Are you the next Iron Chef? Are you bedding a Master Chef wannabe? Do you or someone you know take cooking very seriously? Here are a few must-haves sure to tickle the fancy of the Iron Chef in, or near, you.

6. Sous vide circulators: Sous vide seems to be the new black of the chef world. With this technique, foods are cooked in a vacuum-sealed plastic pouch, at a consistent low temperature for an extended period of time. It may be bulky and pricey, but it creates magic.

5. Pressure cookers: The Iron Chefs need them to cook in a hurry, and they provide the same benefit to the ambitious (read: busy) home cook. Pressure cookers have come a long way from our grandma's models; today you can find them for the stovetop or electric operation.

4. Ice cream makers: You can't call yourself an Iron Chef until you've made salmon roe ice cream for Alton Brown. Grab some cream, sugar and order one of these to make some homemade vanilla.

3. Exotic ingredients: It's been said that your cooking is only as good as your ingredients, and for Top Chef-level cooking, you need a purveyor on steroids. At MarxFoods you can find everything from Adzuki beans to truffles to antelope meat, and you don't even need to leave home.

2. Vitamix blender: Talk about a work horse, this thing does it all. Blends, juices, purees nuts and can probably pull a rabbit from a top hat, should guests require entertainment.

1. Molecular cooking: Follow in the steps of Ferran Adria for a walk on the wild, or molecular side; this kit provides everything necessary to take food to new gastro levels.

One more: Sous chef - If everything else fails, offer to be a sous chef and do all the prep work for the hardworking chef.

Shop smart and eat well, my friends.

Check out our other 2011 holiday gift guides:

• 5 Ridiculously Cute Kitchen Gifts, by Phaedra Cook
• 5 Gifts for the At-Home Baker, by Brooke Viggiano
• 5 Gifts for the Wine Lover, by Jeremy Parzen
• Keeping it Kosher: Top 5 Hanukkah Gifts, by Katharine Shilcutt

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