2009: The Year in Food

Did any story make a bigger splash this year than the closing of Gourmet magazine? The announcement in October that the November issue would be the last for the venerated glossy left both readers and Gourmet staffers in a daze. But when the fog lifted, the blogging began. Chefs, writers, foodies and casual home cooks by the thousands wrote of their shock, sadness and anger about the loss of a nearly 70-year-old institution. The magazine’s editor, Ruth Reichl, was as surprised as anyone by the news. “It just breaks my heart,” she told the New York Times.

When it was first published in 1982, The Silver Palate Cookbook became an instant hit, and made its authors, Sheila Lukins and Julee Rosso, culinary heroes. The pair were credited with introducing home cooks to gourmet ingredients; and their iconic Chicken Marbella recipe became the go-to dinner party dish for a generation. Though the women later parted ways, Lukins remained at the forefront of the good-food revolution, with more cookbooks, a Parade magazine column, and countless personal appearances. Her death this year from cancer at the age of 66 left a hole the food world will be hard pressed to fill.

Although her television show ended in 1973, Julia Child was more popular than ever in 2009. Thanks to Nora Ephron's movie “Julie and Julia,” an entirely new generation of cooks and moviegoers fell for Child (via Meryl Streep’s much-lauded interpretation). Based on Child's memoir and the efforts of Julie Powell to cook her way through the legendary manual of French cuisine, the film and its buzz sent Mastering the Art of French Cooking back to the best-seller lists and made Child queen of the kitchen yet again, more than forty years after the book’s original release date.

While many of us were revisiting Lukins’ chicken dish or Child’s boeuf bourguignon, others were moving away from meat altogether. Movies like “Food Inc.” and “Fresh,” as well as the growing number of food recalls inspired many Americans to fight for food-safety changes (like the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009) and to turn toward a more vegetarian approach. Author Jonathan Safran Foer wrestled with his own food demons and chronicled his conflicts in the book, “Eating Animals.”

While the number of gourmands under the age of 12 seemed to be on the rise this year, so, unfortunately, did the number of fat kids. High rates of childhood obesity prompted much discussion of and attention to school lunches, vending machines, and ads directed at kids. The government came down hard on the Smart Choice Program, not to mention Kellogg's claims that Cocoa Krispies could boost children's immunity.

Michelle Obama cast herself as the first lady of the healthy-food movement. Inviting local school children to help her work in the new White House garden, Obama showed them firsthand where their food comes from—or should come from.

In kitchens and on blogs around the U.S., quinces became the darling of the food world. Bacon overcame its heart-unhealthy reputation and began appearing in everything from soup to nuts (to cocktails to desserts). Food trucks rolled in to cities across the country and dished up meals to rival many a bricks-and-mortar competitor. Depression-era canning made a comeback, sous-vide cooking caught fire, and macarons rose to new heights of popularity. Chef cookbooks were the gift to give (just try finding Thomas Keller’s “Ad Hoc at Home” in stock anywhere); “Pioneer Woman” Rhee Drummond took the country by storm; and Julie Powell trashed her happily married “Julie and Julia” persona in the new memoir, “Cleaving.”

Oenophiles bid farewell to John Brecher and Dorothy Gaiter, as the writers wrapped up their renowned Wall Street Journal “Tastings” column on Dec. 26. With their down-to-earth assessments (“yech,” comes to mind) and easy writing style, the pair made buying wine a far less terrifying undertaking for many of us. Their departure, though, opens the field for the growing number of wine bloggers. With writers like Tyler Colman (“Dr. Vino”) and Mike Supple (Supple Wine) on the job, we can all be educated consumers.

And consume we did. Wine sales rose this year despite the recession, although we were definitely shopping for bargains. New Zealand wine growers struggled to keep their prices up, while Champagne buyers actually found some deals. For fans of suds, a Scottish brewery unveiled the world’s strongest beer, while Samuel Adams produced the most expensive one. When it came to expense, none were spared at Europe’s biggest-ever wine auction. Paris’ famed Tour d’Agent restaurant sold a huge wine collection, including a bottle of cognac from 1788 that fetched a cool $36,935.

We at Food News Journal have enjoyed reading and sharing these stories and so many more, and we look forward to the food news of 2010. We’ll be back on January 4 with the best of the food news and blogs. In the meantime, we wish you all a Happy (and delicious) New Year!