14 Great Valentine's Day Gift Ideas For The Foodie In Your Life

On the most romantic day of the year, the impulse is strong to splash out on a big-ticket gift like a luxury getaway or staycation, to show your partner just how much you love them. But there’s something to be said for the kind of gift that says: I see you as you are and I love you for it. And if you’re in love with a foodie, chances are you can touch his heart with a gift that shows how much you understand the food-loving side of his personality.

Yes, it’s a bit of challenge, especially if you’re not a foodie yourself. Let us make it easier for you with this gifting guide, calibrated to help you find the perfect token of love for the person who means the most to you.

For the wine or whisky lover: personalized carafe and decanter

The perfect addition to any liquor-lover’s home bar, these personalized decanter and carafe sets are crafted from premium Italian glass and come packaged in luxurious black leather-lined boxes. The carafe set comes with two goblets, perfect for sangrias or cocktails. The Capitol-style liquor decanter set comes with four whisky glasses. Each piece comes engraved with your choice of monogram, with the name or initial of you indicate. Each piece is a beautiful keepsake. 

P4,500 a set from All Things Remembered. To order, click here.

For the coffee lover: a coffee subscription

For the serious coffee geek, a new pack of beans to taste every month is absolute heaven. Fill this craving with a coffee subscription from EDSA BDG, a company dedicated to creating craft and artisanal drinks. The subscription entitles you to two packs of freshly-roasted coffee beans each month. Each bag can make up to 30 manual brew coffees or 20 espressos. You can customize by choosing between their espresso blend or filter coffee packages, and you get to pick different coffee bean blends, too.

Visit the EDSA BDG website  for the full list of coffee subscription packages

For the tea lover: tea sets and loose leaf teas

Once you taste the freshness and flavor of loose leaf teas, you’ll never settle for tea bags again. Teavolution has a wide range of loose leaf teas in the usual green, black, oolong, and English tea blends. What’s more interesting are the blooming teas that unfurl like a flower when soaked under water, and the aromatic caffeine-free tisanes. They also have a selection of dainty, elegant tea sets and accessories. For Valentine’s Day, why not pick their beautiful gift box set that holds a dainty four-piece porcelain tea set including a teapot, two tea cups, and tea tray?

Visit Teavolution's website or follow them on Instagram for their full list of teas and teawares.

For the man with a healthy, active lifestyle: a personal blender

Smoothies and shakes are your best friends, if you’re living a healthy lifestyle — or simply want to supplement a healthy diet. We found this no-fuss personal blender that’s small enough to fit into your kitchen (and budget). Osler’s Blend Active Personal Blender has garnered good reviews from all over the world. It’s nice and sleek, BPA-free, and dishwasher-safe, and it can crush ice with ease.  The blender jar works as a to-go container, which is so convenient. You can literally blend, grab and go. Nice, right? 

Shop for Osler Personal Blender at the Osler Philippines website.

For that person who likes carrying a flask everywhere: an insulated stainless steel bottle

Whether he’s drinking coffee, tea, lemon water, or gin, a nifty personal flask will be appreciated. Hydro Flask’s vacuum-insulated stainless steel bottles can keep cold drinks cold, and hot drinks hot. We like how they come in a variety of sizes, and the designs are amazing. This is is a great gift if you’re encouraging him to keep hydrated throughout the day, and since you’re not using plastic, it’s a plus for the environment, too.

Hydro Flask is available in major malls nationwide, or order through Lazada.

For the cocktail lover: exotic spices in a box

Does he love mixing his own G&Ts? Help him level up his game by giving him Spice Tonic’s range of exotic spices, sourced from all over the world. There are different spice box sets, depending on your preference. They come in beautiful jars and boxes, and some of the ingredients are hard to source. We recommend the Spice Sampler, an extensive collection of 12 unique spices including peppercorn medley, lavender, juniper berries, pink peppercorn, green cardamom, rose petals, blue butterfly peas, cloves, coriander, golden edge rose buds, cinnamon sticks, and hibiscus. 

Check out Spice Tonic on Instagram for cocktail recipes. Send them a DM to order a spice box.

For the adventurous cook: organic, preservative-free herbs and spices

Does he enjoy experimenting with new dishes? Does he get excited at the prospect of infusing dishes with new flavors? Is he conscious about using natural, healthy ingredients? If the answers are yes, yes and yes, then you’d better get him a box of spices and herbs from Mad About Herbs. They have a selection of gift boxes, from the usual herbs to the hottest chili — all grown in their backyard and preservative-free. You can customize the boxes. Throw in a bottle or two of their gourmet tuyo, spiced coconut vinegar, chili garlic, spicy honey, infused rice bran oil, mixed herbs, chili lime salt, rosemary, basil salt, and so much more. 

Check out Mad About Herbs' website for the list of products.

For the passionate home cook: a set of sleek, colorful cookware

His wannabe-chef’s heart will leap at the sight of these beautiful cookware: nine nonstick pieces in eye-catching colors that look so good you can even set them on the dining table as serving pots. Chef’s Classics cookware are induction- and oven-ready so you don’t have to worry. They’re so easy to use and clean they’ll inspire a lot of cooking — and eating. 

Chef's Classics cookware and kitchen tools are available in leading department stores nationwide

For the hobby gardener: potted herbs

Fresh herbs are always best for flavor, and it’s easy to keep a set of potted herbs on your kitchen shelf or at a nearby window so you can just snip off a few leaves when needed. Plantshopper offers a variety of potted herbs especially for cooking needs: tarragon, sweet basil, mint, thyme, parsley, oregano, rosemary, and dill. Of course, you can grow your own herbs, but the nice thing about already-grown potted herbs is that you don’t have to go through the trouble of planting and germinating seeds — honestly, some herbs can be pretty hard to grow. Spare him the hassle, and just give the gift of flavor. P.S. You can customize the pots with some pretty designs and lettering, too.

Check out Plantshopper for the list of potted herbs and gardening material. 

For the bookworm: books dedicated to the art of eating

Cookbooks are a no-brainer, but there’s a whole category of books dedicated to the art — the sheer pleasure — of eating, drinking, cooking and simply thinking about food. Here are just two recommendations: Angelo Comsti’s Also Filipino: 75 Regional Dishes I Never Had Growing Up is a great introduction to traditional heritage dishes from provinces all over the Philippines. It’s an impressive compilation that showcases our country’s food diversity and complex food cultures. A subscription to Eaten: The Food History Magazine will guarantee the thrill of receiving a new issue three times a year, and hours and hours of delicious reading. 

75 Regional Dishes I Never Had Growing Up is available from RPD Publications. Get a subscription for Eaten via The Kitchen Bookstore.

If he's fond of fondue: a fondue set, naturally!

If he’s drawn to the sexy, liquid-hot charms of melted cheese or chocolate (and who can blame him?), we say indulge in this passion by gifting him with his very own Swissmar Arosa 11-piece stainless steel fondue set. It comes with a stainless steel pot and burner, a removable ceramic container, and six numbered forks (so you can always tell which one is yours). Invite some friends for a fondue party, uncork a bottle of wine, and have a lot of fun! P.S. it’s perfect for February’s chilly weather. 

Available at Crate & Barrel, Makati 

For the sophisticated palate: a Valentine-themed grazing box

He’ll love these heart-shaped boxes filled with top quality charcuterie and cheese: cold cuts, cheese, fruits, nuts, bread, chocolate, and wine. There’s a sweet version filled with chocolates, too. Aperitif makes grazing boxes so beautifully packed that the unboxing and the anticipation that comes with it, becomes almost as much a pleasure as the actual eating. 

Check out the full list of Valentine's Day grazing boxes at Aperitif's website. Please order in advance. 

For the cookie monster: handcrafted cookies

Everybody wants their cookie in a certain way — chewy or crumbly, soft or chunky. Order cookies that best fit your beloved’s personal preference, but made in a fresh new way. For original, no-fuss chunky cookies, try The Chocolate Chip from Quinn’s Bakery — this year, it’s available in a special box for Valentine’s Day. For the guy who can’t decide between white, milk or dark chocolate, get all three in just one cookie with Moloko Handcrafted Cookies’ special Triple Chocolate Affair. And Twenty Four Bakeshop offers a surprisingly delectable pick by embedding fresh Baguio strawberries in Belgian white chocolate cookies.

Please order from Twenty Four Bakeshop, Quinn's Bakery, or Moloko Handcrafted Cookies.

For the chocolate connoisseur: premium truffles or bars

Yes, a box of chocolates is something of a cliché for Valentine’s day, but if he’s really a true-blue chocolate lover, go ahead and indulge him with a box of premium chocolates that are of superfine quality (no supermarket sweets for this special occasion). Malagos Chocolate makes premium truffles and bars made from local cacao beans that have won international awards. You only want the best for the person you love, after all.

Visit Malagos Chocolate's website for the complete product list