Alanna from A Veggie Venture has declared herself the social director for all St. Louis food bloggers and organized a St. Louis food bloggers' blogging event - Top 10 Local St. Louis Holiday Gifts for Foodies. As a newbie among a distinguished group of bloggers, I could not turn down the opportunity to join and play with the big kids:
However, as I don't do anything on this blog that doesn't revolve around cupcakes, my list is geared to not just any foodie, but a foodie who loves cupcakes!
Classes
The gift of learning is always one of my favorite gifts. As the saying should go, "Give a man a cupcake, you have fed him for today; teach a man to bake cupcakes, and you have fed him for a lifetime." With that in mind, my first two gift ideas are classes.
1. Buy your baker a cheesemaking class at Alpine Dairy Goats. I took this class a while back and had a fabulous experience. Admittedly, I've only made ricotta cheese which didn't work so well on my cupcakes. However, for someone more ambitious, I think it would be amazing to make frosting out of their own homemade cream cheeses. If making cheese isn't their thing, you may also consider buying some products from Alpine Dairy Goats, like her fresh goat milk.
2. Give them a cake decorating class at Sallies Cake and Candy Supply. I learned so much from my experience taking a class there. The instructors are patient and extremely knowledgeable about baking. BTW, there were both kids and adults in my class so this could be a good class for a young aspiring pastry chef on your list.
Ingredients
When I make my cupcakes, I am inspired by every possible random ingredient that I see. If a unique product shows up in my house, my first thought is always, "How can I use that in a cupcake?" Any interesting food product will make a great gift for a cupcake baker on your list. However, here are two to consider:
3. Help them to grow their own ingredients by buying them some pots of fresh herbs. There are a slew of garden stores around town. My favorite is Rolling Ridge Nursery. Not only will they help you to find what you are looking for, but they make sure that you understand what you need to do to keep your plants alive. One time, a staff member actually handed me a pencil and paper so I could take notes.
4. Sure, all of those national companies make great chocolate, but our hometown favorite, Bissinger's makes some winners. I am a huge fan of the Bissinger's Spa Chocolate collection. This stuff isn't cheap, so people are less likely to run out and buy it for themselves. They will, however, not mind at all if you spend your money on it. Any Bissinger's chocolate you get them could be used as a cupcake topper, chopped up and put in a cupcake, or simply as inspiration for their next cupcake masterpiece.
Cupcakes
Perhaps your cupcake fan doesn't like to bake. Buy them some cupcakes! We have two cupcake shops in town to choose from.
5. Buy cupcakes at Jilly's Cupcake Bar to let them experience her creative and elaborate cupcake creations.
6. Buy cupcakes at the The Cupcakery for a simple, classic, and delicious tastes.
Classes
The gift of learning is always one of my favorite gifts. As the saying should go, "Give a man a cupcake, you have fed him for today; teach a man to bake cupcakes, and you have fed him for a lifetime." With that in mind, my first two gift ideas are classes.
1. Buy your baker a cheesemaking class at Alpine Dairy Goats. I took this class a while back and had a fabulous experience. Admittedly, I've only made ricotta cheese which didn't work so well on my cupcakes. However, for someone more ambitious, I think it would be amazing to make frosting out of their own homemade cream cheeses. If making cheese isn't their thing, you may also consider buying some products from Alpine Dairy Goats, like her fresh goat milk.
2. Give them a cake decorating class at Sallies Cake and Candy Supply. I learned so much from my experience taking a class there. The instructors are patient and extremely knowledgeable about baking. BTW, there were both kids and adults in my class so this could be a good class for a young aspiring pastry chef on your list.
Ingredients
When I make my cupcakes, I am inspired by every possible random ingredient that I see. If a unique product shows up in my house, my first thought is always, "How can I use that in a cupcake?" Any interesting food product will make a great gift for a cupcake baker on your list. However, here are two to consider:
3. Help them to grow their own ingredients by buying them some pots of fresh herbs. There are a slew of garden stores around town. My favorite is Rolling Ridge Nursery. Not only will they help you to find what you are looking for, but they make sure that you understand what you need to do to keep your plants alive. One time, a staff member actually handed me a pencil and paper so I could take notes.
4. Sure, all of those national companies make great chocolate, but our hometown favorite, Bissinger's makes some winners. I am a huge fan of the Bissinger's Spa Chocolate collection. This stuff isn't cheap, so people are less likely to run out and buy it for themselves. They will, however, not mind at all if you spend your money on it. Any Bissinger's chocolate you get them could be used as a cupcake topper, chopped up and put in a cupcake, or simply as inspiration for their next cupcake masterpiece.
Cupcakes
Perhaps your cupcake fan doesn't like to bake. Buy them some cupcakes! We have two cupcake shops in town to choose from.
5. Buy cupcakes at Jilly's Cupcake Bar to let them experience her creative and elaborate cupcake creations.
6. Buy cupcakes at the The Cupcakery for a simple, classic, and delicious tastes.
Better yet, buy some at each and let your foodie play reviewer and compare them both.
Camera Gear
Foodies don't just like to eat food, we like to remember it. A cheap digital camera just doesn't do the trick, better camera gear = better pictures = better memories. There are two camera stores that will do a great job helping you with that big budget gift:
7. Stop into Schiller's and let their educated staff help you select the best camera for taking cupcake photos. They also have some of the best photo processing in town. Yes, there is a difference between getting pictures printed at Wal-Mart and getting them printed at Schiller's.
8. Creve Coeur Camera is another great local camera shop worth checking out. It is where I bought my camera. They also have a great selection of used camera items at their main location in Creve Coeur.
Clothing
Every good baker needs a good apron. Even if they already have one, they won't be upset about a second one.
9. Stop into Cornucopia to choose from a variety of aprons or, better yet, get a gift certificate from there and let your gift recipient have a field day choosing from two stories of cooking and baking goods.
10. Support your local blogger, me, and buy a Save the Cupcake Apron. Sorry, I couldn't help myself.
Camera Gear
Foodies don't just like to eat food, we like to remember it. A cheap digital camera just doesn't do the trick, better camera gear = better pictures = better memories. There are two camera stores that will do a great job helping you with that big budget gift:
7. Stop into Schiller's and let their educated staff help you select the best camera for taking cupcake photos. They also have some of the best photo processing in town. Yes, there is a difference between getting pictures printed at Wal-Mart and getting them printed at Schiller's.
8. Creve Coeur Camera is another great local camera shop worth checking out. It is where I bought my camera. They also have a great selection of used camera items at their main location in Creve Coeur.
Clothing
Every good baker needs a good apron. Even if they already have one, they won't be upset about a second one.
9. Stop into Cornucopia to choose from a variety of aprons or, better yet, get a gift certificate from there and let your gift recipient have a field day choosing from two stories of cooking and baking goods.
10. Support your local blogger, me, and buy a Save the Cupcake Apron. Sorry, I couldn't help myself.
Another great list, so creative to pull in terrific gifts all centered around cupcakes! Thanks for playing along ...
ReplyDeleteDid your hubbie take that cupcake picture? It's absolutely beautiful- should be your Holiday card!
ReplyDeleteYes, he did. I'll pass along your compliments. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI just found you through Kat's blog. You don't have an email link that I could find, so I thought I'd leave a message here. For my daughter's 4th birthday party, which is a tea party theme, I am baking white cakes with pink frosting. I am taking the curve of a candy cane, cutting it off, and inserting it into the side of the cake, so it looks like a tea cup. The remainder of the candy cane will be finely chopped and sprinkled on top of the pink frosting. Silver cake wrappers. Should be adorable. I saw it on a Food Network show, so I can't take credit. However, it will be my first time getting creative with cupcakes and I'm oh so excited. Just thought I'd share that with someone who would appreciate the story.
ReplyDeleteMutha - Those sound neat! Let me know how they turn out. My email is stef@cupcakeproject.com . I'd love to see a picture!
ReplyDelete