# The SBHonline Community Daily > Restaurants Wine & Food Off The Island >  >   
 > OCTOBER 5, 2009, 10:04 AM
 > Condé Nast to Close Gourmet, Cookie and Modern Bride
 > 
 > By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD
 > Condé Nast plans to announce this morning that it will close Gourmet magazine, a magazine

## JEK

OCTOBER 5, 2009, 10:04 AM
Condé Nast to Close Gourmet, Cookie and Modern Bride

By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD
Condé Nast plans to announce this morning that it will close Gourmet magazine, a magazine of almost biblical status in the food world; it has been published since December 1940.

The magazine has sustained a severe decline in ad pages, but the cut still comes as a shock. There was speculation that Condé Nast would close one of its food titles  Gourmet or Bon Appétit  but most bets were on the latter. Gourmet has a richer history than Bon Appétit, and its editor, Ruth Reichl, is powerful in the food world.

In addition to Gourmet, Condé Nast plans to announce it will also close Cookie, Modern Bride and Elegant Bride. Cookie is a relatively new introduction, started in 2005, while the bridal magazines were seen as offshoots of the bigger Brides magazine, which Condé Nast also owns.

The cuts come at the conclusion of a three-month study by McKinsey & Company, which conducted analysis of Condé Nasts costs, and told several magazines to cut about 25 percent from their budgets. These are the first closings announced by the company since the McKinsey study.

The moves are significant for the publisher. It has never been quick to close titles, and in the last year or so has closed only newer titles, Condé Nast Portfolio and Domino, along with folding Mens Vogue into Vogue.

Condé Nast tends to hold tight to its prestigious titles, making the Gourmet closing all the more startling. In an interview in February, even Paul Jowdy, publisher of the in-house rival Bon Appétit, said that such a closing was unlikely. (To be fair to Mr. Jowdy, the economy has plummeted, and Condé Nast has been hit particularly hard since then. Its magazines have lost more than 8,000 ad pages, excluding its bridal titles, so far this year.)

They would never do that, Mr. Jowdy said in February. Theyre both very important magazines in the culinary world, and theyre very different magazines, and theyre both very healthy. So theres all these rumors that are just ridiculous. I try not to pay attention to them, but you have to know  if you think of two of the most prestigious, credible, trusted magazines in the industry, youre going to say Bon Appétit and Gourmet.

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## Dennis

I was a Bon Appétit subscriber for many years. But you can get everything on the web now...

Still love to leaf through the pages and drool...

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## MIke R

too bad....good mag..I sell both it and Bon Appetit and have noticed the mags getting thinner and thinner...great recipes in this mag all the time

good article in this month Gourmet about "126 Restaurants Worth the Money"

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## andynap

No big loss. That mag lost it's way years ago- the recipes were terrible and it begrudgingly acceded to the low fat concept. I have been using epicurious.com and the food network for a long time.

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## MIke R

> I have been using epicurious.com and the food network for a long time.




yeah me too, but I still get  a few good ones from the magazine...Delish.com is another good site... I got an Indian Maple pudding recipe out of it last weekend that was very very good...

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## JEK

Memo from the CEO
From: Townsend, Chuck
Sent: Monday, October 05, 2009 10:17 AM
Subject: Announcing Changes within Condé Nast

We have now completed an extensive review of our business  an important undertaking given the dramatic changes in the U.S. economy. The review has led us to a number of decisions designed to navigate the company through the economic downturn and to position us to take advantage of coming opportunities.

Condé Nasts success comes from the ability of our publications to attract readers with a wide range of interests, as well as advertisers who value them. But in this economic climate it is important to narrow our focus to titles with the greatest prospects for long-term growth.

As a result of our review, Brides will increase its frequency to monthly to solidify its position as the most important brand in the bridal category, and Modern Bride and Elegant Bride will close.

Gourmet magazine will cease monthly publication, but we will remain committed to the brand, retaining Gourmets book publishing and television programming, and Gourmet recipes on Epicurious.com. We will concentrate our publishing activities in the epicurean category on Bon Appétit.

Finally, Cookie magazine will be discontinued, and resources that had been dedicated to its publishing will be invested elsewhere.

The editorial and business staffs of Modern Bride, Elegant Bride, Gourmet, and Cookie all have earned their magazines large and devoted followings. We have been proud to publish these titles, and we are grateful to the staffs for their hard work and dedication.

These changes, combined with cost and workforce reductions now underway throughout the company, will speed the recovery of our current businesses and enable us to pursue new ventures. In the coming weeks, we hope to announce initiatives to develop digital versions of our brands that will make use of new devices and distribution channels.

Condé Nast is now in its 100th year of creating the most respected and iconic brands in the publishing world. These changes will ensure that our unique publishing company will continue in its preeminent position for many years to come.

<<<>>

*Memo from Drew Schutte, senior vice president and chief revenue officer at Conde Nast Digital:*

Changes like this are tough, but the long term goal is a positive impact on our overall business.
To that end, a singular focus now within the Bridal category, should have a positive impact on our sales and marketing efforts.
In regard to Cookie.com and Gourmet,com, the sites will remain up at least through the end of the year.
If you have advertisers booked into 2010 or feel those booked on them now will be interested in a change, please call Christine to discuss.
Between Epicurious, our editorial for Moms, and new Moms demographic buy, we have solid options to offer.
Drew

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## MIke R

Andy if you want decadent recipes where the fat isnt' considered..I am a StoneWall Kitchen dealer..their products are incredible and the recipes on the site are very good..

www.stonewallkitchen.com

Wendi put out some  of their pumpkin cream cheesey spread to sample this past weekend and people were freaking out and buying it up like crazy

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## andynap

Looks good- lots of recipes not all fat.

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## Skeeter

> Originally Posted by Andynap
> 
>  I have been using epicurious.com and the food network for a long time.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> yeah me too, but I still get  a few good ones from the magazine...Delish.com is another good site... I got an Indian Maple pudding recipe out of it last weekend that was very very good...



A lot of mine come from winespectator.com.

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## Grey

I've had the Stonewall Kitchen preserves and they are excellent, but a pumpkin-cream cheese spread?   Dang, that sounds GOOD!

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## MIke R

everything from Stonewall is good..the Maple Chipolte Grill sauce is a staple in this house....the Fig and Walnut spread is also a staple

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## andynap

Phyllis puts Tabasco Chipotle sauce on everything except me. Maple Chipotle sounds good.

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## KevinS

Andy,

Phyllis might like to try Chipotle Mayonnaise.  We first used it for a Red Potato Salad with Grilled Corn, but we often keep a jar in the fridge for use anywhere a little more zip is needed. 

1 cup Mayonnaise
2 Chipotle Peppers, available canned in Adobo Sauce at many groceries
2 tsp Worcestershire
2 tsp Adobo Sauce

Mince peppers, mix all ingredients well.  "Heat" can be adjusted by adding more/fewer Chipotle Peppers, or more/less Adobo Sauce.

We do something similar with Kung Pao sauce from our favorite Chinese restaurant.

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## andynap

Thanks Kev- you gave us that recipe with the potato salad which we are making this weekend- can't wait.

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## KevinS

Hmmm.  No wonder it sounded like Phyllis might like it!

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