The Gourmand #10
A new issue of The Gourmand is always a treat, and this tenth edition doesn’t disappoint, with its cover feature recreating emojis in Matthieu Lavanchy’s beautiful set of photographs. Inside, the collection of stories are as rich as ever, but we’re zeroing in on page 23 for the way it sums up what is so special about every issue of this biannual publication.
Page 23 is at the heart of the second feature in the issue; following an interview with Mexican chef Enrique Olvera, printed on a pleasingly off-white matt stock, the magazine has switched to a rich gloss paper. We’re halfway through an excerpt from Brix Smith Start’s autobiography, in which she recalls childhood visits to the Friars Club of Beverly Hills with her grandfather. She describes the Sunday buffet in detail – table after table of food.
It’s a charming piece, enough to tempt the reader to invest in the book, but what makes it special are the accompanying images.
Styled by Michelle Gaton, the images are extraordinary. Working with photographers Keirnan Monaghan and Theo Vamvounakis, together they have created a series that feel as if they have been discovered in a long-lost archive of fifties photography: the styling, lighting and colour have a Technicolor aura about them. And alongside it there’s a pull-quote using the magazine’s latest typographic discovery, an ornate condensed font from Universal Thirst.
In a single page we see everything that is special about The Gourmand: satisfying shifts in paper stock, intelligent sourcing of food writing, stunning photography and bespoke typography.
The Gourmand has also just launched a range of limited edition art prints of images from earlier issues, and are about to publish a 2018 dog calendar in support of RSPCA.