Goodbye Gourmet

So I normally don't just write off the cuff.
AND I never skip writing in word (I like to do the whole CTRL-C/CTRL-V thing).
AND very rarely do I ever skip over the recipes that are queued up to be written about next. I prefer order to chaos in this very mad world.

However, today my friend Glenn (who is a brilliant blender of flavors and a lover of bacon) gave me some sad news I felt like I needed to discuss/share/get off my chest/mourn.

Gourmet magazine is closing it's doors. (First, Pegleg and now this...two major deaths in a very short time span.) Read my favorite article about it here.

Having only recently discovered Gourmet and being as devastated by this as I am. I can't imagine what some readers are going through.

I feel cheated. I feel like I will miss out on tons of amazing recipes I will not even think to look for. Not to mention the photography that really drives home the desire to sit in the kitchen and cook. As dramatic as it sounds, Gourmet gave new meaning to cooking with every issue. (At least for me.)

This is the statement posted on their website:
"PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT GOURMET MAGAZINE WILL CEASE PUBLICATION AFTER THE NOVEMBER ISSUE.

SUBSCRIBERS CAN LOOK FORWARD TO RECEIVING BON APPETIT MAGAZINE FOR THE REMAINDER OF THEIR SUBSCRIPTION. THE GOURMET.COM WEBSITE WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE DURING A TRANSITIONAL PERIOD, AND ACCESS TO GOURMET RECIPES WILL ALSO REMAIN AVAILABLE VIA SISTER SITE EPICURIOUS.COM AND THE EPI IPHONE APPLICATION.

WE REGRET ANY INCONVENIENCE, AND LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR CONTINUED READERSHIP. FOR QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR GOURMET MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTION, PLEASE FOLLOW THIS LINK TO SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES.

THE OCT. 23-25 GOURMET INSTITUTE EVENTS WILL NOT TAKE PLACE. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE AT GOURMETINSTITUTE.COM."

All caps. Obviously, they were yelling. And the Novemeber issue - does that mean there's no farewell? It's October 7th - that issue has to be at the publisher already.

This is not the first magazine I've had the distaste of having go under while in the middle of my subscription. The first magazine I lost was a little periodical by the name of Blueprint, under the Martha Stewart umbrella. It was fabulous. Kind of like ReadyMade meets InStyle meets Architectual Digest, but maybe not really. Blueprint, as a publication, was only around for about ten months or so (maybe a year) and I was heartbroken to see it go. However, I understood that in this world where everything is a click away - it's difficult for a little magazine to get press and the time frame it has to rise to the top so it can stay afloat is a lot narrower that it once was. A lot of information is free out there - there's less incentive to pay for it.

Did I ever think that Gourmet would go? Not at all.
Gourmet has been around for 70 years!

Needless to say, Glenn and I will be super sad to see Gourmet go. The last couple months I've enjoyed getting the glossy cover in my mailbox and opening it up to perfect photographs that left you wanting more and awaiting to devour the story behind the recipe.

We're being compensated with Bon Appetit for the remainder of our issues. Which is better than nothing. However, I don't like it as much. I can't really explain what I like less about it, but it's just too hoity toity or unrealistic for the average person or something. Gourmet always had a nice balance of recipes if you wanted to be adventurous and recipes if you wanted to be a pantry cook. (And it's content I don't find to be as good.) Hopefully, with time, Bon Apetit will win me over, but I'm not sure it has the visual, intellectual, or writing style that will agree with me.

Who knows why Conde Nast chose Gourmet over Bon Apetit to close. Maybe if there had been more celebrity or TV shows or buzz surrounding the magazine it wouldn't have been shuttered.

I guess at the end of the day the moral of the story is this:
The printed word is becoming extinct. Not only does it put some talented people out of business, but it takes the tactile processing out of the equation. I'm a visual person, I need pictures and I need to feel things to get me motivated, creative, and focused - without printed work, I'm probably not living up to my potential.

So friends, go out and read a newspaper (that costs money and is not free). Skip over that People magazine (they have enough money) and go for a small, more specialized publication (at the very least pick up Star instead). Any by all means, spend the extra four bucks and get Gourmet's last issue. Maybe you'll be inspired to get in the kitchen, to try something new, to clip recipes, or maybe it will end up in your recycling bin. At the very least, give it a shot, because I'm sad to see it go.