Kate Lawson on Food

Category: In the news

Gourmet cooked its own goose

My first inkling that Gourmet magazine had lost touch with its readers began when I spied the 10 color photos of a Tuscan-inspired meal in the May edition.

I'm sure this concept of running large photos of food is nothing new but a story titled "Cucina Paradiso" kicked off with a double page photo of a boy in a sleeveless undershirt and cap holding a big plate of fettuccine and crabmeat (I had to read the cutline to discern the dish). What followed were eight pages of photos, some on facing pages of grilled squid, celery leaves and mushrooms, crostini topped with fava beans and cornmeal cookies. A woman wearing a green polka-dot dress sat with a fedora festooned male model and they looked like they were having a gay old time. Recipes followed. No story. I thought for a minute I was looking at the fashion edition of Vanity Fair.

The very next article, "East L.A. Story," featured a close up shot of an Asian chef sipping liquid from a ladle, a close up of a cleaver and dumplings and a double page photo of duck roasting on a spit. The only recipe featured was for stir-fried egg and tomato.

A similar feature followed on Peruvian cooking and more big photos (a women's hand showed a very cool ring) and then there was a tiny walnut tart perched on some weathered boards and well, you get the idea.

Don't get me wrong, I love to read about food and even more, I love to cook it. But I don't need another coffee table magazine and I won't be looking for a recipe for Finnish meatballs with allspice, sour cream and lingonberries any time soon.

A friend and former food writer would often remark that Gourmet, which has been around since 1940, just wasn't connecting with us any more. I couldn't agree more even though the editor, Ruth Reichl, is powerful in the food world, having written three best-selling memoirs and receiving four James Beard awards for restaurant criticism and journalism.

Although I've used countless recipes and adapted them for my Simply the Best column, investing in a subscription to see well-dressed models tiptoeing through a stream dangling a picnic basket from a bejeweled hand just wasn't going to happen for me.

So I was slightly saddened but really not surprised, that Monday Conde Nast Publications announced that it is shuttering the magazine.

During this incredibly difficult year we've seen newspapers close, banks fail and the unemployment line growing increasingly longer. I guess we think that some things are immune.

Apparently, the cuts come at the conclusion of a three-month study by McKinsey & Co., which conducted analysis of Condé Nast's costs, and told several magazines to cut about 25 percent from their budgets. These are the first closings announced by the company since the McKinsey study.

Now, Conde Nast said, Gourmet's brand will live on in books and TV programming.

In addition to Gourmet, Condé Nast plans to announce it will also close Cookie, a parents magazine, Modern Bride and Elegant Bride.

That doesn't mean that home chefs don't care about gourmet cooking (or getting married or having children). We're just putting practicality on the front burner.

Category: In the news

Julia Roberts takes heat for salmon remark

Julia has been making the interview rounds lately to hype her latest movie, "Duplicity," but in the process she's gotten herself into some (not so) hot and deep water with the salmon folks.

Seems the star appeared on E! News last week and when asked, "If you could eat one food for every meal, what would that be?" She replied, "Salmon...but then I probably would get mercury poisoning."

Uh oh.

Now the Vital Choice Wild Seafood and Organics, the leading to-your-door provider of premium wild Alaskan salmon and other wild, certified-organic and kosher foods, wants Julia to know this just isn't the case.

In an open letter to Julia, Vital Choice president and co-founder Randy Hartnell has informed the actress that her mercury fears are often associated with farmed salmon, which is rife with problems - from added colorant to get that rosy-red look to potentially damaging precious ecosystems and driving those reliant upon wild seafood into a economic tailspin.

The answer, of course, is wild Alaskan salmon, which is naturally low in mercury, sustainably harvested in well-stocked waters, pure, completely natural, high in Omega-3s, nutrient-dense and on the list of the Six Super Foods Every Woman Needs

Ms. Roberts could, theoretically, eat wild Alaskan salmon for three meals a day to her contentment. Nice to know.

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Category: In the news

Phelps takes a dive into frosted flakes

Our dinner conversation last evening inevitably turned to the Olympics, which we followed with great enthusiasum last week when our 7-year-old grandson was visiting.

He just barely managed to keep his eyes open before Phelps' 10-plus p.m. events so we'd TIVO it for him to watch the next day.

Now I've learned that Phelps is endorsing Kellogg's corn flakes and the sugar-laden Frosted Flakes and I'm pretty frosted myself.

OK, so 8 gold medals and the chance to be a role model for young athletes and he turns to sugary cereal?

My husband made the argument (for argument's sake) that what if he donated part of that money to help the children in Darfour, would that make a difference?

Hmmm. NO. Here's the thing: With childhood obesity toppling the scales and suddenly the "hefty" size has replaced the slim fit, I say Phelps has a responsibilty to weigh in here. (Sorry for the pun, I do it when I get mad.)

I mean kids of all ages everywhere were watching Phelps, now Kellogg's can't wait to fatten up his fan base.

I haven't read the nutrition label on the Breakfast of Champions box (Wheaties) and I'm certainly not championing them either, but in just sugar content alone I'd say about the only things Frosted Flakes are good for is tooth decay and elastic pants.

Hey, Michael, here's an idea: tell your agent that you want to use your endorsements for good, not evil. Stand up and say "I swam for my country, they supported me and cheered me on, now I'm going to give back." That's what role models do.

What's wrong with endorsing oatmeal as the true breakfast of a winner (and champions might live longer with lower cholesterol)? Or becoming a poster boy for the food pyramid? I know you eat a dozen eggs or whatever every day(which can't be good either) but the Egg Board or the United Dairy Council could sure use some help. And maybe you could even help school lunch programs for inner city kids. Your mother is a school principal, I bet she sees more than her share of kids who are overweight.

Sure, that doesn't sound as sexy as something frosted but boy would you ever be a hero then.