Look Choup, Thai sweets made out of sweet yellow bean paste and coconut milk. Photo courtesy of Dusty Lockhart/Soi 38.

Shopping for the food lover in your life has gotten exponentially easier. Thanks to business incubators like Mess Hall, EatsPlace, and Union Kitchen, there are now tons of local entrepreneurs churning out everything from hot sauces to marshmallows. Restaurants also get in on the game this time of year with a bevy of holiday specials. To help you weed through the selection, here are DCist’s suggestions for homegrown food and beverage gifts and experiences.

For the Aspiring Chef: A Knife Skills Class from Hill’s Kitchen

One of the best presents I’ve ever given myself was a basic knife skills course at local kitchen store Hill’s Kitchen (713 D Street SE). The small, intimate class is suitable for both cooking noobs and experienced home chefs. Learn how to chop, dice, mince, and brunoise like a pro—that is, quickly, uniformly, and safely. As an added bonus, the instructor will teach students which knives are best for different purposes, and students have a chance to try out a variety of different high-end cutlery. (A good kitchen knife is no small investment, so it’s always helpful to get a chance to try before you buy.) If you want to give the gift of a lasting life skill, a knife skills class is the way to go. Hill’s Kitchen regularly offers a Basic Knife Skills class for $50. Check out their website for a schedule and instructions on how to sign up.

Interested in more cooking classes? Stay tuned for our guide to local cooking classes coming out next week.

Photo via Marcella Kriebel’s Etsy site.

For the Kitchen Decorator: Prints By Marcella Kriebel

You may have spied D.C.-based artist Marcella Kriebel’s beautiful watercolor renderings of local produce, fish, or sea life at the farmers’ market or at street festivals like Adams Morgan Day. Her playful series “365 Days of Food” covers everything from the mundane (a pile of bacon) to the sublime (skillet macaroni and cheese). My favorites, though, are her intricate compositions based on plant families like legumes, alliums, or citrus fruits. Even if you’re not much of a cook, Kriebel’s bright images would be right at home on the wall of any D.C. kitchen. Kriebel’s 13″ by 9″ prints are $20 and can be purchased through her Etsy shop or at Each Peach Market (3068 Mt Pleasant Street NW), Common Good City Farm’s weekly Thursday market (Oakdale Place NW), and Gallery 2000 (1529 17th Street NW).

For the Booze Hound: A Gin and Tonic From New Columbia Distillers and True Tonics

Not only does D.C. have its own gin distillery, but we now are home to locally made tonic syrup. For the gin and tonic lover in your life, pick up a bottle of Green Hat Gin’s limited edition seasonal variety (think spices and lots of juniper) and pair it with a bottle of syrup from newly-launched True Tonics. The D.C. company brews up their own tonic water base using real sugar and cinchona bark. Just add soda water and voila, a local G&T. A bottle of Green Hat Gin is $36 and can be purchased at these local liquor stores or directly from New Columbia Distillery (1832 Fenwick Street NE). True Tonics tonic syrup is $10 per eight-ounce bottle and can be ordered through their website or purchased from the Mess Hall pop-up at Union Market (Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, 1309 5th Street NE).

For the Beer Nerd: A Chauffeured Brewery Tour from DC Brew Tours

Treat someone to a day or night of hops-fueled revelry with a ticket on the DC Brew Tours bus. Tours include a driver to shuttle guests around the city, behind-the-scenes tours led by the brewery’s founders, and plenty of opportunities for free tastings and snacks along the way. Choose from day and evening tour options that will make a circuit through four different local breweries, including 3 Stars, DC Brau, Right Proper, Blue Jacket, Chocolate City, Port City, Bardo, and more. Tickets are $85 a person or purchase a gift certificate toward the cost of a ticket on DC Brew Tour’s website.

For the Sweet Tooth: A Box of Look Choup From Soi 38

Look Choup is Thailand’s answer to those little marzipan fruits that keep cropping up around the holidays. The chefs at Soi 38 (2101 L Street NW) take sweet yellow bean paste and coconut milk and transform it into jewel-like fruits and vegetables that are hand-painted to a life-like sheen. These treats are beautiful enough to use as a holiday table centerpiece table; the bonus is that guests can eat them for dessert. A 10-piece box of look choup is $17 and can be purchased directly from the restaurant.

For the Bitch Who Brunches: Barrel-aged Maple Syrup from Langdon Wood

The maple syrup may not be local (it’s from Pennsylvania), but it is aged in the District using whiskey barrels from Virginia’s Catoctin Creek Distillery. The result is a maple syrup that tastes distinctly different from the run-of-the-mill Grade A Amber: the barrels give it a smoky, almost bacon-like flavor. Perfect for anyone who likes to pour syrup on their breakfast meats. An eight-ounce bottle of Langdon Wood syrup is $13. Larger bottles and gift sets are available through their Etsy store or find it at these local markets.

Photo via Junius Cold Brew Coffee’s Facebook page.

For the Caffeine Addict: A Subscription to Junius Cold-Brewed Coffee

Junius Cold Brew Coffee concentrate is so smooth and chocolatey that it could convert even non-coffee drinkers. (I’d polish off the whole bottle in one sitting if I didn’t think I’d start vibrating from all the caffeine.) A gift subscription includes two bottles of coffee concentrate delivered to your gift recipient’s door on monthly basis. Each order includes one bottle of their original Rising Sun flavor as well as one mystery rotating flavor. A bottle makes four servings of coffee. Gift subscriptions come in three, six, and 12 month increments and cost $80 to $350 (includes shipping). Subscriptions can purchased on Junius’ website.

For the Carb-Lover: Homemade Pastas from Urbana

Pasta is one of the highlights on Urbana’s Italian-influenced menu, and you can now take home a bag for yourself or a friend. Chef Ethan McKee makes and dries three different pasta shapes by hand: curly gemelli, ruffly gigli, and chewy, thick strands of strozzapreti. The toothsome pastas can also be paired with a jar of sauce made with local Virginia tomatoes. A one-pound bag of homemade pasta is $6. Stop in to Urbana (2121 P St NW) to purchase.

For the Charcuterie Snob: A Meat and Cheese Basket from Lupo Verde

It wouldn’t be the holidays without a giant, cellophane-wrapped gift basket. But instead of sending folks underripe pears from Harry and David, build them a basket from Lupo Verde (1401 T Street NW). The baskets are customizable, or you can go with a pre-made option which features half a dozen cured meats and cheeses from the restaurant’s cheese shop, jars of housemade marmalade, ragu sauce, and a bottle of red wine (Sagrantino di Montefalco) and limoncello. Holiday baskets run between $125 to $150 and can be purchased at the restaurant now through December 31st.