Artwork in Gourmet, Not looking good enough to eat

[laurenmilan]

I'm not very hungry having had some nice lamb loin, chanterelles and tomatoes stuffed with ratatouille and ground lamb for dinner, but I could eat everything I see photographed in the July 2005 issue of Martha Stewart LIVING. Those images bring new depth to the meaning of "looks good enough to eat."

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You know, the August issues of MSL and Gourmet are out, and both have the same general cover: a fruit crisp with a close-up of riped oozing fruit. I could actually put the covers side-by-side and make the comparison.

Martha's was a soft pink background with splashes of sensually rich red fruit peeking out under a warm golden bed of streusel. Very comforting and snuggly-looking food.

Gourmet turned a blueberry crisp into a tribute to the Exxon Valdez spill. Sort of a wierd blackish ooze, all the warm tones are absent in the crisp portion. Just feels very stark, very cold. Very wierd, kinda like those ultra-dark, lit-by-an-Indiglo-watch photos of tumorous-looking meats in the Gallery of Regrettable Food.

[lesfen]

This one trumps the bizarre Thanksgiving turkey photo (looked like either a charred skull or face of an evil creature) from Bon Appetit a few years ago as the least appetizing photo ever on a food magazine cover.

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The turkey you're talking about, the one that looked like the devil's face, was actually on the cover of Gourmet a couple of years ago, or maybe it was last year. Definitely not Bon App.

But back to the topic under discussion, I guess I'm in in the minority because I really like the photography in the new Gourmet. Altjhough I agree that steak picture in June was not one of the better covers.

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Are you talking about Gourmet, November 2004? Turkey butt with pomegranates against the darkest background of all time? Ugh. I remember showing that to my husband and telling him that it made me want to cancel Thanksgiving. He said it looked like a Roger Bacon painting. (Shudder)

[Bux]

I remember showing that to my husband and telling him that it made me want to cancel Thanksgiving.  He said it looked like a Roger Bacon painting.  (Shudder)

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I believe he may have meant Francis Bacon not Roger or even the other earlier Francis, but I can see as to how the confusion might arise. If there's nothing else we should know here, it's our bacons.

[lesfen]

I remember showing that to my husband and telling him that it made me want to cancel Thanksgiving.  He said it looked like a Roger Bacon painting.  (Shudder)

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I believe he may have meant Francis Bacon not Roger or even the other earlier Francis, but I can see as to how the confusion might arise. If there's nothing else we should know here, it's our bacons.

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We're trying to sort it out now... he has a few paintings in mind and swears that they are by someone named Bacon. They sure don't sound like Francis Bacon to me. Altho that turkey could have modeled for him.

[Behemoth]

Francis Bacon paintings always remind me of thanksgiving turkey on a dark background.

[mrs.inkling]

Gourmet turned a blueberry crisp into a tribute to the Exxon Valdez spill. Sort of a wierd blackish ooze, all the warm tones are absent in the crisp portion. Just feels very stark, very cold. Very wierd, kinda like those ultra-dark, lit-by-an-Indiglo-watch photos of tumorous-looking meats in the Gallery of Regrettable Food.

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I also found that cover to be extremely unappetizing. Right when I saw it, I showed it to DH, who shared my less-than-enthusiastic reaction.

The food magazine I always thought had gorgeous photography is Savuer, although I haven't picked one up in about a year.

[Marmish]

Hey Mimi! Your thread made Saute Wednesday! (snippet below)

Keller vs. Blumenthal

By Bruce Cole June 2005© All rights reserved.

Iron Chef match up we'd like to see: Thomas Keller of the French Laundry restaurant (Yountville, CA) versus Heston Blumenthal of the Fat Duck Restaurant (Bray, UK).

. . .

Host: The host is busy reading Mimi Sheraton's eGullet Gourmet Magazine rant on his laptop, and looks up with an embarrassed grimacing smile as someone hands him one of Blumenthal's cooked beans...

[Mimi Sheraton]

Thanks Marmish for letting me know I made the big time...

[MelissaH]

We just got the September issue of Gourmet in today's mail. My husband got everything out of the box, and while we were at a friend's house made the comment that the new cover art looked really disgusting. At the time, he had both hands busy replacing an electrical outlet. My friend and I looked at each other quizzically; she hadn't yet retrieved her mail to look at her copy. I asked, "Animal, vegetable, or mineral?"

His reply stunned me: "Definitely mineral. It looks like dirt. Maybe a scoop of ice cream, on a pile of potting soil."

We got home and he tossed the mag my way, still in its plastic wrapper. And he's absolutely right! Maybe that's a new tactic: put dirt on the cover and force people to read the article to find out whether it's for real.

MelissaH

[Genny]

I must agree Melissa, the cover is unappetizing! How can they do this to us? Not good at all. And increasingly it is more about food travel than cooking! rrrrrrrr, I'm likely to not renew this subscription.

[lesfen]

Hubby called it "poo a la mode".

[lesfen]

I remember showing that to my husband and telling him that it made me want to cancel Thanksgiving.  He said it looked like a Roger Bacon painting.  (Shudder)

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I believe he may have meant Francis Bacon not Roger or even the other earlier Francis, but I can see as to how the confusion might arise. If there's nothing else we should know here, it's our bacons.

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We're trying to sort it out now... he has a few paintings in mind and swears that they are by someone named Bacon. They sure don't sound like Francis Bacon to me. Altho that turkey could have modeled for him.

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I found it! He was talking about Jerome Bosch's "Hell"... and now that I can see what he was talking about, I can see that he didn't know what he was talking about! That grotesque cover really is much closer to Bacon!

Whew. I can finally sleep at night.

[goldie]

I think the September issue cover is lousy. They had much better shots to choose from- the oysters looked luscious.

My sons had a great time making fun of the cover. The youngest is new to the world of toilets and calls everything poop. He looks at the cover and goes "poop and ice cream." He promptly calls the seven- year - old a poopy head , smacks him on the tush and runs out of the room. Then my artistically gifted ten- year- old takes out a black sharpie and draws a good rendition of a face in the ice cream and pronouces it an ice cream poopy head. They hung it on the fridge...

School starts next week, thank God!

[Betts]

I've paid much closer attention to the artwork since this thread started. Two things - whoever is the photo editor/stylist whatever has a dark, pessimistic or depressed streak. It's getting worse and the Sept cover is an all time low. That cover isn't going to get anyone to pick up the magazine unless they are into " food noir".

Secondly - do you think everyone got the memo about using a white plate? The directive must have been issued because there is a unusually high percentage of food on white dishes.

I can wait for the fresh hell that Gourmet has in store for the holiday issues.

[Anna N]

NOTHING would make me want to recreate the dish on this cover! Sheesh.

[laurenmilan]

I've paid much closer attention to the artwork since this thread started.  Two things - whoever is the photo editor/stylist whatever has a dark, pessimistic or depressed streak.  It's getting worse and the Sept cover is an all time low.  That cover isn't going to get anyone to pick up the magazine unless they are into " food noir".

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Who's their art director, Deter from SNL's "Sprockets"?

"The food... its agony is GOOOORGEOUS! I am as happy as a little girl!"

[lesfen]

I've paid much closer attention to the artwork since this thread started.  Two things - whoever is the photo editor/stylist whatever has a dark, pessimistic or depressed streak.  It's getting worse and the Sept cover is an all time low.  That cover isn't going to get anyone to pick up the magazine unless they are into " food noir".

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Who's their art director, Deter from SNL's "Sprockets"?

"The food... its agony is GOOOORGEOUS! I am as happy as a little girl!"

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Would you like to touch my turkey? Go on, touch him.

[chiffonade]

Another pub whose photos suck is Fine Cooking. As incredibly valuable as the information might be, the photos aren't the least appealing.

Saveur OTOH is beautifully shot. From the non-food pix to the recipe depictions, more than once I've run to the store because of an article I read in Saveur OR because a picture was so inviting.

I've found Gourmet to be passable in the food photography department. Where I find it falls short is all the high-ticket selling it does. I buy cooking mags for recipes and food information, stories, etc. Not to buy yachts and Rolexes.

[Char]

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Saveur OTOH is beautifully shot.  From the non-food pix to the recipe depictions, more than once I've run to the store because of an article I read in Saveur OR because a picture was so inviting.

...

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Yes...this month's cover makes me salivate. I can't remember the drink they displayed but I get thirsty everytime I glance at the picture. I almost want to rip off the cover, shove it in my mouth, and wait for the liquid to explode and quench my thirst. Yes folks, it's that good (or it could be the hot weather). In any case, I couldn't wait to open the magazine after looking at the cover.

As for this month's cover of Gourmet, I'm embarassed but I will admit that I thought it was a brownie topped with mocha ice cream. I had no idea it was a steak until I read this forum.

[Susan in FL]

As for this month's cover of Gourmet, I'm embarassed but I will admit that I thought it was a brownie topped with mocha ice cream. I had no idea it was a steak until I read this forum.

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Na-uhhh.... No way!

Whew.

I just went and checked, and the cover of my September 2005 Gourmet does have flourless-chocolate-cake-puddings-whatever on it.

LOL!

[Megan Blocker]

As for this month's cover of Gourmet, I'm embarassed but I will admit that I thought it was a brownie topped with mocha ice cream. I had no idea it was a steak until I read this forum.

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Na-uhhh.... No way!

Whew.

I just went and checked, and the cover of my September 2005 Gourmet does have flourless-chocolate-cake-puddings-whatever on it.

LOL!

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I think August was a steak, right? Or June, maybe? The grilling issue, whichever that was...

[Char]

As for this month's cover of Gourmet, I'm embarassed but I will admit that I thought it was a brownie topped with mocha ice cream. I had no idea it was a steak until I read this forum.

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Na-uhhh.... No way!

Whew.

I just went and checked, and the cover of my September 2005 Gourmet does have flourless-chocolate-cake-puddings-whatever on it.

LOL!

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Yes, and it looked sloppy. There's homestyle, rustic, whatever, and then there's sloppy.

I'll have to look up the cover I was referring to. This month's cover was a flourless cake but I don't pay attention to the dates (I had to look up this month's cover photo)---"this month's issue" refers to the copy that I'm reading at the moment.

[bleudauvergne]

Have you seen the contest on the website called "cook the cover"? This is a chance for people from eGullet to show just what they can do... There is a link to the recipe for the dish on the cover, and you cook it, make whatever improvements you deem appropriate, and then photograph it and send in your photo. Winners get a trip to New York.

Link to the contest

[lesfen]

Have you seen the contest on the website called "cook the cover"?  This is a chance for people from eGullet to show just what they can do...  There is a link to the recipe for the dish on the cover, and you cook it, make whatever improvements you deem appropriate, and then photograph it and send in your photo.  Winners get a trip to New York.

Link to the contest

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WE GOT SERVED!!!

[kelautz]

Although Gourmet was the last to go, I'm now down to zero cooking magazines. After awhile, there just isn't anything new under the sun any more.

For a few years, whenever a Gourmet came in the mail, first thing I'd do is sit down with a sharp tipped paring knife. Slice the Index page, and the Table of contents page out first. Then just slice out the articles of interest. Discard remaining three quarters of the magazine. Finally, get down to analyzing articles, recipes, menus, etc. File by month, then in March, looking for inspiration, there'd be just the meat of several March issues all ready for priming the pump.

After awhile, even this got repetitive. My eaters like to see their favorite dishes often. Received a plaintive request for meatloaf, mashed potatoes and peas the other day. Now that the weather is cooling off, it will become appropriate to turn on the oven soon. Although they'll tolerate experiments they do like to see their favorites reappear on the dinner table with a certain regularity.

If I need inspiration, I surf the forums at eGullet!