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THIRD OF 12 PARTS

Chances are no one on your gift list really needs a 4-foot-long wire whisk. Or a giant dolphin-shaped ice mold. Or a wok big enough to bathe the dog in.

But, hey, how about a really good knife, a heavy-duty saute pan or a set of wine glasses?

When shopping for someone who loves to cook, the restaurant supply store offers lots of options and lots of room to walk around.

It's not exactly uncharted territory -- "On the 24th we'll be packed with husbands," says Ron Pick, operations manager at American Restaurant Supply in Aiea -- but neither is it an obvious shopping destination.

Yet, think about it: Even at the height of the holiday season, these places are calm and uncrowded. The products are commercial-grade, which means they're designed to withstand restaurant-kitchen abuse, so you're giving something that will last. Plus, you'll find stuff that you've previously only seen in restaurants or on Food TV.

» For the gourmet wannabe: squeeze bottles for the elegant application of sauces, tiny condiment dishes for setting up a professional mise-en-place, chef's whites for dressing the part.

» For the ambitious hostess: chafing dishes, ice buckets, a handheld torch for caramelizing creme brulee.

» For that special someone who's always longed to walk up to grandma and say, "Would you like some fresh-ground pepper on your salad?": an 18-inch peppermill.

"We've got $3 million worth of inventory for them to pick through," says Ida Pick, Ron's wife and general manager at American.

The store, which shares the HomeWorld lot in Aiea, is the largest and most comfortable of these warehouse-style stores.

Ida Pick says their noncommercial customers hear about them in various ways, sometimes from a waiter of whom they've asked, "Where can I buy a steak knife like this one?" Or, they'll wander by after shopping at HomeWorld. "They walk in a say, 'What's this? Can we buy here?'"

The same sort of accidental business comes to Honolulu Restaurant Supply in Mapunapuna, says office manager Ululani Crowell. The shop is off Puuloa Road, where construction has been backing up traffic for several months. "Some customers come in because they're tired of waiting in line."

Like all these stores, Crowell's primarily serves restaurants, hotels and other commercial clients, but home cooks will come by, often for baking items such as cookie sheets, and sometimes for a deluxe purchase -- "stainless-steel sinks and matching stainless-steel refrigerator -- like that," Crowell says.

At Oahu Restaurant Supply, sales clerk Michael Paahana says retail customers tend to focus on "small stuff" -- well-made tongs, aprons with pockets, or on the higher end, a heavy-duty frying pan or stockpot. Top seller to the walk-in customer, though, is knives, he says.

Mid City Restaurant Supply offers another benefit: food. A division of Y Hata Foods, Mid City shares a showroom with Y Hata's Sand Island Access Road outlet, which offers an eclectic mix of bulk staple goods and gourmet items.

Assemble a gift basket here, and you can combine kitchen gadgets with imported cookies, chocolates and cheeses.

Manager and restaurant supply specialist Jackie Cabebe says Mid City mostly serves small mom-and-pop-type restaurants and retail outlets, but she's seen some customers come back year after year for certain gift items -- glass cruets, for example, purchased in bulk for homemade gifts of flavored oils or vinegars.

Now, shopping these stores isn't like going to Macy's. The shelves are utilitarian and in some cases a little dusty. Except for American, which is near Pearlridge Center, they tend to be in out-of-the-way locations with limited parking. Hours are limited, too. Only Mid City Restaurant Supply is open on weekends -- and that's only from 7:30 a.m. to noon Saturdays.

Some items are available only in bulk. Dishes, for example, generally are sold three dozen at a time.

Glassware tends to be sold in 12s, but a single purchase of, say, crystal champagne flutes could be divided into two or three gifts.

And although many inexpensive items are available, prices in general can seem high. At American, for example, a scoop for dishing out cookie dough or ice cream sells for $10 and up, depending on size. But it is built to work better and outlast the one you'd get for half the price at the supermarket, says Ida Pick.

"And if you do break it, you can come back here and buy a spring for $1, and if you smile pretty for customer service they might put it in for you."

A note on prices: All these items are from American Restaurant Supply. Sticker prices are listed, but the store offers a discount on everything -- a minimum of 10 percent, depending on item and type of customer (culinary students and commercial clients receive greater discounts than retail customers).