Gourmet Magazine is back – sort of

Gourmet Magazine was once the premiere food publication, a shining star owned by a storied company, Condé Nast. Then, in 2009, when the world was experiencing a deep recession and had started the inexorable shift to an online experience, Gourmet was abruptly shuttered. The decision to end the magazine shocked the food world, including its editor Ruth Reichl, who wrote in her memoir “I’d fortified myself against the pain of being fired, but this was worse: They had murdered the magazine.” 

Yesterday the food world received another shocking announcement: Gourmet is coming back. Is it time to rejoice? Maybe, but there’s a catch. First, Condé Nast is not reviving the magazine. Because the publishing company did not renew its trademark to the name in 2021, another group swooped in to claim it. Now the Gourmet name is coming back, but not in a printed magazine – instead, it will be published as a newsletter on Ghost.

The new owners of Gourmet are food writers who started their careers after the golden era of print publishing. However, they plan to publish recipes in the spirit of the old Gourmet: complex recipes for people who enjoy diving into cooking projects. “It’s for people who really want to spend an afternoon in the kitchen and make something really delicious,” said Amiel Stanek, formerly an editor at Bon Appétit who one of the five founders of this new iteration.

The founders are not seeking the support of a deep-pocketed company like Condé Nast, nor did they go the Kickstarter route. Instead, they all chipped in a small amount of money and are starting this as an old-fashioned shoestring operation. They plan to pay writers for each recipe plus a small cut of new subscribers the writers attract. Subscriptions start at $7 USD per month, which will get one recipe and one feature per week. There will be bonus content for higher tier subscribers. As of now, there are no plans for a podcast or video.

So what does former editor Ruth Reichl think about the resurrection of Gourmet? She is all for it, telling the Times “If Condé Nast has allowed the trademark to lapse and they’ve managed to secure it, more power to them.” Reichl is looking forward to seeing what the new group will bring to the table.