Ruth Reichl Discusses The ‘Shocking’ Closure Of Gourmet

It’s been three months since Conde Nast announced it was shuttering the much-beloved Gourmet and it’s probably safe to say that both fans and foodies alike are still reeling somewhat from the decision. Equally beloved Gourmet editor Ruth Reichl (if you’re not following her on Twitter you’re missing out) guested on NPR’s Leonard Lopate show yesterday to talk about Gourmet‘s demise, the immediate aftermath (they had to be out of the office almost immediately), and what the future looks like. She also discusses her initial reaction to David Foster Wallace‘s famous ‘Consider the Lobster’ essay (she was scared to open her mail). All things considered, Reichl sounds rather sanguine about the decision and still supportive of Conde Nast’s other projects. Also, rest assured Gourmet’s collection of cookbooks covering the last 70 years, remains intact.

You can listen to the full interview below, in the meantime here’s some some interesting takeaways:

• “I was actually supposed to go to Washington D.C. to promote the book on monday and he [Newhouse] called me on Sunday night and said ‘you can’t go to Washington, you need to be in the office tomorrow’…it was a done deal. It was a surprise to all of us. I knew that the ad situation was really bad but Conde Nast had been a supporter of the magazine in every way and I thought that they would continue to be.”
• How she informed her staff: “I went around from office to office and said ‘we’re having this meeting but you should know that it’s terrible news. We were all really very much in shock…we were out very quickly….That night I said everybody come to my house and called up Russ and Daughters and said we need lots of wonderful food! And lots of wonderful food came to the house.”
• “This has been a particularly bad time for print media. I don’t think there’s ever been a situation quite like this one [in the media world]…Our ad page drop was really precipitous.”
• “I am sure that The New Yorker will march on forever, as long as Si Newhouse has anything to say about it…as well it should. It would be a terrible loss for the world if the New Yorker folded.”
• Sigh: “We had actually already made the December issue and it didn’t get printed.”
• Those waiting for the Gourmet memoir (yes please!) will have to wait a while longer. Reichl is apparently working on a new book she thought would be about her time at Gourmet, but “it’s turned into something else…I think I need a little distance.”