Gourmet's Demise

How often does the demise of a magazine make the front page of the New York Times, or any major newspaper for that matter? I am willing to bet it's not often (and I am also unwilling to spend the time to find out if any other publication's passing has appeared next to the latest from the war front). By now it is well known that Gourmet magazine's November issue will be its last as Conde Nast, the publisher, cuts back in the financially dire times. Conde Nast will continue to publish Bon Appetit, the more proletarian and larger circulating of the two magazines.

The reasons for Gourmet's demise are probably many, but a major impetus came from falling advertising revenues and Gourmet's apparent reliance on higher-end advertising. Subscribers to Gourmet will receive the remainder of their subscription in the form of Bon Appetit. For me, a person who subscribed to both magazines, this means I probably don't have to send Conde Nast any money for about the next five years. Gourmet's demise has spawned many op-eds (including from one-time victim of Conde Nast's voracious appetite, Cook's Illustrated publisher Chris Kimball).

I can't say that I was shocked to hear about Gourmet's demise, but I find it a bit presumptuous of Conde Nast to think that Bon Appetit is a suitable replacement. It's not. Bon Appetit has far more recipes, but far fewer profiles and travel pieces. Some have blamed Gourmet's elitism for its passing -- but it still had nearly one million subscribers in its final year (BA has about 1.4 million). I liked Gourmet because it took the time to explore food issues in depth, especially the concern about sustainability in recent years.

I had the full range of emotions when I heard the news last week, including a tinge of anger, but I quickly recovered. I was very surprised at the magazine I received in the post this week, however. The final issue of Gourmet showed up in my mailbox and appeared not to have noticed it was already a corpse. To turn Mark Twain on his head, the truth of its demise has not been exaggerated enough! The forward by editor in chief Ruth Reichl made no mention of the magazine's passing; the pages indicate nothing about a final issue; and the packaging even exhorted me to subscribe and give gift subscriptions for the holidays (only $4 per gift!). This smacks of a hasty decision kept from the magazine's staff and is at the very least insulting to the reader. Why not give the staff one last hurrah? Why not a final opportunity to honor and celebrate everything the magazine has stood for over a 68 year history? Sadly, no. Next month I will probably have two copies of Bon Appetit sitting in my mailbox, and a small void in the food world.