While struggling to find something to read, CODE’s Adam Hyman wonders if there’s an opportunity for a new food magazine
I was housebound for a few days recently with some nasty bug that seems to be doing the rounds (no, not that one). In between binges of Netflix and sleep, I found myself searching the internet for articles to read about restaurants, food and the world of hospitality. Despite preferring to read magazines in print, as I browsed the web hoping to discover some interesting articles I realised our food media in this country is rather lacking.
Here I was in 2020 struggling to find interesting pieces about one of the hottest topics of the past decade. I often find myself tuning in to people’s conversations on the tube and they’ll be chatting away about queuing up for a plate of pasta, working out where to get the best bao or deciding what their next meal should be. Yet I can barely find something over a couple hundred words to read despite it being something everyone talks about.
Why don’t we have a Vogue for food? Where’s our version Vanity Fair on restaurants and hotels? Should we not have a Monocle or FT Magazine on all things hospitality? Is it because this generation of foodies don’t believe in paying for content? Is it the case that they would rather get their intel from the world of Instagram than read a 1,000 word article about the origins of a certain dish or an interview with a chef? A picture is a thousand words after all. Or is it the hectic way we live our lives that the podcast has replaced the magazine?
Despite this, cookbook sales are on the rise and judging by the amount we get sent to CODE HQ every month there’s clearly an appetite for this type of print media. When so much of the TV and Netflix landscape seems to be made of cooking shows and competitions I wonder if there is an opportunity in the market for a new glossy print magazine that combines brilliant food photography along with sharp journalism. After all, food is fashion.
Here’s some of our favourite food magazines:
The Monocle Drinking & Dining Directory
CODE publishes a quarterly print magazine. For more information or to subscribe, click here
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