Customer Rating:
Summary: What have these folks been reading?
Comment: Frankly, I don't understand some of these reviews/reviewers, and can only classify them as a small, vocal group with an axe to grind. I've been reading Gourmet since my mother first started subscribing more than 40 years ago, and we both have remained fans through many editorial and format changes, always finding the quality of the articles up to snuff.

The food approach hasn't really changed all that much, but one certainly mourns the loss of unique voices like the late Laurie Colwin, who would engage in nostalgia columns that evoked sweet memories, or wishes for your own of the same, when discussing the merits of a perfect, homemade fried chicken or how nothing beats out a tasty chicken salad as made by your mom.

What I always loved about Gourmet was its ability to transport you to foreign lands, along with providing a taste of the culture you visited, and it still does so. It's not supposed to be Bon Appetit, Cooking Light, or Martha Stewart's Living. If you simply want a recipe magazine, there are tons out there. Gourmet is about the exotic, the adventure, the celebration of diversity. Gourmet is directly responsible for inspiring my first trip to Europe!

Those who find the recipes complex and the ingredients pricey are probably easily intimidated. Gourmet has provided some challenges for the mundane cook, with easy to find ingredients, and for those of us that want to exceed, there are clear directions allowing you to escalate your skills. If I just wanted to be a housewife cooking pedestrian fare, I don't need a glossy magazine, any cookbook would allow me to do so.

I grew up on Gourmet, and my friends are constantly wowed by the offerings I give them. I've had no formal training, I just had the magazine as my guide, my companion in both traveling the world and eating the foods it provides.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: GOURMET FOOD WITHOUT BEING INTIMIDATING
Comment: I will be brief. I received this as a gift and am not a hobby or any other type of gourmet cook. However, I am impressed. It is well put together- great articles, supported by high quality photography and recipes that so surprisingly, are not intimidating. My college age daughter, now ever so sensitive to good quality food versus poor quality food was drawn to the magazine. I have ordered her a subscription for Christmas. Don't tell. :)

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Customer Rating:
Summary: The person I purchased this magazine for says...
Comment: Amazon offered me a deal I just couldn't refuse. Even though I wasn't personally interested in Gourmet Magazine, I knew someone who was. And this was an inexpensive way to show her my appreciation. And this is what she had to say when I asked her for a short review:

"I have enjoyed this magazine but the recipes are over my head. I am going to try one of the cheesecake desserts - has blackberries on it but it uses more expensive ingredients than what I am used to. For example, mascarpone cheese rather than cream cheese. I have enjoyed the articles and getting the chance to enjoy the issues I did receive so far!!! :-) 'Two Thumbs Up'"

Now this was from a person who is a cooking enthusiast, and good at it, even though she is a school teacher by profession.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: More Advertising Than Writing and Recipes
Comment: I have been a Ruth Reichl fan since her days at the LA Times (and her three autobiographies are exceptionally written), but I do not understand what she has done with this magazine. My chief complaint is the number of pages of advertising vs. the number of pages of writing and recipes. After finishing an issue, I feel assaulted by multi-page adver-torials from wine companies, cruise ships, and anyone else willing to fork over big $$$ to convince me how environmentally responsible they are. I never come away excited about food or ingredients or culture or a new dinner idea. Bon Appetit, on the other hand, has modernized and stylized its page layout, coverage and relationship with the reader. Yes, they, too, have a ton of ad pages, but I can overlook them better when almost every page of content is a joy. BA, I will be renewing my sub next year!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: A Textbook Case of Why The Magazine Is Dead
Comment: Gourmet- it's the food magazine that you don't want to be seen reading. It's precious, pedantic, and short on prose. The energy that came with editor Ruth Reichl was palpable a few years ago. Heads rolled, and after a few surprises , it has now settled into horribly written articles, pious editorials, unappealing recipes and a virtual altar for foodies. It is not relevant or interesting except to a very narrowly focused group of food intelligentsia. If a magazine is not capable of surprising you, teaching you, or exposing you to the world we live in, what's the point? If someone reads Gourmet fifty years from now, they will have no idea of what kind of culture we live in. Fear and hatred of food, smart foods, packaged dinners, frozen food, unaffordable food...the list goes on. Gourmet is in a bubble of their own making. Maybe they actually want to attend the staged parties they create in every issue complete with models vainly attempting to eat a sparerib.

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