Gourmet Live: Conde Nast Re-Launching Gourmet As Magazine App

Conde Nast is reviving the Gourmet brand, but not the magazine.

The company announced Tuesday a plan to introduce Gourmet Live, a digital app under the Gourmet brand. The app will include "articles, menus, photos, videos and more, encouraging social connectivity and sharing, and game play," the announcement said.

"By focusing on a new way to meet consumer needs, tap into our deep branding, and approach our content differently, we came up with a product that reimagines Gourmet and revalues engagement," CEO Chuck Townsend said. "We are extremely pleased with the magazine apps we have developed as part of our R&D efforts, however Gourmet Live is profoundly different. We approached this like a tech company, utilizing the rich assets of a media company, keeping Condé Nast at the forefront of content innovation."

The app will be free to download at first with "paid content options" coming later.

Former Gourmet editor Ruth Reichl, who is not involved in the Gourmet Live plan, tweeted about the announcement Tuesday morning.

"Re: Gourmet; they're reviving the brand, not the magazine.Pity," she wrote:

Thanks Tweeps, you've really made my day, week, month with all your support. Re: Gourmet; they're reviving the brand, not the magazine.Pity.less than a minute ago via TweetDeckruthreichl
ruthreichl

Comments

[RButler]

11:08 PM on 06/24/2010

I subscribed in the 80s and liked the recipes that they retrieved from restaurants that their readers requested. I still have a few copies with recipes I made and wanted to save. But, I forgot to save the one for a simple romaine salad with shredded romaine, like coleslaw, toasted pine nuts and a lime dressing. I can't remember the recipe for the lime dressing but I really liked the shredding of the romaine for a change.

A magazine like Gourmet isn't for everyone, no even me, as I didn't always read much of it but the recipes but it needs to be around anyway in some form.

[paulbenjouse]

05:17 PM on 06/23/2010

I still have a 1981 copy of the magazine when it featured a gourmet trip through northern Italy. I took the magazine with me and replicated the trip. A fascinating experience. I will miss the tactile feel of the publication.
The only APP I want to see is an "APPETITE" for the original

[ILB]

09:40 PM on 06/23/2010

What a great travel idea. I think may have to borrow that idea for the future!

[paulbenjouse]

05:11 PM on 06/23/2010

Gourmet magazine CAN come back and the new process can be web first publishing.
The magazine publishing industry jumped to the web too quickly withourt strategy but can still mount a successful comeback.
Paul Benjou
Ad Blog: www.myopenkimono.com

[AngelaQuattrano]

02:03 PM on 06/23/2010

I subscribed to Gourmet for years, but let my subscription lapse as it became more and more self-consciously upscale. I couldn't afford any of the vacations in the magazine. I couldn't make a weekend trip to a far-off city or country just to visit a restaurant. And I didn't have any desire to make recipes that called for dozens hard-to-get ingredients just because they were hard-to-get.

I'm sure there is lots of value in the database. I'm sure they could make money through advertising sales, but it's hard to imagine it being worth paying real money for.

[grumbles]

12:02 PM on 06/23/2010

i guess the question is-"is there a brand without the magazine???"

[floodberg]

10:18 AM on 06/23/2010

I miss gourmet desperately, but I've learned to live without it, and consequently may get the free app, but won't subscribe. I seem to remember other attempts at comebacks after ending magazines or television shows don't usually end in success.

[politicsandamericanpie]

01:36 AM on 06/23/2010

Great! Think Conde Nast will now honor the rest of my subscription money they never returned when they folded the magazine?

[floodberg]

10:20 AM on 06/23/2010

Now, that's something I remember...from a LOT of companies.

[dahpunkster]

11:05 PM on 06/22/2010

maybe if we whine enough they will bring the magazine back.

[ultrabop]

09:15 PM on 06/22/2010

Gourmet was one of those things that you regret after it leaves you, like a girlfriend that you took for granted.

I would re-up in a second.

[floodberg]

10:21 AM on 06/23/2010

That's a really, really, really sharp observation, Ultrabop, favved for it.

[paulbenjouse]

05:13 PM on 06/23/2010

ditto

[AlwaysAnObie]

08:15 PM on 06/22/2010

I wish they would just admit they were wrong & bring the magazine back. A Gourmet app is a dumb idea. The brand is nothing without the magazine. If they have too many cooking magazines, then they can dump Bon Appetit, a real lightweight.

[Claude Remains]

08:08 PM on 06/22/2010

Saw "Conde Nast to bring back Gourmet" on the home page and got excited.

Then I read this article.

I don't want an "app," I want the magazine back.

And no, Conde, Bon Appetit is NOT a viable substitute.

(As I told your telemarketers when they asked why I was not renewing)

Conde also publishes the New Yorker.

They should at least make Gourmet a section of that publication.

[mlsinco]

07:03 PM on 06/22/2010

As a long-time subscriber to Gourmet (I have 45 years worth of back issues), I was heartbroken when they cancelled. This effort is a sure-to-fail attempt as far as i am concerned (and I'm very tech-savvy) --- so sad.

[jammin joy]

05:13 PM on 06/22/2010

I miss Gourmet Magazine beyond imagining!! I came to it late, just two years ago, via a complimentary subscription. After trying a few recipes that turned out beautifully, I became addicted. What a contrast to the many failed dishes I had labored over based on recipes from other periodicals. I felt that I could trust this magazine not to waste my time or money. As a result of a newly discovered joy in cooking, I spent lots of $$ on ingredients and cookware. I eagerly awaited its arrival each month. I pored over the recipes and loved cooking and savoring the meals with my husband. Now I'm getting Bon Appetit - not a suitable substitute!! It goes into the round file upon arrival. I'm recycling the few issues of Gourmet I have. Maybe something will come along that will be worthy of replacing Gourmet, Bon Appetit certainly isn't it nor is this didital app. I want my Gourmet back!! Anyone have any back issues they want to sell??

[floodberg]

10:23 AM on 06/23/2010

I found several sites that had back issues of other Conde publications for download, I bet if you took some time and googled it you could find a lot.

[RSKaz]

04:54 PM on 06/22/2010

Great. Leftovers.

[kareemachan]

12:01 PM on 06/23/2010

Perfectly said!

[cardiaccare]

04:13 PM on 06/22/2010

We don't need another stinkin' app. Bring back the magazine.