The Any Occasion Add to Cart Gift Guide: Summer Edition

Textile designer Zoe Schlacter has released two decorative trays in line with their maximalist aesthetic. 

Material is making a cooking set just for kids. It includes a mini whisk and mini spatula (in a choice of two colors) and comes with a cooking-themed card game. It’s pretty cute!

The striking Great Jones x Fellow electric kettle is back in stock and available to order for shipping this month, at least until it sells out — again.

The late designer Virgil Abloh partnered with Alessi, the Italian housewares company behind the bird whistle tea kettle, among other iconic designs. The result — Occasional Object — debuted at Milan design week and consists of an industrial-looking stainless steel knife, fork, and spoon, plus a carabiner that holds them together. Only 999 pieces were made. 

Material has designed a picnic tote specifically to tote a big bowl, or perhaps a cake.

Big Night, a store that’s all about the dinner party, is selling a scented candle “designed specifically to pair with cooking, eating, and hosting.” 

The designs at new homegoods line Sona Home would make for quite the photogenic dinner party. (Imagine placing these chutney pots at each individual place setting.) The brand comes from Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Maneesh Goyal and is inspired by the custom dishware the two had made for their New York City restaurant Sona.

Fredericks and Mae, the company behind the cute and colorful cutting boards carried at some of my favorite home goods stores, also sells a rainbow chef’s knife.

Shake Shack partnered with Apotheke on a scented candle duo. It’s an unexpected move for Apotheke, which is generally known for luxury fragrances, more than ever, restaurant food candles are a thing.

Baggu’s spring collection included cooler bags for all your warm-weather picnicking needs. I’m particularly fond of the forest green “trail mix” colorway, but there’s also one with a fun vegetable print.

Great Jones partnered with Sherród Faulks of Deep Black on a spoon rest and accompanying wooden utensils. The set comes with the ceramic spoon rest in blueberry or olive, and a ladle, spatula, and slotted spoon. It’s a splurge, but that’s precisely what might make it a nice gift. 

Material, the direct-to-consumer designy kitchenware brand, has a new product. The Forever Peeler is billed as the last vegetable peeler you’ll ever need. It certainly looks better than most other peelers out there, coming in three stainless steel shades with replaceable blades.

You don’t have to create elaborate bento box lunches to appreciate the fun of radishes, carrots, and even butter that’s shaped like stars, hearts, bears, and more. Bettina Makalintal says these vegetable cutters not only make food cuter, but add an element of mindfulness as she makes simple meals.

Our Place launched a cast-iron version of its popular Always Pan this week in six enamel shades. It comes with a few cast-iron accessories too (a wooden spatula so you don’t damage the pan, silicone handles so you don’t damage yourself), making it a particularly nice starter set for someone new to cooking with cast iron.

The latest kitchen gear from Ghetto Gastro and Crux is a line of pre-seasoned carbon steel pans. CRUXGG calls the line Blue Steel, which refers to the blue-annealing process that makes the pans resistant to rust.

Legacy cookware brand Le Creuset also has a new product in its lineup: The Le Creuset bread oven, made from the brand’s traditional enamel cast iron. Home cooks have long made no-knead bread in a Dutch oven, the kitchen tool for which Le Creuset perhaps known best, but this new oven, consisting of a pan and domed lid, promises maximal rise and a golden crust.

Atelier Saucier is the latest fancy cloth napkin brand to cross my desk. The brand takes a fashion-inspired approach, dropping new linen collections with the seasons. A set of four in creamsicle would be a lovely addition to a summer table. They also monogram, if that’s your thing.

Famed Brooklyn pizza spot Lucali has partnered with Joya on a slew of scented candles. Erbe E Aromi has notes of basil, heirloom tomato, oregano, rosemary, and thyme; Al Forno aims to mimic the scent of a brick oven; Caffè Corretto is modeled after the caffeinated alcoholic drink for which it’s named. There’s also a limited edition Aglio candle, designed to smell like garlic sizzling in olive oil.

Indie entertainment company A24 partnered with Maruhiro, a brand of Hasami pottery, on some cute cups and saucers, seemingly just because. In bright colors — there’s pink, yellow, red, and white — the sets are unlike the more subdued traditional Hasami porcelain line.

Victoria James, sommelier and author of Wine Girl, partnered with Lenox on a line of wine glasses. Unlike most other wine glasses, these are designed according to terroir, rather than grape. On Instagram, James explained: “One glass is for warm regions where ripeness, richness, and elevated levels of alcohol and body call for a little wiggle room. The other glass is for cooler regions where more delicate aromas, leaner body and lower levels of alcohol and oftentimes racier acidity, means you need something a bit more focused and honed.”

Elazar Sontag wrote about the elaborate glass goblets, both vintage and not, that are more art objects than drinking vessels — and potentially worth the splurge for the right person. Rosemary Home sells vintage Venetian blown-glass goblets individually, or you can get a similar look with these sets of two designed by Milan-based Serena Confalonieri.

Fly By Jing has added actual hot pot tools to its repertoire, which already included hot pot bases. The complete hot pot starter set comes with an electric hot pot, slotted spoons, chopsticks, and two of the brand’s fiery hot pot bases.

If you have yet to receive the perfect pair of salad servers, good! Because you can buy these Selena Liu-designed servers from Areaware. There are three styles, all made of beechwood: flowers, hands, or wavy forks. 

August is here, and the best thing about the month might be that tomatoes are finally abundant at the farmers market. Declare your appreciation for the season with an “I Love Tomatoes” Hannah-Michelle tee. 

Filipinta, a beauty brand that celebrates Philippine culture, is selling a banana ketchup lip gloss. They also have eye shadow palettes in ube- and lumpia-themed shades. 

These custom food pants are very fun. I’ve been daydreaming about the foods I’d request to have drawn on a pair of white Dickies, asking myself which ones meet in the Venn diagram of foods I really, really like and foods that look good illustrated. Mashed potatoes, for example, only fall into the former circle, but Goldfish could be cute. 

Cult Brooklyn brand Telfar partnered with White Castle on a streetwear collection. The beanie is just one piece in a 10-piece collection.

Le Puzz is now selling its second series of puzzles, and as with the first line, there’s more than one with a food focus. The salad shot on Big Sally is a collaboration with food stylist Tyna Hoang, who recently worked on Eric Kim’s highly regarded cookbook Korean American; Have a Groovy Day includes a recipe for a fake chicken salad; and Sweet Tooth is ideal for the person who’s all-in on gummies.

Mister Parmesan, as the Los Angeles Times describes it, is a “comical new source of apparel for pasta lovers.” The line of (mostly) hats decorated with the names of pasta shapes was co-founded by Samuel Schiffer, the lead pasta maker at Pasadena’s Semolina Artisanal Pasta. Thy the bucatini bucket hat.

On the heels of its instantly sold out pistachio perfume, D.S. & Durga released a perfume inspired by restaurants, specifically the bistro vibes described by Jason Diamond in this GQ article from last year. Bistro Waters is a “savory perfume water” with top notes of lime flower water, coriander seed, and pear.

For the carb enthusiast, there are these silver bread tab necklaces from Mama Jewelry. Mama also has an entire dough-themed collection that includes a ring braided like a loaf of challah and one that simply reads “CARB.”

For the natural wine fan: A T-shirt from Love & Victory that declares their allegiance to the genre. The brand can also print custom messages on tees.  

Spice company Diaspora Co. has partnered with clothing brand Abacaxi on sets of cotton sweatshirts and sweatpants, tie-dyed by hand, they’re calling the Gulabi Jalebi sweatsuit. 

If you’re already all in on the tinned fish trend, you might also be interested in buying this “Tinned Fish” tee from Wear Your Snacks. 

Culinary collective Ghetto Gastro is one of the latest groups to partner with Fly By Jing. The result: Spicy Sovereign Syrup, essentially Ghetto Gastro’s maple and sorghum Sovereign Syrup made spicy.

There may be a Huy Fong sriracha shortage, but you can easily just buy a different brand of sriracha, which is defined by its thicker texture and ingredients that include red jalapenos and garlic, not by a green cap and rooster logo. Yellowbird Sriracha, from the Austin-based brand which also makes other hot sauces, is a worthy replacement.

Levain Bakery launched a limited-edition rocky road cookie flavor just for summer (at least that’s the plan). The dark chocolate cookies, with cashews and marshmallows, are available to order online in gift boxes, and they’ll also be for sale in the bakeries, which now span 11 locations in five cities.

Dayna Evans interviewed the co-founder and head of Patagonia Provisions, the growing pantry arm of outdoorsy clothing brand Patagonia. It all started with wild salmon, but now there’s beer and pasta made with Kernza (a low-gluten grain that Patagonia Provisions incentivized farmers to grow), and, naturally, a whole host of tinned fish. For those who want a primer on the sustainability-focused brand, the Patagonia Provisions pantry stocker box is a good place to start.

Rebecca Flint Marx rated the best and worst vegan ice creams, and Dear Bella got top marks for its “fantastic” flavors and “spot on” texture. The LA brand conducts frequent collaborations with other food world-favorite brands. Right now, you can get a Brightland x Dear Bella gift box that includes two pints of Brightland Champagne vinegar peach crisp ice cream, along with petite bottles of Brightland olive oil and vinegar. 

On Eater Atlanta, read about how Stuckey’s new CEO is planning a revival of the Southern roadside stores that hinges on the pecan and the Stuckey’s pecan log roll, a nougat candy with maraschino cherries, dipped in caramel and then rolled in chopped pecans. For those not within driving distance of the remaining stores, Stuckey’s sells pecan log roll gift boxes, as well as other nuts and candy tins, on their website. 

Japanese snack box brand Bokksu is doing themed gift boxes, and my absolute favorite is themed around cats. That’s right, cat cookies, candies, cappuccinos, and other non-alliterative cat-shaped snacks. 

For the avid home cook and baker, receiving one of Hayden Flour Mills’ new pantry packs would be no less delightful than opening a cat-themed Japanese snack box. The Phoenix-based mill, co-founded by Emma Zimmerman, author of The Miller’s Daughter (one of spring’s most-anticipated cookbooks), is selling collections of the flours that the book features. I maintain that a cookbook plus ingredients is one of the best gift ideas around. 

What’s more giftable than a chocolate cake courtesy of Ina Garten?

While we’re on the subject of condiments, there’s a new chile crisp brand entering the fray. Bowlcut comes from three children of Chinese restaurant owners. They also make a Char Siu BBQ sauce.

One of the best Christmas gifts I received this year was a Sfoglini subscription, and the pasta brand just restocked its cascatelli gift set to ship in time for Mother’s Day. It includes four boxes of the cascatelli by Sporkful pasta, plus a dish towel and recipe booklet.

Fly By Jing meets Fishwife in a tin of smoked salmon with Sichuan chile crisp – it’s a product straight out of a 2022 food trend generator and a match made in DTC heaven. 

Years after the beginning of the pandemic kicked off the trend in full force, Copenhagen’s Noma is the latest restaurant to start selling pantry products. The first in a line of upcoming Noma pantry products is a vegan and gluten-free smoked mushroom garum. Chef René Redzepi’s version is available to pre-order on the Noma Projects website starting March 1.

Madre Mezcal teamed up with DeVonn Francis’s Yardy World on a trio of salts designed to pair well with the mezcal but just as good on food.

Boonville Barn Collective specializes in growing Basque Espelette chile peppers in California, and sells them dried whole or in jars of Piment d’Ville, the farm’s local take on the AOC-designated Basque Piment d’Espelette. 

For those looking to inject some new life into the snack section of their pantry, Popcorn brand Poppy has collaborated with Spicewalla on a bundle of four fancy popcorn flavors: chai masala, white cheddar, piri piri, and garlic and herb.

There’s a new DTC olive oil brand FYC. Graza launched with one finishing oil and one meant for cooking, designed to be affordable enough for liberal use in the kitchen. Both versions come in fun squeeze bottles too, and after receiving a sample, I’m ready to make the Sizzle bottle a go-to. 

Masienda, a brand that specializes Mexican masa and all of the cooking accessories one could need to get into the category, from molinos to tortilla presses, is selling a coffee collection for the first time. Two bean blends are sourced from Mexico City brand BUNA, and Masienda is stocking a signature mug from Oaxaca studio La Chicharra Cerámica.

Santa Cruz-based Verve Coffee Roasters is making canned oat milk lattes, now available to ship in three flavors: original, chocolate, and honey lavender. It’s an easy way to keep caffeinated this summer.

Tis the season for canned beverages. Jumo, a new sparkling soju cocktail, launched this past week with three flavors. 

The newest offering from bottled cocktail and aperitif brand St. Agrestis is the Phony Negroni. It’s the brand’s first nonalcoholic beverage.

The Art of Tea is selling a new matcha cocoa.

Every month, Eater Wine Club ships out boxes of two or four wines, selected by the Eater team’s favorite sommeliers across the country. Eater Wine Club membership also comes with a newsletter and invitations to virtual hangs where that month’s expert will go deeper on the box’s theme.