Publishing

Take a look at the front of Bon Appétit's May issue, the first to drop under the helm of new Editor in Chief Adam Rapoport. Although the design's slightly updated, the cover — a minimalist plate of pasta al pomodoro — doesn't look like anything too drastic. In a sit-down with WWD, the former GQ editor admitted that the first issue is "not going to change too much" but did share some of what he has in store. The new focus? Solid, tested recipes, classic cooking techniques, and beautiful photography, with a relevance for the present: "We need to tap into popular culture and have a buzziness." The magazine, which hopes to draw more readers in from the food blogs, will not focus on chefs as celebrities, but rather take chef techniques and adapt them for the home cook.

Edgier headlines include "How to drink like an Italian" and "The real baconator." The issue has an excerpt of Prune restaurant owner Gabrielle Hamilton's book, a first look at David Chang's iPad app, and a cooking feature with the style-setting Missoni family. Also new: a back-page feature that asks a celebrity a food-related question that must be answered on a cocktail napkin. Rapoport didn't confirm or deny rumors that Gwyneth Paltrow will be on the cover of the June issue.

What changes would you like to see in the new Bon Appétit?

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So the rumors were true: Gourmet is back — although not in the traditional way some might expect. Rather, Gourmet will be rising from the ashes as a website and application for the iPad and handheld devices. This morning, Women's Wear Daily tweeted live as Condé Nast executives made the announcement. The new experience, Gourmet Live, will include articles, photos, and video in addition to what exists in the archives and will focus on "seasonal foods, holidays, special occasions, restaurants, travel, food culture, chefs, and more." Readers will have the capability to share and rate articles across social networks, as well as earn virtual rewards such as the ability to unlock hidden content. It doesn't sound like Gourmet Live — which will launch the fourth quarter of 2010 — will involve former Gourmet editor Ruth Reichl, who tweeted, "Re: Gourmet; they're reviving the brand, not the magazine. Pity." Pity indeed, although, if the caliber of writing is the same, I'll be looking forward to having Gourmet back, at least in some form. See a sneak preview of the new technology when you read more.

Yesterday, Condé Nast announced plans to introduce its first new food magazine since the collapse of Gourmet.

Dash will be a newspaper insert magazine, the result of a collaboration between Parade and Bon Appétit, which are both owned by Condé Nast's parent Advance Publications. It will launch online at dashrecipes.com in September, drop a preview print issue in November, and begin its regular monthly circulation to about eight million readers via 100 different newspapers in February.

With the proposed tagline of "Simple. Fast. Delicious." Dash is meant to appeal to a mainstream audience.

It will contain recipes from Parade and Bon Appétit, as well as content from Epicurious and the Gourmet archives. Unlike Gourmet, it's taken on an unabashedly aggressive approach toward appealing to packaged food companies such as ConAgra and Kraft.

Dash will compete directly with Relish, another food newspaper insert, as well as traditional magazines such as Family Circle. Thus, if you've been hoping for a Condé Nast equivalent of Gourmet, you won't be getting it anytime soon. Will you look out for it?

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With the growing number of kiddie foodies, or koodies, that have gotten press over the past year, it was only a matter of time before they got their own magazine. Meet ChopChop, a new quarterly food glossy and website that's full of cooking pointers, recipes, and kitchen tool introductions, for kids aged 5 to 12. The vision of the magazine's creator, cookbook author Sally Sampson, is to reverse and prevent childhood obesity; according to the website, the mag is "filled with nutritious, great-tasting, ethnically diverse, and inexpensive recipes." The debut issue has a circulation of 150,000, and is being distributed to pediatricians, grocery stores, farmers markets, schools, children's hospitals, and youth-based community organizations.

What do you think of the idea? Would you buy a subscription for someone you know?

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If all goes well, 2010 could be a blockbuster year for the Deen family. Southern cooking queen Paula Deen is planning a second eatery; meanwhile, sons Bobby and Jamie Deen are tapping into uncharted territory with a male-friendly food magazine.

Paula Deen, who rose to fame with her Savannah, GA, restaurant The Lady & Sons, hopes to repeat success with a new spot at Harrah's Cherokee Casino and Hotel in Asheville, NC. The 400-seat eatery, Paula Deen's Kitchen, will serve buffet-style breakfast, lunch, and dinner beginning in Fall 2010. Adjacent to the restaurant will be a retail shop selling Paula-branded cookware, cookbooks, spices, and food.

Says the matriarch: "I couldn't think of a better mix — southern food and casinos. It has all the ingredients for a good time." Her sons, Jamie and Bobby Deen, are banking on dudes who love food. They've teamed up with Hoffman Media (the publisher of their mother's magazine, Cooking With Paula Deen), to print a quarterly magazine, Deen Bros Good Cooking, with easy recipes that'll appeal as much to men as women.

I'm not sure how I feel about either expansion effort. Could you see yourself eating a Paula Deen casino buffet restaurant — or making dinner out of a Deen brothers magazine?

When Gourmet collapsed earlier this year, the food cognoscenti, mourning the end of a culinary institution, immediately began waxing nostalgic, revisiting the first-ever edition of Gourmet, and taking a look back in time at the magazine's covers. Well, for those who are still feeling twinges of regret, or are in need of gift ideas: Condé Nast has responded by offering limited issues of Gourmet through its online store.

For $50, Gourmet enthusiasts can get a five-issue collection of the glossy's grilling, travel, Thanksgiving, holiday cookie, or restaurant guide issues, respectively. A special issue collection and a set of five magazines from Gourmet's final year in print is also offered. The idea is great, but $10 an issue? Considering some of the same magazines are going for $5 or less on eBay, this doesn't seem like such a great price. Would you buy Gourmet online?