does she have any special types of foods she likes to cook or bake?
a pasta machine if she does pasta or maybe specialty items for tandoori cooking or Mexican or .. ?
THIS IS IN CA, USA but there should be one near you to get professional grade items from. http://www.chefstoys.net/
maybe pick up a nice cookbook and go through the index and look at the recommended items for prep and get those.?
stainless steel and heavy bottoms is my general choice in basic pots and pans. no stick does not brown things well and does not stand up to high heat and i toss at the first scratch so they get expensive fast.
i have specialty knives but except for the fillet knife, end up using the steak knives for most all- lol. does she use them all? or just 1 or 2 ? maybe better to get nice 1or2 and a sharpener.
they are heavy but I love the enamel on steel to cook long and slow and the old ones are great if you can find them second hand.
I love the mandolin . i have a cheap plastic one( steel blades) and chop onto foldable cutting boards it works great! http://www.sonshinegrains.com/Alligator.html mandolin ideas though i rarely buy online.
I wash the cutting boards slip in on edges of dishwasher 3 per load - easy!
....and don't forget to buy some reservations too.
