Posted by Press of Atlantic City, NJ on November 08, 2009 at 10:03:03:
Magazine falls victim to glut of recipes on Web By VINCENT JACKSON, Staff Writer |
John Merlino, chef and co-owner of Manna Restaurant in Margate, preps vegetables for butter squash soup in the restaurant kitchen. Merlino says he gets most of his recipe ideas from the Internet and TV, making magazines such as Gourmet obsolete.
When Joseph Bada, the executive chef at the Grand Hotel in Cape May, needs inspiration, he taps into the vast world of food Web sites and blogs.
During the off-season, when he has more time to dabble and play on the computer, Bada, 40, looks up recipes online. He came across one for corn and crab chowder that later appeared on the menu.
If Bada does not do his research at night on his home computer, he arrives at the office as early as 8 a.m. and uses his desktop in the kitchen to search the Internet while the prep people, cooks and dishwashers handle breakfast.
One thing Bada has not been doing in recent years is flipping through the pages of Gourmet magazine.
"I control the search for what I'm looking for," said Bada, who has been cooking professionally for the past 15 years and has used online sites for the past 10. "The Internet has opened easy access to all I need. Books and magazines are far less useful for me and people in my position."
The last issue is on newsstands. Gourmet was the nation's premiere and oldest food magazine at 68 years old.
"Gourmet was known as a resource for both chefs and home cooks who wanted to know about upscale food, upscale places to eat, and who wanted to try to replicate some of those things themselves," said Susan Currie Sivek, an assistant professor in the mass communication and journalism department at California State University, Fresno.
Why did it die?
Two factors helped kill Gourmet.
First, it was a magazine for high-end tastes during a recession. It started to lose nonfood advertisers, for instance, fashion, perfume and travel, according to Anne Kabo Cohen, 60, of Margate, who has been reading the magazine since the 1960s. It also began printing articles to appeal to the less affluent, which watered down its brand, Cohen said.
But recessions have come and gone before, and the magazine survived.
The second and bigger culprit may be the abundance of food Web sites, blogs and TV shows that have invaded the food landscape during the past 20 years, which is something the magazine never had to deal with before.
Plenty of places to go
John Schatz, executive chef and co-owner of the Union Park Restaurant in Cape May, was a Gourmet subscriber.
But, as a modern chef, Schatz, 38, also checks out random Food Network shows, the Web site Epicurious.com, and he reads other publications, including Bon Appetit, Saveur and Wine Enthusiast Magazine.
As a chef, something may pique his interest whether it be in a magazine, TV show or a Web site, Schatz said.
"When I compose a dish, it starts with an idea. Then in my mind, I pair that idea with different flavors, textures and presentations. It then makes it to paper and further tweaking. Then the actual cooking process begins. I marry all these ideas together accordingly and see if it works. I taste the final product and make an assumption of whether this would be a good special and proceed accordingly," Schatz said. "But remember, it all starts with an idea, and getting that idea is where Gourmet magazine, Food Network or Epicurious come into play."
The Internet trumps magazines when chefs want to do research on a specific ingredient.
Joe DeGennaro, executive chef for the Renault Winery in Egg Harbor City, said the Internet is particularly helpful in finding out whether an ingredient will be available. Even though DeGennaro said he does not go online much for his job, he said he used to read Gourmet before Internet use became prevalent during the past decade.
"I think it's kind of a shame," DeGennaro said about Gourmet's demise. "With the Food Network, there is so much exposure to the whole thing. Back then, there was no other way to get that type of exposure. Now, there's the Food Network and the Internet."
Since the Food Network launched in 1993, there has been an explosion of TV shows about food, and they are not just on that network.
The Travel Channel airs "Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations." PBS broadcasts "America's Test Kitchen." Chef and author Rachael Ray appears on her syndicated daytime talk show along with programs on the Food Network.
No need for the 'zine
John Merlino, chef and co-owner of Manna Restaurant in Margate, said he never buys food magazines. He can Google anything he wants foodwise from the desktop computer at his restaurant. Recently, Merlino wanted to know about fig dressing. He typed that into a search engine and came up with 10 different ones to check out. He already has an idea of what he wanted to, but he could take bits and pieces from other recipes that would work.
Besides using the Internet, Merlino watches a couple of food-related TV shows.
"Top Chef, I watch for some of the techniques and ideas. From a kitchen business standpoint, I watch 'Kitchen Nightmares'" said Merlino, who added Gourmet was never his thing, and he didn't think it catered to professional chefs.
While the Internet and TV shows are relatively new competition for food magazines, books have always vied for a foodie's extra dollars, but books have the advantage being built sturdier and lasting longer. They also can more in depth on a particular subject or cuisine, and a book's table of contents makes finding what you are looking for easier than flipping through magazines.
Barry Markowitz, the executive chef at Resorts Atlantic City, owns a collection of cookbooks that would dwarf a library's.
Markowitz, 45, has at least 90 books, covering both style of cooking - buffet-style, home cooking and top-end restaurant fare - and different types of cooking, including Greek, Indian and Spanish.
Resorts chefs can make use of Markowitz's books, and they do come in, Markowitz said.
Chefs never copy recipes, Markowitz said. You use the books to get an idea. Chef Charlie Trotter has published good books, Markowitz said, but chefs have to adjust the idea to their clientele. The books, just like the Internet, are good references for food.
"With things such as the iPhone, there are so many more different opportunities that it has made (food magazines) obsolete," Markowitz said.
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