Father’s Day: It’s here, and picking a gift can be a little overwhelming! Think beyond the tie for 2021, particularly given what Dads, like Moms, have been through over the last year. We reached out to four of our favorite chefs who happen to be papas, all superstar members of our 2020 Chefs’ Collective, and asked them for their wishlists. Read on, get inspired, and hear our picks (beyond the watch)!
1. Timothy Hollingsworth
Napa Valley chef Timothy Hollingsworth is a restaurateur, winner of Netflix’s cooking competition show The Final Table, former Chef de Cuisine at The French Laundry, and founding chef at L.A. restaurant, Otium. The multiple award winner, who joined Ask Chefs Anything to raise funds for immigrant workers in service industries affected by the pandemic, loved getting a OneWheel (a smotorized skateboard) one year, because it made it easier for him to take his kids to the park or the dogs on a run. This year? He’s in the market for a place to just chill out with his family.
“I would love a sectional couch. Our family has grown significantly over the years and it would be awesome to have more room for the five of us to all have a place to lay and relax on movie nights.”
For chilling, may we suggest: A Laguna sectional couch, popcorn to eat while watching the flatscreen, or a wine club membership?
2. Miles Macquarrie
ATL daddy Miles Macquarrie co-owns and manages the bar at Kimball House and Watchman’s Seafood & Spirits in Decatur and Atlanta, Georgia. Renowned nationally in addition to within the Atlanta cocktail scene, he honed his chops behind the bar of Holeman & Finch Public House and Leon’s Full Service. Culling from local traditions in the Southeast, he also mixes his own custom bitters.
A couple of years ago, Miles received a fig tree for Father’s Day. This is the first year it will bear fruit, and he is psyched. What he’s coveting this year? Something supremely utilitarian: a Sahara Folding Food Dehydrator. It’s a 7-shelf stainless steel and glass dehydrator that would allow him to, say, dry citrus peel and other fruits and vegetables for crushing into powders to infuse bar elixirs and lend color and flavor to glass rimming salts. “I use one all the time at both Kimball House and Watchman’s,” Miles says, and wants another for his home kitchen. Miles is thinking fruit leathers, so maybe father and daughter will reap the rewards of his fig tree and dehydrator together!
For the innovator with a green thumb, may we suggest: a Fortessa Cocktail Smoking Box or some sweet little plants!
3. Scott Tacinelli
Husband-and-wife team Scott Tacinelli and Angie Rito are Chefs/Owners of Don Angie in New York City. Their refined Italian-American dishes have earned them two-star reviews from The New York Times and Eater NY, and Don Angie was named one of Esquire’s Best New Restaurants in America. The duo was among Zagat’s 13 under-the-radar-chefs-to-watch in NYC and received a 2019 James Beard Award nomination for Best Chef New York City.
We love that Angie and Scott (both Chefs Collective members) named their kid “Roman.” On-brand, and awesome. “I certainly do not need anything for Father’s Day,” enthuses Scott, “because having Roman is the best gift I could ask for. If I really had to think of something, I’d say an Aarke Sparkling Water Carbonator, because I have been drinking a lot of sparkling water recently!” This year he hopes to sleep until 10 am if at all possible, and visit a former sous chef’s new restaurant in order to support him.
For the Dad who deserves to sleep in, may we suggest: a plush robe; Italian embroidered sheets; Hungarian white goose down pillows and duvet.
4. David Nayfeld
David Nayfeld is the Executive Chef and Co-owner of Italian hotspots Che Fico and Che Fico Alimentari in San Francisco. He has worked with world-renowned chefs at top restaurants around the world, received a Michelin Guide The Plate Award, and Che Fico was featured in Bon Appétit as one of the Top 10 Best New Restaurants in America. He also founded the Che Fico Family Meal Fund to help provide meals for those in need.
David just wants to “feel taken care of” this Father’s Day. “Breakfast and coffee then just a planned-out day that doesn’t require me to work!” sounds great to him. On the low-end, he’d like a proper new home kitchen stove. His Father’s Day dream? A trip to Oaxaca.
For a Dad who appreciates both high-end and simple experiences, may we suggest: Galaxy croissants; a Breville coffee maker; Margarita mixes and glasses with Alicia Villanueva’s tamales; a beautiful new La CornuFé range.
