Issue #133: Last-Minute Gift Ideas
Donations, Books, Ingredients, Gifts, and Good Wishes for the Food Lovers Out There
I realize I have already missed the boat on Hannukah gift-giving ideas this year, but there’s still time to buy presents for Christmas. And who needs an overly commercialized, historically questionable, religious holiday as an excuse to buy someone a gift, anyway? Give, give, give any time of year.
I’ll admit, Nate’s and my favorite type of present to give and to receive is a donation to a charity that supports a cause that either we or the recipient believes in. Does anyone you know really need another tchotchke they hadn’t thought of buying for themselves? Philanthropy is in the true spirit of the season. The world is such a mess right now, with wars, human rights abuses, climate change, animal extinctions, food insecurity, natural disasters, and other societal challenges on the rise, sadly, it’s too easy to find a worthy cause that could use a little support.
Of course, it doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom. Under-valued and under-funded cultural institutions, such as libraries, music and dance programs, even tai chi organizations (a personal favorite) are all welcome recipients of charitable contributions. Donations as gifts are good for the recipients and their beneficiaries, good for the environment (no production, no packaging, no waste), and good for the soul.
Since this is a food newsletter, I have a few ideas for the food lover in your circle. You can’t go wrong with a donation to World Central Kitchen (WCK), the global emergency feeding organization established by the talented and unflappable chef José Andrés. WCK uses existing local infrastructure to prepare and serve fresh, hot delicious food to victims of natural disasters, war, and just about any event in any region that interrupts access to wholesome food. Many think Andrés is in line for a Nobel Peace Prize. Unlike the wildly creative and delicious food at his iconic Mini Bar in DC, it wouldn’t surprise me.
As the name suggests, No Kid Hungry is working to eradicate childhood hunger in the United States. My former employer, the James Beard Foundation (JBF), has a series of scholarships and impact programs helping to create diverse, conscientious culinary leaders of tomorrow. The Women’s Hospitality Initiative, started by my friend and colleague Elizabeth Blau, is working on the specific issue of gender imbalance in industry leadership, where less than 7% of executive chefs and restaurants owners are women. Wellness in the Schools uses a focus on food to improve the health, well-being, and education of students. Jewish Food Society (JFS) is building a living archive of Jewish recipes and food culture from around the diaspora. And Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP) provides undeserved teens a pathway to a career in food.
Not what you are lookin for? Charity aggregators and raters, such as Charity Navigator, can help you find bona fide do-gooders. Some even match donations made through their portals. Whichever organization you choose to support, make sure they will notify whomever you’ve made the donation on behalf of. And follow that up with a card of your own.
If you still feel compelled to contribute to the industrial-gift-giving complex, here are a few additional thoughts about things I know I’d be happy to receive. (Note: For books, I’m linking you to bookshop.org, which supports independent booksellers. Jeff Bezos doesn’t need a gift from you this year.)
Korean Bookshelf and Pantry
Since even before my mind-blowing trip to Seoul in October, I’ve been dipping my toe into the world of Korean food (see Issues #125 and #127). My guide has been Phaidon’s new Korean Cookbook by my friends Junghyun (“JP”) Park and Jungyoon (“JY”) Choi. It’s comprehensive, informative, beautiful, and every recipe I have made has been easy and delicious. It should be on every serious food lover’s bookshelf. Why not send a copy of the book with some exquisite soy sauces and fermented pastes (jangs) from the 380-year-old Kisoondo, some milled-to-order Korean rice, and other gourmet Korean ingredients and/or elegant Korean tableware from Kim’C Market, a new high-end online Korean grocery store.
On the Asian cooking theme, a collection of top-quality Sichuan ingredients from The Mala Market or a selection of freshly milled, new-harvest Japanese rices from The Rice Factory would make me jump for joy. If someone you know has recently moved to someplace with less access to Asian ingredients (soon to be me), consider creating an order from Weee!, the country’s largest online Asian grocery store. They ship everything from fresh produce to condiments and snacks.
Everyone Loves Italian Food
Italy is a perennial favorite. I am just back from a brief visit to Milan and Florence, two towns in which I’ve had the pleasure of living and both of which I continue to love. In Milan I was fortunate to be able to enjoy two meals, lunch and dinner, at one of my favorite restaurants, which sadly is closing for good this Friday after 58 years, La Latteria on via San Marco. I wrote about Latteria back in Issue #32. The couple who own it have never missed a day since they opened in 1965; Arturo (age 85) and Maria (77) need a rest. Who can blame them?
Though I didn’t get to Rome on this trip, one of my favorite cookbooks this year that would make a very fine gift was Portico, my friend Leah Koenig’s exploration of traditional Roman Jewish cuisine (see Issue #115). Given the rising tide of antisemitism in the world at the moment, this might also serve as a subtle reminder to your foodie friends of both the cultural contributions made by and the persecutions directed toward Jews for millennia. Let’s not forget the word ghetto comes the Italian gettare or “casting,” and was first applied the cramped quarters in which Jews were forced to live in 16th century Venice. While we are at it, even though some bigots are trying to use a supposed white supremacy intention to justify their antisemitism, let’s also not forget that it’s only been a short minute since Jews, or Italians, for that matter, were considered “white folks.”
But back to food gifts. Why not send Leah’s book with a few select Italian ingredients from Gustiamo and a statuesque, artisanal panettone From Roy, the stunningly beautiful and delicious Italian Christmas breads baked in California by the nice, obsessive-compulsive, Jewish boy Roy Shvartzapel. Though panettone is more traditionally associated with northern Italy—Lombardy and Veneto duke it out for OG rights—it’s beloved by all Italians and certainly consumed by both Jews and Gentiles in Rome. From Roy is such a phenomenon that in 2021, the most famous Italian chef in the world, Massimo Bottura, selected the American baker Roy to produce panettone for the most famous Italian fashion brand in the world Gucci, with whom Bottura has a business relationship. Talk about a mixed marriage that would provoke the ire of one’s parents, if ever there was one.
On the theme of Jewish culture for Christmas gifts, I’d also point you to this beautiful, gift-worthy art/food book Kibbitz & Nosh, which offers quite literally a snapshot of a slice of life from Brooklyn in the 1970s. One day, photographer Marcia Bricker Halperin happened into a Jewish cafeteria called Dubrow’s, camera in hand. She began photographing the regulars, the staff, the scenes of daily life that played out among this neighborhood community. Enriched by essays about the cafeteria, the period, and the context of Jewish life in Brooklyn, it’s a poignant postcard from a place that in so many ways no longer exists.
Finally, I might suggest, if you are a fan of this Kitchen Sense newsletter, you gift it to your food loving friends. Both free and paid subscriptions help build this community of thoughtful, food-loving people who know that the secret to health, happiness, and community is the ability to nourish ourselves and each other.
All my best wishes to everyone for the holidays and for a new year filled with warmth, health, happiness and healing for a world that could use a bowl of homemade chicken soup and big hug.
—Mitchell
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