Present for a budding cook

[Mazzatron]

My nephew is turning 21 on Friday. He's really getting into cooking and good food.

Can anyone recommend a good cooking related gift for him please?

I've been looking at a pasta maker for my son. I know hundreds get thrown away every year but it's something I think he'd use.

Has your nephew got good pans and knives? Scales?

I bought this for my niece heading off to university and she loved it!

www.spicepots.com/products/indian-spice-gift-set

Maybe a cooking class? I have done an Indian one with Monica Sawhney Haldar, who runs a company called The Spice Club, classes are in Birmingham and Manchester. She is fantastic and I highly recommend if you nephew is into Indian food. She also has a company called Shikshak which is an online cookery platform - it has very good reviews but I have no personal experience.

Le Creuset casserole dish

Whenever I go and cook at someone else's house, I always take my own knives. Good quality knives and a decent sharpening stone have transformed the way I work in a kitchen and are non-negotiable for me now.

My sister is a Le Cordon Bleu trained chef and is the same.

If he is interested let him choose them, rather than have your guess/choice foisted upon him. They're one of those things he really needs to feel in his hand first.

Thanks everyone for the ideas. I mulled it all over and then I found a fan website called souschef and ended up getting him a cook book (Persiana) that came with a selection of related, unusual spices / ingredients. It's a great website. He's a student at the moment so hopefully the book coming with some ingredients will be a help!

If you can afford it, a le Creuset casserole would be an amazing 21st birthday gift. Or a good knife with a protective case. Or a copy of Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking