Some Holiday Goodies for the Foodies in Your Life

Survey Says: The 2002 Zagat guides are here, and they’ve brought friends. This year, they include an L.A. Nightlife guide that lists bars, clubs and lounges. Perhaps more important, Orange County now rates its own restaurant guide. (It also includes listings for Long Beach.) Its top food rankings went to Pavilion in the Four Seasons Newport Beach, Pinot Provence and Napa Rose at Disney’s California Adventure. The Zagat surveys cost $9.95 to $11.95 ($6.95 for the maps) and can be found at most bookstores.

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Certificate Gifting: December is gift month, so here are some ideas for stocking stuffers or Hanukkah presents. Restaurant gift certificates are no-brainers and handy in a pinch. Call your favorite place to see if it issues certificates. The Mission Inn in Riverside offers plastic gift cards that can be used for overnight stays, massages, room service and dining at Duane’s or the Spanish Patio on the property. Call the concierge at (909) 784-0300 to purchase one in any amount.... Some restaurants at Universal CityWalk in Universal City are offering gift certificate incentives. Buy one for $50 and get a free one for $25 at these restaurants: Gladstone’s, Cafe TuTu Tango, Wasabi and Shanghai & Mein.... Buy one for $250 (or more) from one of David Wilhelm’s restaurants and you’ll receive a free one worth $25 or more (10% of what you spend, in other words). His restaurants: Chimayo at the Beach in Huntington Beach, Chimayo Grill in Newport Beach, French 75 and Sorrento Grille in Laguna Beach, and Savannah Steak & Chop House in Laguna Niguel.

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Time on the Line: Cooking classes make a lavish gift for home cooks who want to hone or prove their skills. Many restaurant chefs moonlight as teachers at local cooking schools or open up their restaurants during the day once in a while for classes.

Take Gilles Epie, back from Chicago and living in L.A. again. You may remember him as the chef of Chez Gilles in Beverly Hills, where Chadwick is now, or from his time at L’Orangerie. He’s opened a cooking school called Cuisine Academy. He teaches classes at his home in Benedict Canyon. Visit his Web site at www.cuisineacademy.com or call (818) 990-2700 for information.... L’Ecole des Chefs Relais Gourmands is an international organization that offers cooking internships in restaurants, mostly for fun. Students spend two to five days working with a chef and his staff in a working kitchen. Participating restaurants include Daniel, Jean Georges, LeBernardin and Aureole in New York, the French Laundry in Napa Valley, Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago, Seeger’s in Atlanta and L’Orangerie in L.A. Internships cost between $1,100 and $2,600. Visit the Web site at www.ecoledeschefs.com or call (877) 334-6464 for information....

The Patina Group lets students slave away in its kitchens for $750 to $1,500. The student will start at 8 a.m., prepare a five-course meal for eight people, then eat it with seven close friends that night. Visit the Web site at www.patinagroup.com or call the catalog line at (888) 269-5269 for information .... For 12 years, Diane Mohilef worked in Citrus’ kitchen in various positions. Now she teaches cooking classes in her home in Encino. Classes last four hours, include lunch and cost $90 each. Call her at (818) 981-4748 for information.

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The Gift That Keeps on Being Eaten: Mr. Pickles Deli, 13354 Washington Blvd., L.A., is making tons of latkes for Hanukkah. They cost $12 a dozen and need to be ordered three days in advance for pickup. Call (310) 822-7777.... Il Fornaio has holiday foods in its bakery. The panettone ($9.95), oil and vinegar set ($34.95) and gift baskets are prepackaged. When it comes to the wrapping for freshly baked goods such as the apple strudel ($12.50) and Christmas bread ($13.95), you’re on your own. Visit the Web site at www.ilfornaio.com or call (888) 482-5426 for information and locations.

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Danish Christmas Dinner: Pete Lehmar, chef of McCormick & Schmick’s in Beverly Hills, shares his Danish Christmas heritage with his customers Saturday at 7 p.m. The dinner begins with a fish course and much drinking of schnapps and ale. The meats, potatoes, cabbage and pumpernickel are served family-style. Then the dessert contest begins. The challenge is to find the one solid almond planted in a dish of rice pudding. It costs $45 plus tax and tip.

* McCormick & Schmick’s, 206 N. Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills; (310) 859-0434.

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Reach Angela Pettera at (310) 358-7647 or pettera@prodigy.net