Vancouver Trendz [THURSDAY]

Cooks-a-Cooking

Thursday, December 7, 2006

It's day two of our first ever holiday gift guide. Today we've got ideas for those on your list with granite countertops and stainless steel appliances, yesterday's gift guide was all about beauty, and tomorrow we help you find the perfect gift for those on your list who've got game. Tune in next week for ideas for bibilophiles and bar hoppers, plus a stocking stuffer primer.

Everyone knows the secret best part about buying presents for foodie friends: whatever you get is usually used to put something yummy in your own tummy. But that's just an added bonus to getting someone a gift they love, right? Yeah, a big, delicious, mouth-watering bonus you don't get from buying someone a sweater.

Chocolate Mousse Kitchenware on Robson Street is a fantastic little shop that stocks the best gift ideas for the gourmet on your list. It's also a good place to find stuff for that friend we all have whose kitchen inventory contains little beyond a cheese grater and a half-empty jar of peanut butter.

Here's what we like:

Stoneware dish sets ($89.95) - four dinner plates, four salad plates, four soup bowls and four mugs in a variety of colours, including a great robin's egg blue. Tasteful enough for fine dining, but durable enough for daily use.

Epicurean cutting surfaces ($29.95 to $39.95) - made from an environmentally friendly wood fibre laminate called Richlite, these cutting boards are available for home use after years of being hogged by the pros. An array of sizes will fit any kitchen.

Silicon muffin pans ($25 and $35) - they're all bendy, but the plastic material makes them absolutely non-stick. Oh, and they come in adorable heart and flower shapes guaranteed to make even a bran muffin look cute.

Cuisinox 7-piece cookware set ($165.95) - saucepans, a frying pan and a big-ass pot in a gleaming, professional-looking stainless steel. This is a great starter set. Other, more advanced, cookware is also available.

Rosti housewares ($2 to $4) - This Danish company sells simple accessories--ladles, lifters, and those spiky pasta mixer things--in simple colours. Their streamlined look and broad spectrum of colours really catch the eye. We're thinking they'd look great sticking out of a stocking or two.

Chocolate Mousse Kitchenware, 1553 Robson Street, 604-682-8223