Still Missing Gourmet

While searching through recipes at epicurious.com, looking for something different to do with my leftover artichoke hearts, I was reminded of the abrupt death, a number of years ago, of Gourmet Magazine.

Final Issue of Gourmet

I was angry that Condé Nast threw away this beautiful treasure and, as a matter of fact, still am. I was disappointed to be denied the pleasure of snuggling on the couch, a cup of tea by my side, to enjoy a culinary tour of December. If they had to close the magazine, why didn’t they have the decency to finish out the year? My magazine holder sits incomplete, December (my favorite food magazine month) missing; a testament to all the fine disappearing magazines and newspapers in what is becoming a sterile, electronic world.

It seems crueler to lose work during the holiday season. The staff at Gourmet, busy working on their next issue, were unceremoniously let go. They, along with us, never got to see the December issue, all dressed up in its holiday finery, proudly take its place on all the festive magazine displays throughout the country.

The people we had come to think of as friends, such as Ruth Reichl and Sara Moulton, as well as the top editing staff, would all be fine. But what about all the cogs in the wheel (or, in this case, clams in the chowder)? Were they all able to land on their feet? And all those freelance writers, photographers, food stylists and recipe testers, as well as printers and suppliers; were they all able to fill the economic void left by Gourmet's untimely demise?

I was also angry that, without subscriber input, Gourmet was automatically replaced with Bon Appétit. Rather than extending my existing Bon Appétit subscription, as I unsuccessfully asked them to do, I was blessed with two copies of Bon Appétit every month for six months … a waste of my money as well as paper, printing and postage costs. And shame on Condé Nast that they continued to solicit subscriptions and subscription gifts to a magazine they knew would soon be extinct.

Born January, 1941, Gourmet was the first US magazine devoted to food and wine. It survived nearly 70 years, bringing its readers an opportunity to relax and become immersed in beautiful food and travel. Couldn’t travel to the mountains for Christmas? No problem, Gourmet would take us there; we would almost shiver from the cold as we merrily glided across the silvery snow in our horse-drawn sled. Unable to get a reservation for that sweet little restaurant? That’s okay, Gourmet allowed us to taste the crispness of the duck and the silkiness of the crème brûlée while sitting by the crackling fire at a French country inn.

My first magazine subscription was for Gourmet. The memory is sentimental as it was given to me as a present by my mother when I headed off on my own after college. At the time I thought the magazine to be rather daunting, more sophisticated than I ever hoped to be. But it was lovely to behold … absorbing each page and visualizing what it would be like to stroll through one of the gorgeous travel photos, stopping to eat sumptuous, beautifully prepared food at some little treasure of a restaurant.

Maybe one day I could actually prepare one of the mouth-watering meals that graced the pages … maybe, just maybe. And of course one day I did. But those days of enjoying those pages are long gone, and it makes me sad.

So far Bon Appétit is still standing. I have never enjoyed it as much as I did Gourmet and it doesn't have the same meaning for me. I do hope, though, that it isn't turned into a soulless electronic web site, or worse, some horrible food network program.