ICYMI: Food critic and writer Ruth Reichl recounts her time at Gourmet magazine--the childhood reading of which had inspired her career--and the push and pull of ad sales, creative license, and a desire to produce excellence for dedicated readers.
Ruth Reichl was a food writer, not a manager, when she was offered the top spot at Gourmet magazine. But spending her childhood reading the magazine had inspired her career, so she couldn't resist.
During her time there, restaurants became an exciting part of popular culture, and the farm-to-table movement shifted the restaurant world for good.
Chef David Chang and author David Foster Wallace make appearances in these pages, among other luminaries.
The book also includes recipes.
I’ll read anything by Reichl, and this was a wonderful look behind the scenes at Gourmet: the vision and people and energy that made it special, the odd politics that shaped Condé Nast under Si Newhouse, the creative and collaborative process that led to the exceptional nature of the “book,” and a little bit about the push and pull of life at a magazine in general, where the business is ad-driven but the creative side is constantly fighting and striving for innovation.
I'd love to hear your Bossy thoughts about this book!
Reichl's wonderful food-focused memoirs Garlic and Sapphires and Tender at the Bone were both listed in my Greedy Reading List of Six Foodie Memoirs to Whet Your Appetite.
I'll be reviewing her novel, The Paris Novel, on the blog.
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