I read some very unfortunate news today on Addie Broyles’ Relish Austin blog. Conde Nast is planning to stop publishing Gourmet Magazine. I feel genuinely sad.
After a trip to Europe when I was 4 years old, I told my parents I wanted to be a chef. They outfitted me with a poofy white hat and let me help in the kitchen when I wasn’t playing with my plastic food-related toys. A few years later — once I had the reading thing down pat — they got me a subscription to Gourmet for Christmas.
I didn’t remember the year, but I remembered the cover, so I was able to find it online. December 1994. A Christmas cookie issue.
Since then my family and I have found many recipes, whole meals even, to recreate from Gourmet. I’ve flipped through those magazines countless times. They’re all in a cabinet in the laundry room now. When I go home, I sit on the floor, lean against the washing machine and browse through marked, folded and food-stained pages.
It’s sad to think the collection won’t get any bigger. While I appreciate the convenience of having millions of recipes online, I don’t see myself getting nostalgic about going through virtual bookmarks.
As someone who loves food — and who would like a job in journalism — the end of Gourmet Magazine is heartbreaking news.
