13 Food & Cooking Gifts for Francophiles

Our love affair with all things French and food-related extends beyond our reverence for a good soufflé and boeuf bourguignon recipe. The French also have gastronomic style and quality in spades, as evidenced in the gifts for Francophiles below.

Le Creuset Braiser

We’re longtime fans of Le Creuset’s colorful, even-heating, stain-resistant, enameled cast-iron pots and pans, and this braiser is one of our favorites. An oven-to-table classic, its wide base makes it superb for searing batches of meat in a single layer without crowding the pan, and a cleverly designed domed lid locks in moisture while allowing steam to circulate. In addition to turning tough meat cuts and hearty vegetables into tender soups and stews, it can be used to make everything from shakshuka to stir-fries. Three sizes, ranging from 1.5- to 5-quarts, are available.

BUY IT: Le Creuset Signature Enameled Cast-Iron Round Braiser, from $200 at Le Creuset

Linen Baker's Couche

Bread bakers all over France use linen baker's couches to help doughs maintain their shape while they rest and rise. The linens also minimize moisture, which helps create a nice crisp crust. Saint Germain Bakery’s couche is made of untreated and unbleached natural flax linen that’s durable yet flexible. Its 35 x 26-inch size offers plenty of room for multiple loaves. For everything from boules to baguettes, this is the perfect addition to any bread baker’s toolbox.

BUY IT: Saint Germain Bakery Natural Flax Linen Baker's Couche, $17 on Amazon

In the French Kitchen with Kids: Easy, Everyday Dishes for the Whole Family to Make and Enjoy by Mardi Michels

Getting into the kitchen with kids can be fun and adventuresome, as Mardi Michels proves in her engaging new cookbook. With a lovely forward by Dorie Greenspan, great tips for cooking with little ones, fun French culinary facts, and simple yet detailed recipes, the whole family can learn to make everything from purées to profiteroles.

BUY IT: In the French Kitchen with Kids, $17 on Amazon

De Buyer Omelette Pan

This lightweight, chemical-free pan is finished with natural beeswax, which helps keep it seasoned, improves its nonstick quality, and protects against oxidation. The riveted curved handle is easy to grip, and the pan’s rounded edges help you turn and slide any egg dish onto a serving plate like a pro. Steaks, other meats, and vegetables cook beautifully in this pan, too, and it can be used on all cooktops, including induction. A renowned family-owned company since 1830, De Buyer makes all of its products in France and has been recognized for its commitment to social and environmental responsibility.

BUY IT: De Buyer Mineral B Element Omelette Pan, $70 at Huckberry

Aperitif: Cocktail Hour the French Way by Rebekah Peppler

For the bon vivant comes this beautifully styled book filled with elegant yet easy recipes that celebrate the classic French culture of pre-dinner drinks and nibbles. Beginning with a primer on apéritifs followed by 100 appetite-rousing recipes that fit every season, author Rebekah Peppler takes you on a journey that is as delicious as it is delightful. Charming stories of Peppler’s life in Paris inhabit the spaces between refreshers like Vermouth Olives, Rosé Sours, and Fino Collins’, and simple snacks such as Radishes and Poppy Butter, Anchoïade, and Pissaladières.

BUY IT: Aperitif: Cocktail Hour the French Way, $13 on Amazon

Rodolphe Le Meunier French Butter

This traditional European-style (read: high-fat) butter comes from celebrated French cheese master, Rodolphe Le Meunier. Traditionally churned (aka “baratte”) rather than extracted with a centrifuge, it’s made with fresh Normandy cream and seasoned with French sea salt, then hand-molded, stamped with the likeness of a cow, and wrapped in gold foil. The label bears a triple fleur-de-lis (a symbol of purity) and Le Meunier’s signature. Delicious slathered over warm toast or melted over a hot stack of pancakes, it’s also lovely shaved over steamed asparagus in the spring.

BUY IT: Rodolphe Le Meunier Salted French Baratte Butter, $10 at Formaggio Kitchen or from Whole Foods

Let’s Eat France! by François-Régis Gaudry

Weighing in at close to six pounds, this oversized tome compiled by French food critic and radio host, François-Régis Gaudry, is filled with nearly every fact you could possibly imagine about the food of France. Over 500 whimsical drawings, photos, charts, and graphics illustrate stories, chef profiles, regional food guides, impassioned odes to French ingredients, and iconic recipes. Discover the history of the croque-monsieur, the importance of the cornichon, how to open a bottle of champagne in three swift moves, a chronicle of camembert cheese in 65 gorgeously designed labels, a regional tour of French breads, and much more.

BUY IT: Let’s Eat France! by François-Régis Gaudry and friends, $32 on Amazon

Revol Les Naturels French Porcelain Bakeware

These porcelain baking dishes can be used for making everything from pies and tarts to galettes and quiche. Revol—a 9th generation family-owned company that has been making culinary porcelain in Saint-Uze, France since the 1700s—takes its craft one step further with a nonstick houndstooth-patterned surface that’s not only pretty, but also helps you create crisp crusts by allowing air to circulate during baking. Handles are designed for hanging so these gorgeous wares can be displayed when they’re not in use.

BUY IT: Revol Les Naturels French Porcelain Bakeware, $50–$90 at Food52

Forge de Laguiole Bread Knife

Any bread aficionado will appreciate slicing a pain de campagne, brioche, ficelle, and more with this elegant, serrated stainless steel knife, every part of which is handcrafted and assembled by master cutlers in the village of Laguiole (pronounced lie-OLE), in south-central France. Handles come in olive wood, thuya burl, rosewood, juniper, and ebony, and blades can be engraved.

BUY IT: Forge de Laguiole Bread Knife, $205–$224 at Forge de Laguiole

Le Chocolat des Français

With colorful, bold graphics designed by a variety of artists and printed on heavy matte paper, these beautifully packaged French-made chocolates practically wrap themselves. They taste very good, too. Along with individual bars, there are gift sets and chocolate-covered almonds to choose from.

BUY IT: Le Chocolat des Français, $4–$35 at Good and Butter

Silpat Madeleine Baking Tray

Author Marcel Proust made the madeleine famous for evoking a flood of memories in his classic French novel, Remembrance of Things Past. Now the baker on your list can cook up these tender-crumbed confections in one of Silpat’s new silicone baking molds, shaped just for the task. The flexible 16-hole mats are durable, nonstaining, and dishwasher safe, and they turn out perfectly golden cakes.

BUY IT: Silpat Silicone Madeleine Pan Price, $50 from Williams-Sonoma

Want more gift ideas? Check out our entire 2018 gift guide for cooks, hosts, and everyone in between.

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