Gift Guide 2013: Kitchen Gifts for Kids Who Love to Cook

At 13, he can’t drive or vote, but boy, does Alexander Weiss know how to cook.

The New York City native recently became the first champion of MasterChef Junior, an intense cooking competition for rising-star chefs ages 8 to 13. (Psst: They’re casting now for next season!) Gordon Ramsay, one of the judges, told Weiss during filming, “There’s a bracket of chefs that are natural at cooking—you are one of them.”

On the show, Weiss got to work with all kinds of fancy gear to impress Ramsay and his co-judges Graham Elliot and Joe Bastianch, so we asked him for some culinary holiday gift suggestions.

Here are his picks for what cooks young and old should consider adding to their last-minute wish lists:

The Gift: A professional stand mixer

Why He Loves It: “This would be an absolute dream. It can help you work baking recipes efficiently and make your life so much easier. Not to mention, when you have one of these, you look like a pro.”

Buy It: KitchenAid Professional 600 Series 6 Quart Bowl-Lift Stand Mixer; $450, bedbathandbeyond.com

The Gift: A set of good knives

Why He Loves It: “We used Global Classic a lot on the show, and they’re a chef’s dream because they just cut like butter.”

Buy It: Global Classic 3-Piece Master Knife Set; $225, williams-sonoma.com

The Gift: A food processor

Why He Loves It: “There’s really no limit to how many things you can make with a food processor—root vegetable purées, cannoli dough, and pie crust are just a few of my favorites.”

Buy It: Hamilton Beach Bowl Scraper Food Processor; $50, hamiltonbeach.com

The Gift: A cake turntable

Why He Loves It: “This item has only one purpose, but it’s really useful. It spins so it helps you layer and frost easily without having to struggle to move a pedestal or plate. On the show I made a lemon cake that was super-bad and almost sent me home. I need a turntable so I can perfect it!”

Buy It: Wilton Trim-N-Turn Ultra Rotating Cake Stand; $19, amazon.com

The Gift: A digital meat thermometer

Why He Loves It: “You don’t need one that’s too fancy and high-tech, just something to tell you when your meats are cooked properly.”

Buy It: OXO Chef’s Digital Leave-It Stainless Steel Thermometer; $40, oxo.com

The Gift: A mandoline slicer

Why He Loves It: “A mandoline comes in really handy when you want to make paper-thin cuts that are too tricky to do with a knife.”

Buy It: Chef’n SleekSlice Collapsible Hand-Held Mandoline; $22, jcpenney.com

The Gift: A set of stainless-steel pots and pans

Why He Loves It: “They’re multipurpose and can really help you excel as a cook. I’d love a set so I can finally upgrade from the old non-stick pans I’ve been using.”

Buy It: All-Clad Copper Core; $140 and up, macys.com

The Gift: An electric juicer

Why He Loves It: “This is ideal for when you’re rushing in the morning and don’t have time to make breakfast. Personally I’d love to make smoothies with mango, pineapple, and strawberries—that’s my favorite fruit combination.”

Buy It: Krups Infinity Slow Juicer; $280, westelm.com

—Lexi Dwyer

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