In this day of declining print advertising revenues, it comes as no surprise when another publication closes its doors. This week, Condé Nast announced that Gourmet, the grande dame of food magazines, will cease publication with its November issue. The 68-year-old glossy has long been in the vanguard of magazines devoted to the pleasures of the table, achieving its reputation long before there were celebrity chefs on The Food Network to tell us what to eat. Its current editor-in-chief is renowned food writer Ruth Reichl, who left her post as restaurant critic at the New York Times in 1999 to take the position.
When I was a young woman just venturing into the world of cooking, Gourmet and Bon Appétit were the two "serious" food magazines on the market, and for a while I had subscriptions to both. Sure, there were recipes galore to be found in women's magazines, the kind my mother would often pick up at the grocery store checkout, but that was everyday food aimed at the everyday cook who needed to get a reasonably tasty dinner on the table in a hurry. Gourmet and Bon Appétit were marketed toward upscale readers — women who entertained frequently and who had food budgets that allowed them to purchase only the finest of ingredients, and schedules that permitted them to hunt those same ingredients down. (As I look back at myself in my mid-20s, when I neither entertained nor had much of a food budget, it's clear that my reach exceeded my grasp in more ways than one.) Bon Appétit (which is also published by Condé Nast and seems to be surviving in this current economic climate), with its more down-to-earth recipes and slightly less elite tone, was always my favorite of the two.
Of course the world has changed a great deal since then, and a good many home cooks, serious and otherwise, have found their way online. In spite of a bookcase full of cookbooks (which I sometimes like to read the way other people like to curl up with a mystery novel), I find myself opening my laptop more often than not when I'm looking for meal ideas.
You can hardly swing a spatula without hitting a food-related site, regardless of whether you're looking to get restaurant recommendations from the hometown crowd, argue about what really goes into a proper minestrone, or settle on what kind of cookware to buy. As with everything else online, readers need to assess for themselves whether any given site is a good fit for their particular interests. Here are a few places I visit regularly:
Article comments
1 - Joanne Huspek
I hate to admit this, but I was probably one of those who caused the downfall of the magazine by canceling my subscription in the advent of the internet. There are lots of online references. Still, I think I'll keep the computer out of the kitchen. It's tough getting food out of the keyboard.
2 - Lisa McKay
I canceled mine long ago, too, Joanne, but I still can't stop buying cookbooks, even though I go online for recipes now more often than not.
Totally hear on you the food/keyboard issue, but on the other hand you don't have the same "lie flat" problem you do with most cookbooks ;-)
3 - Christine
Lisa, thanks for the info on where to get great recipes. Food on keyboards and mouses is not good..lol
4 - Helen Gallagher
Hi Lisa,
Nice essay but I will miss the magazines that pass away, and the variety of ideas they present. I still devour "Eating Well." The web is great for recipe ideas and great databases of recipes, but nothing beats a lazy afternoon with a food magazine and then getting off the couch to make something fabulous.
Helen Gallagher
blogcritics.org/writers/helen-gallagher
5 - Roger Choate
Terrific article!
6 - Fran
Great article Lisa! Thanks for the links! Sorry to hear when any company goes under, but there's a lot of that going around unfortunately.
7 - Holly A Hughes
I just think this was a bonehead decision on the part of Conde Nast. It had always seemed odd to me that they had 2 food magazines, but personally I find Bon Appetit nearly unreadable for all the ad pages, while I will genuinely miss Gourmet. I don't read these magazines for recipes only -- I like food journalism and chef profiles and food memoirs, and Gourmet published some fine examples of all of those. IMO Conde Nast could have combined the two magazines and driven a new Gourmet more in the Bon Ap direction without sacrificing its literary quality. But I guess that's what happens when you hire outside consultants to make these decisions.
8 - Lisa McKay
That's an interesting perspective, Holly. It's been a long time since I've had a copy of Bon Appetit in hand, but too much advertising is a complaint I have about virtually every magazine I've read recently.
One of the things I did read in regard to this decision was that Gourmet was hugely expensive to publish, so the idea of combining the two into something better seems like it might have at least been feasible (and I take your point about food journalism, too).
9 - Heloise
Really catchy category Lisa. I have started writing recipe articles here and there at the Trough that avoid eggs, meat and the like. Today I posted my vegetarian tips for Thanksgiviving.
If you are vegetarian I just posted how I create vegetarian "turkey and dressing" at the Trough. "How to Finesse Vegetarian Thanksgiving"
Heloise