Celebrity food gifts: actors famous for gifting sweet treats, from Tom Cruise to Taylor Swift
Some stars prefer to send jewellery or champagne, but others have built reputations on food. A handful of celebrities are now as famous for their edible tokens as for their screen or stage careers. Tom Cruise mails coconut cakes each December, Meghan Markle delivers limited jars of jam and Taylor Swift bakes for friends. These aren’t casual gestures; they are rituals repeated year after year, often whispered about in fan circles or traded like insider currency. Celebrity food gifts reveal something personal about their givers, offering a glimpse into how the famous choose to nourish relationships when the cameras are off.
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Tom Cruise and the coconut cake
The most enduring of celebrity food gifts is Tom Cruise’s White Chocolate Coconut Bundt Cake from Doan’s Bakery in Los Angeles. Every December, the actor has dozens shipped to friends and colleagues. Recipients include Tom Hanks, Rosie O’Donnell and Jimmy Fallon, who have publicly confessed to rationing slices. Cruise's Mission Impossible co-star Pom Klementieff also received the sweet treat. The cake itself, dense with coconut and white chocolate, has become a Hollywood marker of seasonal favour and an annual reminder of Cruise’s meticulous reputation.
Meghan Markle and homemade jam
In 2024, Meghan Markle unveiled her lifestyle label American Riviera Orchard, later rebranded to As Ever, with an edible flourish. She sent a limited batch of 50 jars of strawberry jam to friends such as Mindy Kaling, Kris Jenner and Chrissy Teigen. Each jar was hand-numbered, sparking light chatter among recipients about who ranked higher. While some viewed it as a savvy brand launch, others noted it continued Markle’s pattern of celebrity food gifts, following earlier gestures like a lemon olive oil cake sent to World Central Kitchen volunteers.
Taylor Swift and pop tarts
Taylor Swift's victory pop tarts for the Kansas City Chiefs. (Photo: swiftie.in.nyc / Instagram)
Taylor Swift’s penchant for baking is long established, and her creations have found their way to friends, collaborators and even football coaching staff. She has gifted homemade Pop-Tarts to Kansas City Chiefs personnel and baked loaves of sourdough for close friends, including Selena Gomez. On her partner Travis Kelce’s podcast, she admitted to being deep in a sourdough phase, producing loaves in multiple flavours and handing them out. These baked goods have become some of the most recognisable celebrity food gifts, serving as both comfort and quiet branding.
Chrissy Teigen and banana bread
Chrissy Teigen turned banana bread into a celebrity food gift with the help of social media. What began as a Twitter plea for ripe bananas turned into a saga that ended with her sending loaves to fans and friends. In 2020, she famously exchanged a loaf, a pie and wine for romaine lettuce during a pandemic shortage, a swap documented by national outlets. It cemented her reputation for bringing humour and spontaneity into the ritual of gifting.
Kris Jenner and gingerbread houses
Few traditions are as photographed as Kris Jenner’s custom gingerbread houses. Every Christmas, she orders elaborate creations from Solvang Bakery and has them personalised with names of friends and family. Recipients, from Jennifer Garner to Chrissy Teigen, regularly post them on Instagram. Kim Kardashian has also started giving them out as part of Sknn PR gifts. Though lavish, the houses represent a controlled form of celebrity food gift: expensive, recognisable and perfectly timed for maximum visibility.
Celebrity food gifts are never just about indulgence. They travel through friendship circles, fan communities and Instagram feeds, carrying with them a sense of access and identity. Sometimes they mark the holidays, sometimes they hint at a new venture, sometimes they’re simply a favourite recipe pressed into service. Whatever the intent, they linger in memory, turning an edible gesture into a cultural signature.
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