Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I am only familiar with the last few years of Gourmet, so I can't speak as to the quality declining, but I really enjoyed and looked forward to the magazine. From what I can see, it was a unique publication - the photography was beautiful, the writing was good, and it had a mixture of ambitious recipes with everyday ones. No, it didn't have the rigour of Cook's Illustrated, or the ease of recipes in most publications. Yes, it may sometimes have focused too much on what was trendy, expensive over more substantive topics. Maybe it ended up looking too much like a travel magazine than a food publication at times. But overall, it was a really excellent magazine that I enjoyed reading all the way through, and it was writing about the culture, history, and traditions behind the food described. I can't think of too many other publications that do this regularly and comprehensively.

i am so sad. not just because i just renewed my subscription for another three years but because the ability to read about of food/food culture/food enlightenment/international food in an intelligent, comprehensive way has gotten much smaller. there are so few good food magazines left (please don't take my la cucina italiana or saveur!!!) or food tv left (you touch my baby jacques pepin, lydia or a few others from the PBS food family - you can take that horrid martha stewart produced show). i hope just like someone recently did w/ vibe magazine that another publishing company sees just how revered and loved gourmet is and saves it. i'm w/ daryn in saying that whoever made this decision obviously doesn't know or understand the real food/food culture-lover or how annoying the dumbed-down bon appetit is.

please don't send me bon appetit and expect me to not beg for my $65 back.

RIP Gourmet.

I, too, am disappointed that Conde Nast has chosen to shut down Gourmet rather than the far-inferior Bon Appetit. While I have been disappointed in Gourmet in recent years, it still surpasses BA in every respect. Guess I'll have to try Food & Wine or Saveur....

I spent over 25 years in magazine publishing. Subscribers, not to worry - by law, magazines have to offer a refund or another subscription of at least equal value to the unused portion of your subscription. However, most magazines will not emphasize the refund, or offer good deals on alternative subscriptions. One of the reasons why publishing groups fold unprofitable publications, rather than try to sell them, is to try to transfer the subs over to other magazines whose circulation is suffering and to whom new readers are increasingly expensive to acquire.

I was a Gourmet subscriber for many, many years, but dropped my sub about 10 years ago. The editorial in the last few years became less and less about food and food prep, and more about travel. And the articles focused more on fashionable destinations and dining - more on spas, celebrity oriented locals - the better to sell traditional Conde Nasty ad niches - cosmetics, fashion, jewelry. I suspect that Gourmet's editorial was crafted to be more attractive to these types of advertisers than actual food advertising, which tends to be less loyal to print and magazines.

When Conde Nast bought Gourmet, they immediately did away with its emphasis on using fresh ingredients - remember the few and far between mentions of "tinned chicken broth" as an alternative, etc.?, They abandoned the magazine's recipe format - including the measurements and ingredients within the preparation details, which was instituted to encourage experimentation. They initially pushed to make Gourmet a more upscale, but typical food magazine, and began including frozen ingredients, etc. The Gourmet I miss is the "real," independent magazine that was owned by a devoted small publishing company that stuck to the magazine's mission.

No word yet on what this means for Ruth Reichl, but I'm certain she won't be unemployed for long. Maybe (I hope) she'll have time to write more books. Wait, what am I talking about. . .I haven't even read her latest book (Not Becoming My Mother), but I will this weekend.

I'm positive the NYTimes will find space for her writing now and then, I'm sure NPR would welcome any bits and pieces from her, but I know a better way for us to get regular benefits from her talent and skills: Let's start a coup and install her as the head of the Food Network. Anyone with me?

I am heartsick at this. Purchased and subscribed to the magazine in the past and have just rediscovered it in the last few months. Any chance this is a trial balloon just to check reader/subscriber interest? I can't believe CN would let a vehicle with such great content just fade away.

This is awful news!!! Gourmet has been my favorite magazine for 20 years, since I was in college. I'm subscribed for several more years, since I just always signed up for a bunch more years when there was a good deal, since I assumed I'd subscribe in perpetuity (probably until death). I'm not concerned about any lost $, though, I just want Gourmet!! Is there any where to protest this? Maybe a rich person can buy it and fund it as a vanity project! To be honest, I never liked the rich person travel pieces, but accepted those since its subtitle positioned the magazine as being about food and leisure or food and travel or something (as I accept the wine part of Food and Wine even though I don't care about it). But the recipes were so great that I didn't care if I read none of the articles -- the magazine was still completely worth the subscription price.

In my opinion, it had become too much of a "lifestyle" mag heavy on ads disguised as content. It's sad to see it go, but the current incarnation is lame.

I'm horrified...I thought the last few issues of Gourmet were incredible! What a tragedy for foodies everywhere...

So, if I subscribe to Bon Appetit and Gourmet, what magazine are the going to send me? I hope they don't do like when Domino was cancelled, they began sending me Glamour... which I like but is a downgrade in comparison.

I'm going to miss that magazine, I hope that at least they keep their website running.

I had heard the rumors earlier this year, but hoped they weren't true. I've been reading this magazine for years -- ever since I was a kid and my aunt subscribed -- and there's actually a physical pain in my heart upon hearing this news. I hope the staff continues on with the Web site and TV show.

huh. that's surprising. i really enjoyed this past month's issue too. wonder when their final issue comes out?

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