Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan

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October 6, 2009 By cheryl

Gourmet: A Letter to Si Newhouse


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Dear Si,

By now, you may have heard from others like me–the heartsick and the grieving, all mourning the demise of Gourmet magazine, a formidable kitchen companion to many for almost 70 years.

By now, you may have seen the words “iconic” and “institution” bandied about. You may have heard the sepia-toned reminiscing of armchair travelers and culinary voyeurs whose lives have been the better, even for just moments, because of Gourmet.

And you’ve probably heard the words: Save Gourmet.

Gourmet has been a victim of the economic downturn, to be sure. The financial reasons for the close are clear — its advertising revenue had plummeted 43% in the first half of 2009, a bigger drop than the industry average, and newsstand sales have suffered as well.

In an interview with Bloomberg News, Condé Nast chief executive Chuck Townsend said of Gourmet: “It is the epitome of Condé Nast photography and journalism, but it’s a poor business.” On the flip side, Bon Appetit, with its more accessible, recipe-heavy emphasis that hews more toward Rachael Ray than Anna Wintour, has fared better in this economy.

I get that. I do.

But I also mourn the broader cultural shift that this shuttering reflects — the move toward the practical instead of the aspirational. The embracing of the everyday and the 30-minute meals that populate it at the expense of the fantastical and the imaginative — the meals, the experiences, that many only dream of one day having.

Through Gourmet, I’ve been able to get an intimate glimpse of Paris through the young and newly infatuated Aleksandra Crapanzano’s eyes in the award-winning piece “Benedictions.” I’ve also been transported to little Ragusa in Sicily, where I got to know the Modicana cow, which produces some of the richest milk in the world.

Many magazines tell stories such as this — Gourmet always did so memorably. 

Yes, the practical is essential — and right now, that’s what sells. But it must exist alongside the other side of food journalism — the one that enriches lives beyond just one meal.

Without the lush pictures and the glorious tales of meals made and eaten in far-flung locales, cooking and eating becomes reduced to just pots, pans, recipes and the mere act of putting food on the table.

And with the closing of Gourmet, we’re a big step closer to that.

Sincerely,

A Fan

 

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Filed Under: Magazines, New York Tagged With: Aleksandra Crapanzano, Anna Wintour, Benedictions, Bloomberg News, Bon Appetit, Chuck Townsend, Condé Nast, Modicana, Rachael Ray, Ragusa, Sicily

July 22, 2009 By cheryl

Sicily: A Duomo Above Others


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Just about this time last year, I was in a little car, racing four hours across Sicily in search of a good meal.

At the end of the trek from Palermo, in far western Sicily, to Ragusa, in the Southeast, lay Ristorante Duomo, one of just two restaurants on the island at the time to have received a Michelin star.

Now, I’ve gone to many lengths in the name of sampling noteworthy food — this level of devotion is not anything new. But doing an eight hour-trip in a day just for a spot of lunch? Even that was a little insane for us.

What can I say? It was worth it. 

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Filed Under: Food Porn, Italy, Restaurants, Tales From the Road Tagged With: Agrigento, Almond, Amberjack, Baba au rhum, Baroque, Berlotti beans, Cannolo, Chocolate, Ciccio Sultano, Cod, Cucuzza, Felidia, Fennel, Fettucine, Focaccia, Greek ruins, Ice-cream, Jasmin, Jello, Lacoste, Lamb ragu, Lambuga, Limoncello, Marian Burros, Michelin, Mojito, Mozzarella, Mullet, New York, New York Times, Palermo, Pistachio, Pizza, Pork, Port, Prickly pear soup, Ragusa, Ricotta, Ristorante Duomo, Sicily, Sorbet, Tenerumi, Truffles, Valley of the Temples, Watermelon, Zucchini

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