We all have to eat – and these gifts cater to every taste, and celebrate Alaska’s local businesses, makers and flavors.
For the person who needs a little treat
Little treat culture is everywhere – and for some, it’s a need, not a want. This would be an easy DIY gift if you’re up to the task of baking or cooking for the people in your life. If you know they love cookies, take it as an opportunity to find a recipe (maybe from the cookbooks I mention later on?) you know they’d love. Bag them up, put them in a cute thrifted tin, and you got yourself a really special gift. Bonus points: If you make a batch of cookie dough, only bake off a handful and freeze the rest of the dough in individual balls. This way, they can enjoy the cookies and have more to bake fresh at a later time.
Not into baking? Luckily, there are plenty of local bakers who are. In Anchorage, try the uniquely-flavored rice krispies from Sweet Caro, the cruffin pastries at Benji’s Bakery, the cream- and jelly-filled malasadas at Wiki-Licious or the baklava and melomakarona honey walnut cookies at Antonio’s Greek Bakery.
For the caffeine fiend
For the person who is always on the go, get them a gift card to their favorite coffee hut. I love Aftershock and Spenard Joes in Anchorage, but try to think about which huts are closest to them if you don’t know their favorite.
Maybe they enjoy making coffee at home. Luckily, Alaska boasts a ton of local coffee roasters. I’m exclusively a tea drinker, but my husband loves coffee and finding new local roasters to try. He likes the less acidic and small batch coffee beans from Farm Loop Coffee made in Palmer, as well as the Skya’ana Coffee roasted in Klawock, on Prince of Wales Island.
For the tea drinkers, Felicity Loft is an Alaska-inspired tea company out of the Kenai Peninsula, with products stocked in local shops across the state. Sipping Streams out of Fairbanks is an award-winning tea company that specializes in organic loose-leaf teas. The company also stocks stores across the state with their products. In Anchorage, Summit Spice and Tea has a great selection of teas to pick from, and cute tins to package your gift in.
For the grill master
Some people, like my neighbor, will dust the snow off their barbecue and grill all year round. For those who crave the charbroiled taste that can only be achieved by standing outside and cooking over fire, you can’t go wrong with gifting them a choice cut of meat. A visit to Butcher Block 9, Mr. Prime Beef or another local butcher would do the trick. Veggies also taste great grilled, and Blue Market and Johnny’s Produce in Anchorage got you covered. Anchorage’s Summit Spice and Tea is a great place to shop for spice mixes, meat rubs and locally made sauces. For BBQ sauce, I love the Barnacle Foods sauce made with Alaskan Amber beer.
For the foodie who also loves to read
Cookbooks make lovely gifts. Personal stories and histories become cultural artifacts with delicious recipes sprinkled throughout. I feel so seen by cookbooks written by and for Alaskans. They understand what the grocery store looks like in the dead cold of January and balance that with the locally-foraged, fished and hunted abundance that comes in the summer months – and then they show you how they make the most of both situations.
“Alaska From Scratch” by Maya Wilson is a cookbook I am constantly returning to. Just a few days ago I made the smoked salmon pot pie recipe, and I have had her salmon burgers with wasabi mayo and cabbage slaw a dozen or so times. Her butterscotch bread pudding will have a spot at my Thanksgiving table and her snowy-like coconut cake is super festive for the holidays.
The Salmon Sisters have a new cookbook out, “Salmon Sisters: Harvest and Heritage” by Emma Teal Laukitis and Claire Neaton, which features 60 recipes that celebrate the seasonal food traditions in their homes.
Chefs Mandy and Kirsten Dixon put together a beautiful cookbook, “The Tutka Bay Lodge: Coastal Cuisine in the Wilds of Alaska,” centered on their lodge, located at Tutka Bay, a seven mile fjord in Kachemak Bay. I had the opportunity to go to this lodge when I was in college as part of a food writing workshop series. The food and hospitality of the Dixon’s was unforgettable, and many of the lodge’s culinary mainstays can be found inside this ode to their coastal lodge. One of my favorite recipes from this book is the blueberry cream cheese chocolate chip cookies. I like them so much that my husband and I baked about three batches of them for the dessert table at our wedding this summer.
There are more amazing cookbooks written by Alaskans from across the state. Many local bookstores like Title Wave in Anchorage and River City Books in Soldotna have Alaska-specific sections where the local cookbooks are all easy to find.
Lastly, a subscription to Edible Alaska magazine brings local food stories straight to your favorite readers’ door several times a year – a gift that keeps on giving.
For the person who wants any excuse to host a party
The classic gift for the generous hosts in your life could be a bottle of local wine, beer or liquor from their favorite local shop, brewery or distillery. For beer, I’d stop at the brewery itself. Alaska has dozens of breweries across the state, and some of my favorites are HooDoo Brewing in Fairbanks, Turnagain Brewing in Anchorage and Kassik’s Brewing in Nikiski. For distilleries, I’m partial to Amalga Distillery in Juneau, Port Chilkoot Distillery in Haines and Anchorage Distillery. For a one-stop-shop I’d stop by La Bodega and Allocated in Anchorage or the Grog Shop in Homer, if you’re on the Kenai Peninsula.
Don’t drink? Bring your hostess friend or family member a custom-made charcuterie board from Fruition. Tea towels from The Kobuk are always a hit, too.
If you’re someone who is looking for any excuse to throw a party (this is me), well, I think it would be totally acceptable to host a party and serve your friends or family as a gift. There are so many ways to make dining-in special: homemade place cards with everyone’s name, an inventive cocktail or mocktail or an activity or game to entertain your group.
A white elephant party is another great way to go. I always recommend a theme for white elephants to give guests expectations and help them decide what to get. A potential food-themed white elephant idea (that is also budget friendly) could ask everyone to bring their favorite condiment or a mug with something to drink. This could be a handmade mug from a local potter filled with some local coffee beans, tea, hot chocolate or even a dried soup mix.
For the new parents, the sick, the mourning and anyone else going through challenging times
We often ask people going through difficult transitions if they need anything. We often say “no thanks,” in hopes of not adding our burden to others. But, as someone who has recently gone through a difficult time, I’ve felt most supported by the people who don’t ask and simply show up with food. It could be a little treat, a meal, even cough medicine — anything you know would make them feel better or cheer them up.
If they’re sick, a container of Pho Vietnam’s beef pho, or Lahn Pad Thai’s panang curry or the hot and sour soup (a Saturday special) from Charlie’s Bakery can be so healing.
Another great soup option is Altura Bistro. They sell these five pound bags of gourmet soup for $30 that come with a free loaf of their ciabatta bread and herb butter when you purchase on Sundays. The flavors can change from time to time, but some recent options have included chicken noodle, cream of potato, chicken wild rice, gumbolaya, Mexican beef tortilla, smoked mushroom gorgonzola, southwest corn chowder and vegetable. I’ve gifted these bags to people who got Covid, who were in the midst of moving and friends who were becoming new parents. It’s a lot of soup, and people often freeze portions to be enjoyed at a later date.
For the outdoor adventurer
A long day of hiking always tastes like peanut butter and honey sandwiches to me. If you or someone you know can relate, local honey would be a great gift. Alaska Honey Collective has an easy to use online shop. I personally haven’t had the chance to try it, but for backpack-ready food, many swear by Heather’s Choice for meal options for the backcountry.
The Hoarding Marmot, an outdoor gear shop in Anchorage, has all the camp kitchen basics: the Pocket Rocket stove, bear resistant food containers and a collapsible French press.
For the person who has everything
We all have that person in our lives who seemingly has everything, and if they don’t have it, they could easily get it. For these people, maybe a handmade gift would be really special (see the little treat gifts above).
But, I also think a gift card to their favorite restaurant would suffice. If they like trying new things, go for a gift card to a restaurant they’ve never been to. Their tastes will determine what makes the most sense, but here are some restaurants in Anchorage that someone like me would really enjoy: Fiori D’Italia, Kami Ramen and Pho Vietnam (specifically the one on Denali Street).
Other great options that I’ve personally gifted to these kinds of people: a really nice bottle of olive oil from Summit Spice and Tea, a couple of bars of Chugach Chocolates or a beautiful loaf of bread from your favorite bakery – I’m partial to Lucy’s in Soldotna, where they use a decades-old sourdough starter to make crusty loaves of all sorts.
Victoria Petersen is an Anchorage-based freelance journalist covering food, culture and climate.