recipes of Malaysian and Afro-Caribbean heritage. £13 each, blastabooks.com

Pasta baubles Deck the halls with ravioli – pasta baubles from restaurant Pastaio and designer Jenny Dyson. £12 each, pastaio.co.uk

Non-alcoholic aperitif for grownups. £27.50, botivodrinks.com

La Sablésienne cat tin Moreish buttery biscuits in a covetable – yes, slightly eerie – tin. £29.99, souschef.co.uk

Cider and cheese box A taste of Somerset – superior cheddar cheese, fig and elderflower chutney, and Durslade cider. £35, farmshop.co.uk

Engine oil gin The fuel you need to get you through the Christmas period. £37.99, selfridges.com

Cherry-picked presents Fabbri amarena cherries in syrup are essential for luxe desserts and cocktails – and the opaline glass jar is unthrowawayable, £12.99, souschef.co.uk ; sweet cherry necklace, £48, wolfandmoon.com

Retro anniversary edition in wintery white and gold. Looks cool as it keeps your contents hot – and vice versa. £45, thermos.co.uk

Chocolate sardines Trick or treat – or both? Nothing fishy about these charming stocking fillers. £2.25, brindisa.com

Delicious prints For lovers of caff culture, mouthwatering images from irreverent independent publisher Sausage Press. From £30, sausagepress.uk

Seafood scarves Knitwear from Brightonian Kate Jenkins that won't leave you fishing for compliments. £50, katejenkinsstudio.co.uk

Top Cuvée Christmas hamper Natural wine, olives, hot sauce, truffle crisps and more. £85, shopcuvee.com

Nata food candles For pasta that's lit – plus crisps, butter, olives and other essentials. £14, nataconceptstore.com

Hermès rhubarb cologne A fruity fragrance that's "exquisite", according to Observer Magazine's beauty editor Funmi Fetto. From £74, selfridges.com

Fiasconaro 'Maximus' panettone Yes, that's 3kg of panettone. Christmas is officially catered for. Truly showstopping. £119.50, souschef.co.uk

Crisps and clip Clips that are (crinkle) cut above all other bag sealing systems, and crisps so good they'll barely need one. Crisp clips, £2.80, pophamshome.com ; Superbon crisps, £3.50, welovecrisps.com

Oat milk vase A rather lovely ceramic vase. £25, shop.balticmill.com

Campari and pasta magnets Add a touch of la dolce vita to your fridge. £7.50, souschef.co.uk

Tea advent calendar Countdown in organic teas from Swedish company Lykke. £29.99, selfridges.com

YiaYia and Friends olive oil An ingredient that keeps an eye on you – high-quality, cold-pressed (and, crucially, Greek grandma-approved) extra-virgin olive oil in a range of flavours. £22.99, selfridges.com

Yuletide Grazing hamper Give someone the ultimate cosy night in with an abundance of treats from Michelin-starred chef Tommy Banks, including a pate de campagne pork pie, crackers and charcuterie, and ready-to-bake Christmas cookies. £110, madeinoldstead.co.uk

Sardine napkins Hand-printed on natural cotton by Norfolk designer Lottie Day. £48, souschef.co.uk

Smeg digital kitchen scale A precision-engineered weighing tool with a look that's off the scale. £129.99, boots.com

Ingredient-specific graters A spring onion cutter is the kitchen tool you didn't know you needed – perfect for stir-fries and salads; and the black coating on this Microplane reduces friction (and increases coolness factor), making it the most essential truffle slicer on the market. Fine, it does mushrooms too. Wooden spring onion cutter, £10, kitchenprovisions.co.uk ; Microplane truffle slicer £64.95, boroughkitchen.com

Bipod container set Beautiful food storage with a space-age twist: the rechargeable vacuum device sucks the air out of the container, preserving food for longer and making marinades the work of moments. £69 (containers only); £319 (full set with vacuum device), bipod.it

Hot chocolate lovers' starter pack Florence Mytum wiggle mug, £35, florencemytum.com ; Dualit Cocoatiser hot chocolate maker, £69.99, dualit.com ; Pump Street drinking chocolate, from £14.50, pumpstreetchocolate.com

Fish stacking glass tumblers There are plenty more fish in the sea, but few stack as pleasingly as this set of four tumblers. £30, johnlewis.com

Butter dish Spreadable butter is better – keep it out of the fridge and in this beautiful, translucent green dish, made entirely from recycled glass. £45, fermliving.co.uk

Morello cherry preserve Add a luxe touch to trifle or your holiday breakfast with a limited edition flavour from Single Variety, small batch jam makers of renown. £6.50, singlevariety.co.uk

Chocolate advent calendar Twenty-four hand-painted chocolate bonbons in 12 flavours, from Glasgow's ARD Bakery, which specialises in delicacies as beautiful as they are delicious. £42, ardbakery.com

Electric hot pot Recreate your favourite Chinese restaurant at home – brothy, dunking family fun. £75, souschef.co.uk

Bowl of cherries table runner An eye-catching, artfully-designed trompe l'oeil table runner in 100% cotton. £33.50, re-foundobjects.com

Turrón treats This nougat is a Spanish festive essential – here it's in its soft form, and inside one of the nicest panettones we've had. Turrón panettone, £29.50; turrón, £9.50, both brindisa.com

Family games Battle the timer in card game Pear Shaped, or go traditional with dominoes – if it causes an argument you can simply eat the set. Pear Shaped card game, £14.99, camdengames.com ; chocolate dominoes, £3, asda.com

Garlic earrings Almost every recipe, or outfit, is better with garlic. £72, wolfandmoon.com

Lemon futsol shirt When life gives you lemon T-shirts ... wear them (as the saying doesn't quite go). £95, futsol.co

Cherry amour