Title: WOOLWORTHS TASTE
Publisher: New Media PublishingR
Christine’s comments…
Covers: Visually, they are extremely stimulating.
Layout and design: Excellent. It is certainly the best food styling that I have seen in a food magazine, and that includes several well-known international food titles.
Recipes: The magazine assumes that the reader is knowledgeable about food. The recipes are not always explained very well. It is for food lovers who enjoy advanced, creative cooking.
General: This magazine is my favourite by far. It is trend-setting, inspiring and innovative with fantastic photography and layout – but not really for the beginner or the inexperienced cook. People with little food experience might buy it, but will only page through it and probably not cook from it. This magazine promotes Woolworths’ products very well.
There is a fine balance in the marketing and it does not feel like they are forcing their products on you. However, by being so incredibly visually stimulating, you almost cannot help but to buy everything you see in this magazine. I cannot wait to buy it every month and most of the time it is like a wonderful surprise!
Title: FOOD & HOME ENTERTAINING
Publisher: CaxtonR
Christine’s comments…
Covers: Sometimes they’re inspiring; sometimes they’re not.
Layout and design: Again, sometimes it’s creative; sometimes not.
Recipes: The recipes are well-explained and contain very good background information. You always learn something new.
General: This is a magazine I buy most of the time and my Number Two choice after !_LT_EMTASTE!_LT_/EM. My main criticism is that it is inconsistent – some issues are excellent while others disappoint.
It is a very educational magazine and a great source of information. There are many regular features I enjoy: the snippets of news on the first few pages; the recipe book reviews by Jenny Crwys-Williams; the travel articles; the food trivia in the back of the magazine… The articles on table-setting, floral arrangements and décor set it apart from its competitors. The seasonal themes for each issue also make for interesting reading. All in all, this is a good magazine for food lovers but not as trend-setting and innovative as !_LT_EMTASTE!_LT_/EM.
Title: avocado
Publisher: Avusa (Johncom magazines)
Christine’s comments…
Covers: They are stunning.
Layout and design: The food styling inside is bland and unimaginative and does not live up to the covers. I think the photos of the food are very honest – perhaps too honest. Not much is done to make the food look appetising. The pictures are good portrayals of the product but unfortunately quite uninspiring.
Recipes: The recipes are very user-friendly with good instructions.
General: This is a magazine for very keen but not very creative cooks. It definitely has a traditional feel to it and is more trend-following than trend-setting. I think the covers are amazing but I’m always disappointed with the content of the magazine.
Avocado is good value for money in the sense that it does not have too much clutter or too many adverts. It contains a lot of recipes and the recipes seem like they are very well tested. I like the simplistic approach and the clean look but there are no new, wonderful ideas. The recipes are for plain, traditional food. The hints and tips in the recipes are useful but I’m never really inspired to go out and buy the next issue. I think the magazine wants to target food lovers but not with much success.
Title: SARIE KOS
Publisher: Media24
Christine’s comments…
align=leftCovers: They are very good.
align=leftLayout and design: Also, very good.
align=leftRecipes: The recipes are easy to follow; not for the food connoisseur but good home recipes.
align=leftGeneral: I think this magazine relates very well to SARIE readers. You almost get the feeling that you’ve seen the recipes before. It feels like you are paging through a SARIE and I think it caters very well for the needs of its readers.
It is a really nice food magazine with good food-related articles but definitely not trend-setting. The uncomplicated recipes make for good home food. It is not particularly inspiring but still enjoyable. I would have liked to see something more “new” in it than just a brand extension of SARIE‘s food section. It is not for food lovers hunting for fresh and new ideas.
Title: FRESH LIVING
Publisher: John Brown Publishing SA
Christine’s comments…
align=leftCovers: Its first cover in December 2007 was disappointing, but the February 2008 cover was more inspiring.
align=leftLayout and design: It’s both colourful and appetising.
align=leftRecipes: They are easy and quick.
align=leftGeneral: It was very clever of Pick n Pay to appoint Justine Drake as the editor because she enjoys a great creative reputation in the food industry. I get the impression that their target market is not very sophisticated. The recipes are nice, easy and quick. The first issue seemed to have more recipes than the February issue, but the magazine is still packed with good nutritional information. It is educational and overall a good read. At R9.95 it is very good value for money and certainly a nice extra for food lovers.
Christine Capendale was the winner of the Ideas/Idees Domestic Goddess 2007 competition for a “woman who understands that it takes more than a recipe book and a trip to the supermarket to put together a memorable feast”.R
■This article first appeared in The Media magazine.
