After reading Ruth Reichl’s Tender at the Bone, I went on a crazed Reichl buying Amazon spree. It’s no secret that I was a fan of Gourmet, but this kind of purchasing is kind of ridiculous, even for me. I’m chocking this up to research, I promise. Totally just researching the industry, man. That’s it.
Gourmet
Where Food Meets Fashion!
Avery Fisher Hall – Photo from Carnegie Rocks!
WWD’s Memo Pad reports that Bon Appétit is going to have a cafe in Avery Fisher Hall for fashion week from Sept 12 – 16. Because food only meets & marries fashion for 4 days a year, then they get divorced publicly. So what will it consist of? A bunch of chi-chi stuff, bien sûr!
Stumptown coffee and pastries from the likes of Le Bernadin’s Michael Laiskonis and Christina Tosi of Momofuku Milk Bar in the morning; lunch between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., and a “wine bar” with small plates from Daniel Boulud and Mario Batali offered from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. For lunch, the magazine has enlisted Rick Bayless, Cat Cora, The Lion’s John DeLucie, Emeril Lagasse, Bill Telepan, Laurent Tourondel, Michael White, Marc Murphy and Missy Robbins to create meals inspired by the world of fashion, a twist devised by Smith.
Considering the James Beard Awards worked quite nicely at Avery Fisher, it seems like a fine fit, and I gotta say – good Conde Nast brand integration, etc. However, the following quote irks me:
“Everyone likes fashion, but food is 300 times as big,” said Smith, who was hired away from Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. by rival Condé Nast to head up an epicurean group in April. “When I got [to Bon Appétit], I asked the marketing team, ‘Have we ever thought of marrying food and fashion?’
Seriously, come onnn. It’s like everyone forgot GOURMET MAG WAS WHERE FOOD MARRIED FASHION GAH. Quit trying to make Bon Appétit happen.
Maybe Scott Schuman will have some luck…
Even The Sartorialist protests:
Come on Conde Nast, don’t you think you overreacted pulling the plug on Gourmet so quickly? Not only was it my favorite food magazine, but it was also my favorite travel magazine. I not only wanted to eat the food but I also wanted to go to that place and meet those people.
To make matters worse the archives of Gourmet are either so buried in the Epicurious website or they are gone completely. The only element that is still easy to find are the recipes. If that’s all they thought was worth holding onto then they didn’t realize what they had in the first place.
I really, really loved Gourmet. It wasn’t just for foodies, it was for everybody – chefs, eaters, artists, photography fans, world travellers… even fashionistas that don’t eat! C’mon, Conde Nast!
Gourmet Rising?
Uh… what the hell? They shut down “Gourmet” but now they are making a new food mag? So confusing.