A premiere should be met with a lot of hoopla and fanfare. In our opinion, the premiere issue of the Food Network’s new magazine is deserving of that level of excitement.
The November/December issue has just hit newsstands, and various members of our Food Channel Culinary and Editorial staff spent the morning perusing it. With 150 glossy pages it’s priced right at $3.99 (or just $1.50 an issue if you subscribe), and the company made the right choice to focus on the food and not on its stable of stars. Sure, three of their top cooks have photo insets on the cover, but the Pumpkin Pie is the true star of the show.
Once inside, the same thing holds true: food photos are large and interesting, and the recipes (128 in this issue) are the celebrities. Here’s a sampling of comments from our staff:
â‹… All of the recipes have large photos – it’s visually very nice.
â‹… I like the everyday menus.
â‹… The design is almost like an Internet page. The recipe tips are like pop-ups, set off in boxes. The articles are tabbed. Makes it nice to review things quickly.
â‹… The leftover tips are nice!
â‹… Each recipe is like an online page.
â‹… Looks like the Food Network is swinging back to its commitment to food and focusing less on entertainment.
â‹… It’s great Sensory Appeal in a magazine.
â‹… Who says print is dead? This is a fresh, contemporary look for the Food Network.
Our favorite sections include ‘15 Things You Need to Know,’ which actually highlights a few of the ‘finds’ we’ve featured in our own Hot & Cool Trends.
We also like ‘The Daily Grind,’ with its analysis of the best coffeemaker for you, the ‘He Made/She Made,’ which fits right in with our Guys and Dolls trend, and the step-by-step pizza recipe demonstrated by Ina Garten. Young cooks will really like the ‘Weekend Cooking’ feature that itemizes what you’ll need with photos of everything from the eggs to the scoops of flour.
Our consensus? The Food Network is taking an Internet style to print, and producing a magazine perfectly suited to the new consumers who want strong visuals, simple instructions and food photos. Particularly for those who do not live online – or for those who need the occasional break from the interactive screen – this magazine will satisfy your need for food inspiration. It’s a nice showcase for the Food Network’s aggregated food talents and skills.
We’ll be subscribing.
