For years, I was a subscriber to the American English version of La Cucina Italiana, a magazine that featured, you guessed it, the best of Italian cuisine. At the beginning of my subscription, I eagerly anticipated each new issue. But, with each passing month, the magazine became stale for me.
One of the reasons I grew numb to the magazine was because of its editor, Paolo Villoresi, a Pavarotti-proportioned gourmand who tended to think that readers were interested more in his life story than in the food of Italy. In addition, I thought that the publication could do better with regards to its photography and features. It seemed that La Cucina Italiana’s audience was the over-50, Italian-American set, a generation that probably already knew how to cook half of the recipes in the magazine anyhow.
I passed by the newsstand a few days ago and, to my surprise, found a spiffed-up La Cucina Italiana. The magazine has gone through a metamorphosis, thanks to Laura Lazzaroni, the new editor-in-chief. I found out the scoop from another blog (A Rake’s Progress, currently shut down for some reason):
“The publisher of the magazine was a fatherly — and plump! — chef and entrepreneur, Paolo Villoresi. His love of Italian food and Italy infused every page of the magazine. Getting my hands on the newest issue was as fulfilling as the best recipe within its covers! From a business standpoint, Paolo had been licensing the rights to the name, La Cucina Italiana, from the original publishers in Milan, Italy. Several months ago, the publishers took back the rights to the American version of the magazine. Paolo is now gone.”
The blogger that provided that information hates the new CI, and I, too, have some criticisms. One, there is an overemphasis on pretentious design (SMEG and Missoni Home are great…but get to the food already!). Two, the recipe format is a little strange. For example, it lists the item first then the amount (this takes a little getting used to). Third, this issue (November/December 2007) has too many recipes! That shouldn’t be a criticism of a magazine, but it could stand to be edited down a bit.
On the other hand, the new version of La Cucina Italiana is a fantastic source for gourmet travelers. The profiles on Peck (”Milan’s Temple of Taste”) and Another Italy, which featured travel info and recipes from Ragusa, Lecce, Macerata, Turin, and Prato, were the types of articles one would expect from Food and Wine or Gourmet, not from CI.
I also loved the editorial entitled “Caravaggio’s Kitchen,” which was a recreation in photographs and recipes of cuisine painted by the artist. According to the article, the idea of “Caravaggio’s Kitchen” came from photographer Gianni Ummarino and his wife Maria Piras, whose full book of “real” still life photographs will be available at Christmas. It’s quite stunning how well the pair managed to capture these images. It’s life imitating art imitating (still) life.
No, the new version of La Cucina Italiana is not perfect. But, it has gotten me excited about cooking again (which is the goal of food magazines, right?). Welcome to the 21st century, CI!
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