As we count down to Christmas, Asia Tatler Dining will be rolling out a series of gift guides, aimed at different types of food lovers. After all, we may all love food, but some of us may be inspired by the simple sweetness of the pastry kitchen while others may find the smoke and foam of molecular cuisine awe-inspiring. And so, we will be breaking down our gift guides into different sections and to kick off this year's Christmas gift section, here is our inaugural gift guide for foodies. Aimed at those with more than just a passing love for food, but not yet a full-fledged epicurean, here are a few gift ideas that should allow you to start your transformation into a super food geek by 2012.

The Food Processor

While a good French knife is a chef's best friend, even the fastest Top Chef contestant can't mince and dice as uniformly as a food processor. A good food processor works as the home cook's prep cook, slicing raw vegetables, kneading dough, pureeing mayonnaise and soup. The only trick is to find one that can perform all those tasks equally. One of our favourites here at Asia Tatler Dining is the aptly named Breville Sous Chef Food Processor. The powerful motor makes quick work of raw vegetables while the plastic dough blade is perfect for kneading all sorts of pastry dough. The Breville Sous Chef also comes with five discs and three blades, as well as an extra-wide feed chute so that the lazy home cook can avoid pre-cutting raw ingredients if they wanted to.

The Breville Sous Chef Food Processor is available on www.amazon.com.

The Cooking Classes

Ideal for your friends who keep inviting you to dinner, yet keep trotting out the same old perfectly executed but tired dishes. While this may sound like a bit of a selfish gift at first (after all, you will be benefitting when they finally start making something new at their dinner parties), but really, it's a win-win situation. We love the cooking classes that run year-round at the InterContinental Hong Kong. For 2012, the first class begins in February with a special Valentine's chocolate class, but classes throughout the year include everything from learning how to create Spoon's steamed foie gras, Nobu's advanced sushi or toban yaki dishes, The Steak House's lobster thermidor, Yan Toh Heen's Chinese winter casseroles to lessons from the InterContinental's executive chef on making steak and Guinness pie or how to cook a whole Christmas dinner. Needless to say, there is bound to be something for every cook who wants to improve or broaden their repertoire. The classes take place on Saturdays from 10.30am to 2.30pm and are priced at HK$1,288 per person.

For gift certificates to the cooking classes, guests can call the hotels' restaurant reservation centre at +852 2313-2323.

The Pots

There are pots and pans, then there is Le Creuset. The French brand has long made a name for itself not only because their signature enamelled cast-iron pots are perfect for one-pot dishes such as cassoulet, bouillabaisse and stews, but let's face it, they're also incredibly easy on the eye. Apart from their signature flame orange cocottes, the company is always releasing new shades to entice us to add to our collection. This year, we are loving the new shades of purple, exclusively available at Lane Crawford. There is the light lilac, a brighter shade of cassis, as well as a more elegant marronnier shade, all three are available at Lane Crawford home departments on Canton Road, Pacific Place and Times Square.

For more information, please visit Le Creuset's flagship store on 31 Wyndham Street, Central.

For Budding Foodies

We can't help but notice with shows such as Junior Masterchef that foodies are getting, well, smaller. We love that children are now starting to show culinary curiosity at such a young age, but in the interest of not adding to teen obesity rates, it's probably also a good idea to start them on the right track. Enter Michael Pollan's latest collaboration with illustrator Maira Kalman. Food writer Michael Pollan is famous for his excellent studies into modern agriculture and the contemporary diet of the rich first world in previous books such as The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food. In 2009, he published a slim volume simply titled Food Rules: An Eater's Manual, offering 64 rules which can be summed up as don't eat too much, and make that mostly plants. In this new illustrated version which is ideal for children, the rules are accompanied by Kalman's charming and old-fashioned paintings, making it a perfect addition to any foodie family library.

Food Rules: An Eater's Manual is available on www.amazon.com.

For Wine Novices

If you have a friend who is just starting to get into the wine scene but not entirely sure what he wants, then wine club memberships are the best gifts.

Our favourite memberships are from Golden Gate Wine and California Vintage. Golden Gate is Hong Kong's leading importer of fine American wines and their Fine Wine Club delivers four to six specially selected premium wines (members get to choose between six bottles of red and wine wines; or four bottles of red wines) to members' door every quarter, i.e. in January, April, July and October. The membership also includes free delivery of other purchases over HK$800, as well as invitations to all Golden Gate exclusive wine tasting events. To give a Fine Wine Club membership, simply buy the current quarterly offering for the recipient and use your friend's name and delivery address, so that they become eligible for the 15% discount on future wine purchases.

The wine membership at California Vintage's Wine Club is even more relaxed: members are invited to choose their own 12 bottles from the 22 family-owned winery that California Vintage focuses on, which are also shipped for free to members' homes. Other benefits include a personal shopper service, invitations and access to guest winery dinners at California Vintage and 10% off retail purchases.

Golden Gate Wine: www.goldengatewine.com. Tel: +852 2891-8181; California Vintage: www.wineclubhk.cvwinebar.com. Tel: +852 3182-7116.