Childhood memories of Gourmet magazine and my father..

franinvirginia

Enthusiast Member
I am feeling very nostalgic about he folding of Gourmet. I am a true foodie and have been since I was little. I can remember the magazine coming in the mail and beging entranced by the glorious pictures. I also remember how the recipes were written in prose rather than the standard recipe format they switched to later. I thought that was so chic and sophisticated!!!

My father would peruse it and usually select a recipe to make on the weekend. I would know what he was going to cook because the magazine would be on the kitchen counter folded back and the ingredients gradually assembled. Many times it required getting something hard to find such as candied ginger which was no readily available as it is today. What wonderful adventures we had going to out of the way to obscure places like the asian market to get ingredients. What fun!!!

A family favorite and something shared at all family events is an Amaretto cheesecake - made with almost 3 pounds of cream cheese AND whipping cream. I also remember one year that my dad ordered my mother two volumes of recipes from Gourmet. They were bound in burgundy leather and had my mother's name on them!!! They were always kept carefully on the shelf in a protective box

As an adult I have savored it even more. I have never actually had a subscription as my father gave them to me when he was finished with them. Often, many issues were kept, lined up on a shelf below the other cookbooks.

Thank you Gourmet for wonderful memories..

 
I am still a bit shocked....

If I had to shut down one of the food-related publications, I definitely would keep Gourmet and close Bon Appetit.

Not quite sure why they went the other way....

I did not know that Gourmet was around since 1940 - it is very sad to see it go.

 
A few years ago I stumbled across some issues from the 40's on e-bay.

bidding was pretty high and at the time I realy couldn't afford them.
But oh My, the covers were so beautiful. I also remember seeing reproductions of covers somewhere?
Nan

 
Nice memories, fran. My parents also subscribed after we came to Canada in 1967. So I grew up

recognizing that good food could be fun to make and serve, and also that good food wasn't intimidating, and also that good food sometimes took time and led to a lot of washing up! But we were introduced to so many new tastes and new dishes that, thankfully, divorced us from our overcooked-meat-n-veg English past.

 
A friend who left the country gave me her collection- still have them..

must be about 40 mags from the 70's. Got some good recipes from them over the years.

 
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