“What a cookbook should do is make you want to run right into the kitchen and begin to cook,” says Ruth Reichl, editor in chief, Gourmet magazine, in her June editor’s letter. The Gourmet Cookbook Club will be a place for people to share their passion for cookbooks.
Gourmet Cookbook Club Launch:
Beginning with the June issue, Gourmet will feature a new Gourmet Cookbook Club selection each month, both in the magazine and online at gourmet.com. Each month, Gourmet’s editors will comb through the hundreds of cookbooks to be published that month, handpick the most promising ones, then extensively test the recipes in each. At the end of the process, they will select their favorite as the Cookbook of the Month.
The Gourmet Cookbook Club will allow readers to create their own library of outstanding cookbooks, and will also encourage them to participate in an online dialogue about each cookbook and its recipes.
Each month, the chosen cookbook will be marked with a plate-shaped Gourmet seal on its cover to indicate that it’s an official selection.
In the Magazine:
Gourmet’s June 2008 issue includes the first new monthly Gourmet Cookbook Club feature. Each month, the magazine will include a new Gourmet Cookbook Club selection tested by Gourmet’s editors, explain why Gourmet’s editors highlighted the book, and showcase a favorite recipe from the cookbook.
Online @ www.gourmet.com:
Gourmet.com will introduce a new section devoted to the Gourmet Cookbook Club at gourmet.com/cookbookclub. The section will feature: a Q&A with the cookbook author; additional recipes from the featured cookbook; videos of the author and cooking demonstrations; interactive quizzes on the book’s topic; forums to discuss recipe results; menus that combine cookbook recipes with Gourmet classics; and exclusive content with insight on the cookbook selection’s topic. The weekly Gourmet email newsletter will include Gourmet Cookbook Club features, and each monthly cookbook selection will be archived on the site.
The online section will also include Gourmet editors’ picks for the classic cookbook library and descriptions from Gourmet editors Ruth Reichl, John (Doc) Willoughby, Zanne Stewart, Jane Daniels Lear, and Kemp Minifie. Lear will also share insight into what makes a cookbook truly great.
The First Gourmet Cookbook Club Selection:
Gourmet’s editors chose a new release that goes beyond the standard offering of recipes and tips. Fish Without a Doubt, by Rick Moonen and Roy Finamore, demystifies the environmental and health issues surrounding fish and gives readers copious information on fish cooking techniques and buying practices, along with great fish recipes that really work.
Rick Moonen is chef-owner of RM Seafood, in Las Vegas, and a strong supporter of responsibly harvested seafood. He earned three stars from The New York Times for his previous restaurants in New York City. Roy Finamore is an author, an editor, and a photo stylist who creates books attuned to the home chef. Fish Without a Doubt will be published May 21, 2008.
Gourmet’s June issue Gourmet Cookbook Club section highlights Moonen’s recipe for Linguine with Clams. Online, gourmet.com features: a video of Rick Moonen grilling a whole fish; Moonen’s tips for how to tell when your fish is properly cooked; and Moonen’s ceviche preparation. At gourmet.com, the author recipes will be included with Gourmet recipes to create entire menus.
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