integral Food for Thought about the Demise of Gourmet.com

Hi all...

Yesterday it was announced that one of my favorite magazines Gourmet would stop print production with the November 2009 edition.  The news release would suggest that it was the latest victim of the economy, but I suspect as it will continue on TV and on the web (gourmet.com), like so many other print media outlets, the move keeps the content in line with the changing information age.  I didn't really understand why I was so sad to hear of the news, after all, I stopped buying the print version 10 years ago, (with the exception of the December edition) and mostly access the online edition for its convenience, search capability and preservation of trees.   Then I came across an editorial where a local Toronto Cookbook store owner commented further on the content and why it would be missed. It explained all to me.

You see, Gourmet was not just about the food .  There are now hundreds of cooking shows and magazines with every conceivable recipe.  However, Gourmet had a tradition of not just reporting on the food as much as exploring other cultures, countries, politics history and underlying issues related to the food we eat. The inspiration of many of their menus (which I would present for friends down to the last annoying detail) was that it presented something new, something beyond my limited exploration of the world but totally available to me from the diverse ethnic grocery stores in Toronto. It expanded at least my awareness for other people, their traditions and what brought them to invent one dish or another.  I would come to learn that food one person considers gourmet is survival food for another in different part of the world.

I remember tackling a Chinese Dinner menu with well over 15 ingredients I had never heard of. It meant a trip to a Chinese neighborhood grocery store where no one spoke English and the labels were also in Chinese.  I did my best with sign language and other friendly shoppers willing to help that spoke both languages.  The resulting menu  was the first time I experienced what I came to know as authentic Chinese food unlike the westernized versions we are used to.  

There are so many other food related stories I could share, but my point is this.  In living an integral life, I have come to realize it is supported with the not only the company we keep but other every day things that feed our spirit and become the next version of who we are.   Gourmet the magazine, I think in its way served as one of those tools of consciousness opening its readers to new world views via the food they explored, discussed and presented in recipes - I know it did so for me.  Perhaps the online version will continue to do so for the next generation of readers who are used to all the links and visuals to click through for content.    I am still one of the in-between dinosaurs who misses most of the links while searching for pages to turn. (LOL).  So that is why it's demise is so sad.  In the world of turquoise its one of those mediums that transcended and included so many cultures, and helped any value group willing to risk trying a new recipe to go beyond their comfort zone and include more of other worlds into their own.

Hey - maybe we need an Integral Cookbook? Let me know if that idea has already come and gone!

Comments and food stories welcomed!

All the best,
Carolyn