END OF DAYS PART 3

GOURMET MAGAZINE. 1941-2009, RIP.

the fact is ruth reichl HAD taken the magazine places it didn't need to go & that may have been one of the many reasons why the magazine is being deep-sixed. a couple of issues ago, the main spread had pics of folks who looked like the outrigger crew of hervey & jay & sean, hipsters all. at the time i thought to myself, "what in hell is that woman(reichl)thinking putting these folks in the magazine?" if she was that off the mark w/aesthetic strategy, i can't imagine she had ANY idea of the economic strategies needed to keep the enterprise afloat.
bottom-line, of course, is economic & the advertising dropping by over 50% was the final nail in the coffin. i will say that i did cook out of the magazine. when i was at the nyingma institute, responsible for 2 vegetarian meals a day 6 days a week for seven years, ANY ideas were welcomed. sometimes the magazine was just too precious & sometimes it just went right over into foodie pretension but i usually found sometime in every issue that worked.
i'd say saveur magazine & the art of eating quarterly will benefit from gourmet's closure. some folks thrived even during the great depression.