This is a whopping big magazine for the money. Its cover price is A$8.50 and for that you get more than 200 pages of goodies. Admittedly there are lots of adverts in there too, but that’s always the way with glossy magazines. I liked this magazine so much that I subscribed to it. My subscription to "Olive" is due to expire and I felt that a change would be good. So, without further ado, let’s have a look at what’s in the magazine. I have the June 2008 issue which, being Aussie, concentrates on the winter kitchen. The magazine consists of four main sections: Food, Travel, Regulars and Features.
FOOD SECTION
In this issue, the Food section has a big feature on curry. Not just yer usual curries, mind you, but Sri Lankan and Mauritian curries, as well as Indian. I feel some photo essays coming on (for my foodie blog). Some magazines use the ARS technique (annual repeating stories recycled with a slightly different angle in an attempt to make them seem “new”). But Gourmet Traveller really does seem to have a bit of a flair for the unusual.
Also in the Food section there’s soup, pork belly, Sicilian cooking, and how to cook caramel. The recipe index is at the back of the magazine and takes up a whole page. I’ve seen cookbooks with fewer recipes than this. I think it’s great value for money.
TRAVEL SECTION
There’s quite a lot in the Travel Section, including their 2008 Travel Awards where Gourmet Traveller readers and a panel of judges have voted for Australia’s best travel operators. Somehow I wonder if AA Gill would approve (see later).
There are also interesting features, and lots of great photos about Telluride (a Colorado ski resort) and Australia’s Kangaroo Island, “where utter isolation is its biggest drawcard”. There’s also travel news and a Q&A piece where readers can have their questions answered.
REGULARS SECTION
This is absolutely crammed with information and things of interest for the food lover. There are book reviews, restaurant reviews, a master class about making puff pastry (another good one for a photo essay), chefs’ recipes, other recipes, and more. I particularly enjoyed AA Gill’s humorous think-piece where he makes a case for having anti-travel awards, and his top nine of “…Things You Thought You Wanted To Do But You Really Shouldn’t Bother”. Great stuff!
And finally we get to the
FEATURES SECTION
Guess what? They’ve got a feature on Gordon Ramsay. I respect the guy’s cooking and he does make some highly entertaining telly programmes, but sometimes I get the feeling that even if I was in a remote cave in Bhutan he’d still be there somehow. Is there anywhere in the world where one can escape Ramsay’s ubiquitous presence? If you want more of Ramsay they have an audio video of him on their website (I haven’t felt the need to listen to it yet):
There’s also an interesting feature about eating out in London.
It’s hard to do justice to this magazine in a short review. There’s so much in it. If you get a chance to buy one – and it may not be widely available outside Australia, although I bought my copy in Bangkok – I highly recommend you give it a go.
|
|
|
|
Contributor's Note
I originally wrote this magazine review for my food blog http://www.notdelia.co.uk
|
|
|
|
|
