Goodbye to a dear friend – RIP Gourmet

Bon Appétit! “There, in two words, is the gourmet’s credo and Gourmet’s credo as well – good appetite! It is a hearty wish that one’s fellow man enjoy his food and drink. It is a toast to his health, for good appetite springs from healthy hunger, and good digestion awaits both” – The Gourmet Cookbook Volume One 1950

Today I mourn the death of a friend, a constant companion and noble institution. Gourmet magazine is no more. Growing up, Gourmet had a starring role in my mom’s kitchen. I don’t remember the magazine so much as I do the two bound sets of recipes. Printed in 1950 and 1957, the recipes were of the classic style; Kidneys Bourguignonne en Croûte, Canard Sauvage à la Presse, Pigs feet in white wine and many more. The cookbook, compiled of recipes from the magazine, was not for the “faint of kitchen”. Upon graduation from highschool I received my own bound set of The Gourmet Cookbook. Even at that point, I had been a subscriber to the magazine for years.

The magazine was a great representation of modern and old styles, a blend of regions, flavors and cultures. And thankfully, still not a collection of cookie cutter recipes anyone could turn out. Perhaps that contributed to its demise, as well. Today’s home chef doesn’t have the time, or perhaps the desire, to spend hours in the kitchen preparing a meal, which is a sad topic for another blog.

Looking back at an old issue (May 2008) I came across a recipe for Goan shrimp in roasted-coconut sauce, a dish from India taking 1 hour “active” time to prepare, but so worth it. This particular issue, besides having the great shrimp recipe, also highlighted cooking vacations around the world–Thailand, Philo, CA, Nice France, just to mention a few. These were not typical vacations, but took one to small, intimate, out of the way places, even private homes where great food was being created. I will miss those visits. I will miss Gourmet.