Since the purchase of Gourmet from the MacAusland family by the Conde' Nast magazine conglomerate in 1983, Leo Lerman has been listed under the masthead (as he is in all American Conde' Nast publications) as editorial advisor. He mainly wanted French." (Under Montant's direction and at the staff's urging, the long-disputed recipe format was revised, and ingredients were separated from instructions.) MacAusland didn't think that there was anything fit to eat here except New England clam chowder. It took years to change that image and I'm not sure that it's completely broken down yet."Īlso, says Montant, "we've tried to focus more on other cuisines besides French. Some would take forever and so we got the reputation of being amusing to look at but no one would want to cook from it. "In the beginning," she says, "there was an awful lot of fancy food and many of the dishes were difficult to prepare. Generally, she insists, there are about 100.Īccording to Montant, there have been other notable evolutionary changes, particularly in regard to the food. Montant responds to these complaints by asking readers to count the number of recipes in an issue. Some readers have criticized Gourmet for becoming too much a travel magazine, a slight to the original food orientation. Even though he was writing restaurant reviews for years, every once in a while, other bits of knowledge would come in." Take a writer like Jay Jacobs he's extraordinary and so is his knowledge of art. They bring a love of art, a love of history, or a love of opera. I'm trying very hard to find writers who bring something more than a knowledge of travel. Second, the people who are writing for us are people who are more sophisticated. "First of all, we're going to more and more places. "If you took all of the issues of Gourmet from the beginning" in 1941, says Jan Longone, owner of the Food and Wine Library in Ann Arbor, Mich., and an internationally recognized authority on American cooking, "and then combined it with the complete run of the magazine called American Cookery, and he brought in a whole different feeling to the magazine."Įxecutive editor Gail Zweigenthal, who works closely with the writers, notes that their approach has changed through the years. And for culinary historians, the magazine lives as an active record of this country's past gastronomic trends and prejudices. Certainly Gourmet has its critics, but no other food publication enjoys the devotion of such a dedicated following. This unusual volume not only commemorates the magazine's history, it also documents the evolution of what has become Gourmet's trademark style. To celebrate Gourmet's birthday, its editors have reprinted their favorites among the many articles and recipes that have brought the magazine unmatched prestige and influence in the world of food and travel since its founding by Earle MacAusland. It turns 50 with the January issue, and while numerous other food journals have been published and have perished during its lifetime, Gourmet has survived to become an American institution. Gourmet, the self-proclaimed "magazine of good living," has been living pretty well.
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