Beloved Food Magazine Saveur Is Back In Print

If you know, you know.

Many of us tip-toeing around the hospitality industry were devastated when SAVEUR turned its last page three years ago after more than twenty-five years as one of the most sought after food magazines in print. The rich imagery and international focus within its pages was enough to make avid subscribers feel like it was their birthday each time an issue arrived. And, though many of us have made peace with the world of food media online—another beast to contend with having plenty of pros and cons—there is simply nothing like diving into to a full print magazine. Complete with meaty stories, vibrant photography, lush paper, and enticing recipes, the act of reading a well-made magazine is an occasion all its own.

Well, Bienvenue! It is time to grab the fuzzy slippers or cocktail attire and celebrate because SAVEUR is back and has just released its new issue. Forbes had the pleasure of sitting with Editor-in-Chief Kat Craddock to discuss the experience of breathing new life into the magazine.

Forbes: So, what can old and new fans look forward to in the new SAVEUR?

Craddock: Like any legacy pub that's been around for so long, SAVEUR has evolved over the years. In working on this relaunch, our team spent a lot of time in our archives, and we leaned hard into the parts of the magazine that still sparkle from back in the 90s and early aughts—of course our founding editors' emphasis on global cuisine, lots of luxe, ambitious original photography, and also some of the more widely loved story rubrics and design details. We have many loyal readers who have stuck with us since the beginning and some have remarked on the “vintage SAVEUR” vibe underpinning the new issue.

Forbes: Indeed. I myself have held onto several old issues because the aesthetic was so appealing and one issue contained so much. It was like being able to travel without leaving your house.

Craddock: That said, we're operating under a very new business model now. And the way we—as a society—report and write about food and other cultures has evolved too. While we're tapping into nostalgia, I had no intention of copy-pasting a template just because it was groundbreaking in 1994. There are some OG SAVEUR writers and photographers in the mix, and there are a lot of new voices in the issue too, and we are working more with creative talent based in the places we're covering.

Forbes: And some of the differences?

Craddock: For one, the advertising market is vastly different than it was 30, even 10 years ago. And, there are obviously a lot of things that digital media does better than print—so for a print publication to succeed, it has to be built around the types of content that don't necessarily translate to a screen. We're playing around a lot with scale—both in terms of photography and illustration, and also in long- and super-short-format storytelling.

Every issue will also include a hand-inserted collectible recipe card illustrated by a different artist. We also thought a lot about the nuances of paper quality, printing, binding. Thin paper tears, shows through, feels cheap and disposable—but when paper stock gets too thick, it starts feeling like a text book or promotional pamphlet, and loses some of its “magazine-y” charm. A lot of SAVEUR readers are collectors who keep their magazines around and cook out of them for years, so we worked closely with an art book printer to make issues that are going to last, to hold together, and to keep looking beautiful, but that still feel like something you can roll up, tuck in a bag, and bring on a plane or to the beach.

Forbes: What challenges do you think you’ll face or have already faced in bringing SAVEUR back to print?

Craddock: Starting the print part of the business back up from scratch was incredibly liberating but also very scary, so I'm thrilled at how well it has been received. The way we're printing is expensive and it's important to me that we're compensating our contributors fairly. By traditional standards, of course I know that $25 is expensive for a magazine.

Forbes: You have an interesting perspective having been on various sides of the industry, from restaurants and kitchens to writing and publishing.

Craddock: [Yes], I worked in restaurant kitchens for 10 years and I'm sensitive to the fact that a lot of our most loyal readers are in the F&B industry, that they may not have a lot of expendable income. Our new price point is in-line with many of the other indie pubs out there, but we're a legacy brand that sold for a lot less in previous iterations. We had to work hard on making a product that looked and felt luxurious, and “worth it.” I think we did! We're actually completely sold out of this issue (although copies are still available at retailers across the US).

Forbes: Are there any other extensions you are planning to add to the world of SAVEUR like events, etc.?

Craddock: Oh my gosh, so many events! Back before the pandemic, we had a great dinner series going in our old test kitchen space. Now that our team is remote, we're expanding on the old SAVEUR Suppers model to include Salons and Soirées outside of our home base in New York as well. As we promote the relaunch this spring and summer, many of our events will be cohosted with our new retail partners. We'll be popping up in the cellar space over at Murray's Cheese in New York and at Colibri in Portland, next month, then we'll be doing events with Market Hall Foods [in Oakland] and Hi Desert Times [Twentynine Palms] in California in May. Maybe a few more later in the summer.

Forbes: There are products too, right?

Craddock: Our licensed cookware business is still humming along nicely—we recently launched a new carbon steel line that is my personal favorite—and we partnered with the guys over at Burlap & Barrel on a trio of spice blends inspired by three of the most popular recipes in our archives. Our travel editor, Benjamin Kemper, spent the last year growing our online destination-driven service content—travel is an important part of our brand and there's a lot we can offer in that space that clearly differentiates SAVEUR from other food brands.

Forbes: And “Place Settings,” the podcast?

Craddock: [The podcast] is on a back burner but definitely still simmering, and we're developing a new pod concept tied to our events programming as well. Our team is tiny and our focus has been centered around the print relaunch over the past year; now that those new systems are in place, we're gearing up to leverage experiential and multimedia programming to support and promote our print and digital content.

Forbes: Thanks so much for sharing such insight on the new SAVEUR.

With 164 pages, 30 recipes, and reporting from 10 countries, the new issue is packed with a book’s worth of culinary stories and adventures. From Lebanon, Marseille, and Puglia, to Nara, West Africa, and Colombia—not to mention towns across the U.S.— readers have a few months to devour this new issue before the Fall/Winter edition hits stands later this year.