Gourmet Holiday Gift Giving – How to Shop for a Chef or Foodie!

If you’ve ever known anyone who is a self-proclaimed foodie or gourmet, then you know someone who is likely very passionate about fine cuisine, food, and the great ingredients that go into them. This person likely prides them self on knowing how to make things taste great, or on knowing where to find things that taste great. They understand quality over quantity, and are appreciative of the finer things in life. They’ll take that slow sip of wine and really (and I mean really) taste it in it’s entirety.

As the Christmas approaches, one has to wonder…

What Do you Buy a Foodie, Gourmet, Self-Professed Food-Lover, or Chef?

What do you buy someone who likely already has everything they need to get the job done?

photo credit: EverJean

Gourmets are a special type. They like exploring local and exotic tastes. Depending on your budget, you can theme your Christmas Gift accordingly. Since we are in a bit of a recession, we’ll talk about some local flavors that foodies love.

Winery Tours; Where you come upon a foodie, chef, or gourmet, you’ll likely find one who loves wine. Wine is paired in specific ways, and each wine of the same type may taste completely different from region to region. As a person who loves wine, I can tell you that there’s nothing more exciting than exploring and searching for a new favorite wine. You’d be surprised at how many wineries there are in the U.S., and probably even more surprised at how cost efficient most wine tours are.

In Southern California, we have quite a few wineries. Temecula, California is a great place to explore wines and even to find some great dining in as well. In the posh town of Rancho Cucamonga, CA, there lies a hidden treasure trove of a winery. This town actually used to house many wineries, but many faded throughout the years. However, when driving down many of he streets of this gorgeous city, you’ll find many yards and street sides full of grapevines.

Fine Ingredients to Match Their Forte’: Do you have an Italian food lover? An Asian Food lover? How about a baking fanatic? Whatever it may be, there are sure to be fine ingredients that they haven’t yet tried. Give that Italian food lover some of Cibaria’s fantastic Olio D’Oro Premium Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Better yet, try the  Great Gourmet Gift Sets from Cibaria’s Gourmet Gift Ideas section. These sets feature Organic Olive Oils, Balsamic Vinegars of Modena, and even a set that’s made of purely Nut oils!

For More Ideas on How to Shop for a Foodie, Gourmet or Chef, Stay Tuned!

A Gourmet Kind of Recession

photo credit: lepiaf.geo

With what many are calling a full-scale recession in effect, it’s no surprise that people are pinching pennies and saving in anyway they can. The food industry hasn’t been immune to the world’s new penny-pinching mentality. Major decreases in people eating out are nothing short of catastrophic for restaurant owners everywhere. Call it the ‘latte’ effect; Money gurus everywhere are advising people to cut back spending on those things that aren’t ‘necessities’. This includes foregoing that delicious daily Nonfat Vanilla Latte’ from Starbucks, as well as not dining out at those favorite culinary delights. No more stopping for that daily cupcake from your favorite baker, or even exploring your favorite artisan bread from your local bread genius.

These little luxuries for many foodies and gourmets have been something that many of them just cannot give up. No matter how hard they try, they’ve become accustomed to the finer things in life.  Better foods, wines, and coffees have become he norm.

What’s a foodie to do?

Make Your Own!

People everywhere are showcasing their finer tastes by actually learning to prepare and stock these fine culinary treats in their own homes, instead of buying them elsewhere. Deals can be found in the gourmet market, you just have to know where to look. Call it recession comfort eating, call it boredom, people are taking note of their favorite recipes and re-creating them in their own homes, and on their own terms.

The Seattle Times Says:

The recession may have hit Seattle gourmets in the pocketbook, but they haven’t let it hit their taste buds.

Food lovers continue to consume luxury and specialty items, and in some cases that consumption has increased. Some things, such as high-end chocolate, are recession-proof.

“I think it is sort of a comfort food, and on the scale of luxury items, it is on the lower end,” said Debra Music, vice president of sales and marketing for Fremont-based Theo Chocolate. “People will definitely still eat chocolate.”

Frank Schuck, specialty coordinator for Whole Foods, says customers are more price conscious, but becoming more adventurous to get more flavor for their buck.

“We’re seeing an increase in items like pate and robust cheeses, blue cheeses, washed-rind cheeses,” Schuck said in an e-mail. “With these items a little goes a long way.”

More than 50 percent of specialty foods are bought at supermarkets, according to a study by the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade and Mintel International.

Consumers may be saving their money, but cravings are tough to resist.
photo credit: net_efekt

Consumers in the western United States are 13 percent more likely to buy specialty foods than the rest of the country, according to the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade study. And sales of gourmet and specialty foods have been growing faster than the overall industry for the past five years, according to consumer research firm Packaged Facts.

That’s not to say the world of haute cuisine has escaped the economic slowdown unscathed. Connoisseurs have changed their habits, but haven’t lowered their standards.

A recent Harris Poll funded by Whole Foods found that 51 percent of respondents are eating dinner at home more, but 76 percent won’t compromise of food quality no matter the price. The National Association for the Specialty Food Trade study found that 82 percent of people are cooking more at home.

Restaurants’ losses are grocery and specialty stores’ gains. And the stores are catering to price-conscious foodies.

“In our own retail store we are mindful of having lower-priced items,” Music said. “We’ve worked on four-piece boxes and eight-piece boxes.”

Music said a line of lower-priced items took off as the economy soured, especially in the brand’s national distribution. Theo, as a result, has been a success story in a time when many small businesses are struggling to stay afloat.

“We have shown really big growth this year,” Music said. “We are very grateful for that.”

Growth during a recession? Desperate times call for extra chocolate

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A Wonderful Tool That Every Cook, Chef, and Foodie Should be Using

Every trade has it’s tools, and even the easiest of tasks generally require something additional to complete. Construction workers have their hammers, web designers have their computers, artists have their paint brushes, and of course cooks and chefs have their utensils, pots, pans and ingredients. If you haven’t noticed by now, cooks have one of the most tool-intensive tasks out there. Not only are there pots for this and spoons for that, there are also a plethora of other things to keep track of.

Just a few things chefs, foodies, and everyday cooks fret over:

• Ingredients
• Recipes
• Recipe tweaking and outcome
• Specialty ingredients
• Preferred Brands of products used
• Pots
• Pans
• Measuring cups
• Mixers
• Special techniques that help along the way

Imagine after years of trying recipes, that you have to remember most of these elements the old fashioned way? Pen and paper were likely your grandmother’s way of keeping track of her prized recipes. Papers get lost, tossed in boxes, and forgotten about in the attic. That prized recipe that you wish you had the time to make again is now a buried memory in the back of your mind, amidst the new recipes and new ingredients you’re toying with.

Now onto the fun part! With the internet at our disposal, recipe books are no longer the primary way to obtain and organize recipes. They can’t help us remember much when it comes to notes, or what we’d do differently the next time we got around to making that culinary masterpiece.

What can a person do?

Evernote! What is evernote? It’s an online organizing resource that literally lets you place your world into clips, files, photos, notes, and whatever you need to organize the best way for YOU.

Evernote is especially useful for foodies and cooks because of it’s clipping and instant photo intake properties. Want to snap a shot of that recipe you just made to add to your own recipe book? Discover a new find that you HAVE to save!? Declutter your browser bookmarks, and use evernote. We use it for all kinds of things, and can’t sing it’s praises enough.

Here’s some useful ideas to help you get Organized:

- 10 ways to run a restaurant with Evernote: http://s.evernote.com/foodrestaurant
- Cooking a meal with Top Chef contestant Laurine Wickett (video): http://s.evernote.com/foodtopchef
- Using Evernote to digitize a prized family recipe book: http://s.evernote.com/foodcookbook
- Evernote’s CEO’s catalog of everything he ate while visiting Japan: http://s.evernote.com/foodjapan
- Evernote as a food blogger’s tool: http://s.evernote.com/foodblog
For more information on Evernote, go to www.Evernote.com