Paper Palate

I can’t say I’m surprised, given Goldman’s ominous tone in the November/December issue I reviewed.

I know many have felt that CHOW hasn’t lived up to its hype. I have to admit, though, that I feel a little twinge of sadness. I was curious to see how this new publication would grow, change, and develop.

I think it had potential, and it may yet. It isn’t moribund yet–there may yet come a financial wizard to breathe life into it.

But, I don’t know…I just don’t know.

I think it’s hella brave to be irreverent and quirky in a magazine market dominated by stale, uninvolved, or outright pretentious writing. I like Chow, especially that the design reminds me of a US tabloid magazine. Chow and Cook’s Illustrated are the few printed food rags I read on a regular basis. I’ll be rather sad if it goes away.

I agree that it’s “hella brave,” but, I don’t think CHOW was really that “irreverent” or “quirky.” Many potential supporters have registered their disappointment with CHOW for this very reason.

I disagree. I think Chow really is rather quirky, considering the market it exists within. Compare it to something like Ladies Home Journal or Southern Living. Read between the lines. Do you notice anything about the politics of the writers or editors? See any trends?

Gourmet Magazine or Food and Wine aren’t nearly so conservative but they seem to lean toward elitist. Sure, both magazines provide excellent content but I don’t like how they charm their readership by seeming to include them in a bit of pretension. It makes me feel like I need to wash my hands after reading.

Chow doesn’t bother with either approach, really. I read it and I get the sense of a few peeps putting their heads together and doing the best they can to put out an interesting product to a conservative market. More importantly (to me), I’m left with the distinct impressions that they have fun… not just a giggly, bubbly, “Oooh, that was quaint!” good time but _fun_. I think that is what makes Chow stand out to me.

I don’t really consider Ladies Home Journal or Southern Living to be food magazines–they are lifestyle magazines, and they are aimed at a totally different audience–middle aged homeowners, primarily female.

The target audience for CHOW is quite different–twentysomething to thirtysomething, single, apartment dweller who doesn’t know much about food, but likes it, and likes to have fun.

I didn’t see as irreverent, but I did see it as fun. I don’t think it ever really got to get into much of anything like a groove, though, because the funding just wasn’t there for the editors or writers to really find their look or voice.

I guess the way I saw it was scattershot–some good, some not so much.

But, compared to Gourmet or Bon Appetit–yeah, it was more unique, interesting and different.

Even if I didn’t really fit into the target demographic at all, I could still see that.

I’m sad to hear the news about Chow.

It was the only food mag geared towards the under 40, urban crowd. After just attending the Fancy Food Show in San Francisco it’s obvious to me that far too much specialty food marketing focuses on the middle-aged. I went to a conference the 2005 consumer market research shows that those between 30-40 are actally the best consumers of specialty foods.

I don’t think Chow will be away for long. Based on what I saw at Fancy Food, I think it is the future of the industry.

Print publishing, as I look at it more objectively, is at a crossroads right now, Mlle X. The percentages are against CHOW as a print publication, however, at this point in time, it is hard for an online publication to make money.

The reason that most marketing of upscale food is aimed at the middle-aged crowd is because that is where the market perceives the source of disposable income as being.

I agree that there are an awful lot of younger foodies out there, and they are a market waiting to be tapped.

The question simply remains as to how to go about tapping it.

Hmmm - as a magazine pro I have to say that Chow underwhelmed me - I liked the IDEA a lot just not the execution. And there are LOTS of good food/cooking magazines out there - they just aren’t American!

Delicious from Australia, Olive from the BBC in the UK, Spice from Western Australia (copy edited by Anthony of the infamous food blog man that cooks) for example.

But I like food blogs better anyway!

Well, Owen, your preference of blogs over magazines is certainly one that all of us at the Well Fed Network endorse wholeheartedly!

I think that blogging, as a medium, inherently lends itself to being quirky and irreverent, not to mention interactive.

That is one of the strengths of a blog vs. a magazine–it creates community in that it can engender discussion, in a much more democratic and interactive way than any sort of print media can or will do.

I think that is part of what makes new media potentially so much more life-changing than old media. Because it allows the consumer a voice of their own, not just an authority belonging to someone else.

I agree with Courtney. The “irreverence” was superficial, at best, primarily in their covers and still rather sedate. I think part of the problem is that it’s still a woman’s magazine, if that makes sense. It needs to be more masculine, more Rock n Roll or Punk and less pop. They’re irreverant in the same way that N Sync and Justin Timberlake are “street”.

They never separated themselves enough from the Gourmets and Bon Apetits of the world so I think they were always just competiting with those and more pared down publications like Real Simple than they were opening a new market. They needed to think: “What if Tony Bourdain was editor-in-chief?”

Can you imagine if Bourdain actually edited a mag?

I am personally still peeved at HS Thompson for leaving us at an important time. Bourdain is Thompson-lite but he continues to work at it, developing his own true voice that is properly inspired by HST.

I would like to see a real-world Journal of the Foodie, edited by Bourdain, with the Thompson sensibility .. Gonzo-foodies who do not come off sounding milquetoast like Ruhlman.

Sorry, I have sky-high expectations for my fantasies its not like Bourdain will ever actually edit a mag, just a nice thought.

In my opinion, CHOW is onto something. I like to cook, I like entertaining and I like easy–CHOW does it all. It brings fun recipes together with practical tips and gives an insider view into the food scene. I never knew beef could be grown in a petri dish until CHOW. Tell me when BA, Gourmet or F&W ever covered this! I have my fingers crossed for CHOW. It has the promise to be just as good as Olive or Delicious if given time and $$. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

Yikes.. beef-o-petri-dish.. As someone who has spent countless hours tending her tissue cultures during grad school… beef-o-petri-dish has a LONG way to go

This is Jane Goldman, the editor of CHOW. Thank you for the candid comments. They’re tremendously helpful, and I hope we can act on them soon in the magazine. In the meantime, though, they’ll inform the work we’re doing on the site.

Your point, Barbara, about the website was a good one. The site now reflects the announcement that we’re suspending publication; our timing dilemma was simply how to inform the people who should know first — subscribers, advertisers, and investors — before we made a general announcement. Sorry that it raised some suspicions.

Tara & Rita, you expressed what I think is the heart of the effort: we are trying to entertain with food in all the ways it matters to us — as a social event, as fashion, as culture, business, politics, science. We don’t simply want to offer a different (irreverent/younger/rock and roll) voice to the subject. We want to broaden the coverage, lighten up the attitude and tell it all in a straightforward,conversational way. That, and a good party, are what’s fun for us.

We’ve moved fairly far in four issues, but I know we’ve got a long way to go. And in the meantime, I hope that you like what you see on the new site. And if you don’t, I hope you’ll let me know.

Jane, thanks for stopping by! It’s always great to hear directly from the editor.

As I said in my initial review of CHOW, I really enjoy your Web presence, and I look forward to seeing you expand it.

Jane, first of all, thank you for commenting. The timing did raise suspicions (once a reporter, always a reporter–”suspicious” is a reporter’s middle name!), but that is why I pointed out that it was probably a case of making certain that subscribers knew first–since you had a financial obligation to them. I assumed that fairly soon after, you would come forth with the general announcement–which you did, as predicted.

Good luck with the magazine, and I hope to see more from your team soon.