Gourmet magazine bites the dust

An American institution, Gourmet magazine, is in the process of printing its final issue, and then it will die forever. When I heard the news, it was like hearing about an old friend’s death.

Another magazine bites the dust: Gourmet, an American institution.

What will I do? How can I possibly live without it? It has been part of my life practically ever since I was conceived. It is a reference; it has always been my ideal and my mentor. We have been friends for such a long time. It has guided me in my taste, not only for food, but for lifestyle in general. Gourmet was the epitome of good taste, in all senses of the word. Never too much, always just right, no matter whether it talked about food, places, travel or lifestyle.

But according to NPR, the publisher Condé Nast has decided that since ad pages dropped 50 percent in the second quarter, as compared to the same period last year, November’s issue will be the last.

A friend, NancyJeanne Thompson, a specialist in food and fashion trends, rightly pointed out that Condé Nast also publishes Vogue, with its pencil-thin images of women, so it is not surprising that Gourmet has lost readers. Gourmet’s delightful photos of food and its articles that make your mouth water tempt you to eat, which is not the message Vogue conveys. The message is more in line with Mattel’s 1965 Slumber Party Barbie’s diet manual: don’t eat.

So another friend is biting the dust, seemingly despite the public uproar and the Save Gourmet campaign, which you can even follow on Twitter. We may Twitter about it all we want, but it looks as if the end of a beautiful era is very near.

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