Gourmet Magazine to cease publication with November issue

October 5, 3:12 PMLong Island Books ExaminerLauren Walter

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In a move that has foodies around the world mourning, Conde Nast announced today that they are shutting down Gourmet magazine. The November 2009 issue will be the last of its 69 year run. Gourmet magazine was one of the most respected food magazines on the market, edited by the food-world powerhouse, Ruth Reichl.

Conde Nast’s actions surprised many, as it has been known to hold onto its premiere titles. Instead, following a three month evaluation by McKinsey & Co., Conde Nast stuck to the cold hard truth that Gourmet’s ad revenue was down 46% in the first half of the year while sister magazine Bon Appetit only experienced a 35% downturn.

The choice to close Gourmet instead of Bon Appetit caught many by surprise. Ruth Reichl is a former New York Times food critic and has several best selling memoirs under her belt. In addition, Gourmet has an ongoing cooking/dining series on PBS. Despite those facts, Gourmet’s shelf life is about to expire. It will be sorely missed.

For those not ready to let go, you can get over one thousand Gourmet magazine recipes in the new book, The Gourmet Cookbook, 1024 pages of fabulous food edited by Ruth Reichl.