Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

He reminds me of the person Martha Stewart used to be before her legal troubles and an apparent visit from three ghosts. Well, she may have not swung THAT much to the left but I get less of a "high and mighty" feel from her. CK needs an epiphany.

Chris Kimball tying the demise of Gourmet with the passing of Julia Child smacks me of nothing more than name dropping to give himself a little more street cred, not something I thought he needed to do. His arrogant and quaint little publication is known well enough by those foodies and food writing enthusiasts to know that he probably would like us all back in the days of the horse and wagon. Chris Kimball's publication is not and never would be a "Gourmet". So name drop all you want, Mr Kimball, you're not in the same league.

As a person in the publishing industry, I'm all too aware of the pressures that the digital age is putting on publications. Its simple: adapt or die. Twitter didn't kill Gourmet, Gourmet couldn't compete. If it had a message and an audience that cared enough, and a management that could see into the future, Gourmet the paper product could have morphed into some other presentation, even another print magazine. Magazines die when no one is interested in paying for them anymore. Simple. Conde Nast has sailed for many years on the hot wind of its own hubris and ego. Maybe they should have paid a little more attention to what's happening.

That said, it is the passing of a giant and long live Gourmet and all that, but lets move on. The Amateur Gourmet's says of Kimballs' magazine "..the dry, bloodless writing of Cook’s Illustrated" is spot on, and not about to take Gourmet's place.

Honestly, I think Chris Kimball makes some good points. Sorry folks. The internet is swimming with food bloggers making the same recipes (not even their own recipes, for the most part) over and over and over again. Aside from a few standouts, most of these blogs are mediocre at best. Anyone can start a blog, a fact that is painfully obvious if you take a look at most food blogs out there. I think experience and expertise should be valued.

Also, gossiping "about what Kimball is like in real life" is just obnoxious.

@peekpoke--I'm truly sorry, but I missed that front page article.

However, to pose a different question, on the whole print versus blog debate--why is there such anti-blog snobbery? Yes, there are bad blogs, but there also are and were truly terrible cookbooks out there--and I mean even pre-Food Network cookbooks. Is the blog-o-sphere really so different--back in the day, lots of people used magazine recipes that involved boxes and mixes and such.

Also, people seem to be dancing around this--what makes a blog so, so bad (other than just blatantly inaccurate recipes and bad writing--I mean, yes, there are many I don't frequent, but I haven't really read any that were so vile I would write editorials against them).

I'm conflicted. In some ways, CK is right. Some if the worthless crap out there on the internet does not compare to the fine work professionals offer. And usually the folks at CI churn out a nice quality product that I like to watch on TV and read about in thier magazine. BUT, I did find him quite off putting in his editorial. The internet is THE medium of 21st Century. Deal with it. Oh, and don't keep charging a gazillion dollars to sign up to your website. That's just plain D-U-M dumb. You're not the end all, be all god to foodies, buddy.

Thanks for linking to this - I hadn't seen either post yet. Adam is so right!

@ chiff, oh, I totally agree with you. That's why I said I was conflicted! He has a few minor points that make sense but the way he represents himself is so just pompous.

Chris Kimball is in need of a colonoscopy. He's full of a "lot of stuff", and most of it belongs in the toilet.

Oh no, not that old "here's a book you can return," blah blah blah. I thought they were above that at CI. Where I come from if you get something in the mail you didn't order it = a present.

That link points to an interview of Reichl by Deborah Solomon. Is that what you meant to link to?

I read both CK's editorial and Adam Roberts' response and found Adam Roberts' to come off rather whiny and petulant. His blogger ego was bruised and so he spouted off.
I am a big fan of Cook's Illustrated and its off-shoots because their model works. I know any recipe that I get from their site or magazine will work and will be wonderful. I love the equipment and food tests and I know they aren't being paid by those companies to endorse that product, unlike some bloggers or magazines. And has anyone noticed that CK's snooty palate is often made fun of by the testers, audience, and CK himself on the shows?
That being said, I also love blogs like Orangette, Simply Recipes, and of course, Serious Eats. I love these blogs for many of the same reasons (the recipes work) and it's good content. Just as in the print world, we the readers decide what is successful and what is not, and generally those who are putting out a quality product will succeed. Sometimes, a beloved and quality magazine, like Gourmet, fails. That's just the marketplace, folks.
I found the comments on CK's personality on AG's site pretty tasteless. As another commenter on AG's site pointed out, perhaps CK has Asperger's or some sort of personality disorder? Whether he does or doesn't, is it any of our business?