I always wanted to subscribe to Gourmet magazine, and now it’s too late.
Conde Nast, Gourmet’s publisher, announced earlier this month the closure of the nearly 70-year-old publication.
The Gourmet magazine Web site states the final issue will come out this November, with subscribers receiving issues of Bon Appetit magazine for the remainder of their subscriptions.
Although Gourmet did skew more to the high-end, up-market aspects of cuisine, I found the magazine’s recipes and techniques fully adaptable to my more down-home, pop-open-a-jar-style of cookery.
Though I’m a writer by trade, my true passion is cooking.
I love the fragrance of garlic sauteed to golden perfection, the sizzle of pork tenderloin being pan-seared to seal in the juices and give it a wonderful crust, and the soft bubble of mozzarella and Parmesan atop homemade lasagna.
But, I thought the creation of such culinary delights was needlessly time-consuming — I usually cheated by opening a jar, can or bag of some pre-prepared ingredient and used that as a base for my creations.
Suggested preparation and cooking times be damned!
The glossy photos and haute delectables gave me goals to aspire to and images that I tried to emulate as closely as possible. In the process, I learned how to improvise, how to visualize an end and find a means of achieving it.
Gourmet magazine was an inspiration to me for the last 10 years, even without a regular subscription.
I suppose the only comfort I’ll find tonight is with a plate of capellini and shrimp bathed in a creamy tomato sauce, with teriyaki-glazed tofu and broccolini on the side, followed up by a fudgy coffee brownie or two.
Goodbye, Gourmet. I hardly knew you.
Ryan Fernandez
-Staff Writer
1 Comment
November 9, 2009 at 9:25 pm
I used to work for Time Inc.’s magazine division ten years ago and Gourmet was one of my favorite titles. Stumbling upon your article while surfing the net was my first awareness of Gourmet’s closing. It felt like reading about an old high school friend’s passing in the papers. Just another reminder to carpe diem.