10 Types of Restaurants

Price

The food magazines you subscribe to should fit your budget. Subscriptions for many of the options from bigger publishing houses, such as Food & Wine, can be purchased for under $10 per year when they go on sale. Others can be much more expensive. That said, if you find an independent magazine that you love, you can be sure that you’re supporting a wider range of voices and putting dollars directly into the pockets of creators.

Content

Believe it or not, the world of food magazines is pretty broad. Do you want to stay up on trends? Do you want deep dives on obscure French cheeses? Do you want to read photo essays by chefs? Do you want to understand what tannins are? Each magazine has a slightly different angle and perspective.

Photo credit: DARIA SHEVTSOVA

Number of issues per year

Most of the bigger publications release a new issue every month or two. Some are quarterly, while others come around just a couple of times a year. If it takes you a while to sit down and read a magazine, a few issues annually may be perfect for you. If you want to stay on top of trends as they happen, those that come more frequently might better fit your needs. Or you can always subscribe to both.

Why do food magazines have such a range in price?

The short answer is different business models. Some magazines are owned by large publishing corporations, such as Hearst or Conde Nast. Many of those magazines have

large advertisers who work with the brands. With that business model, you’re not paying full price for the magazine because advertisers are essentially subsidizing its production. In exchange, the magazine will have ads throughout. Other magazines are independent, meaning the reader pays the entire price for the publication. Those tend to be more expensive but will not have ads. They also tend to feature a wider range of voices and/or more niche content.

There are also smaller, independent magazines that have some ads.

If you find an independent magazine you love, it will likely be more expensive, but you know your dollars are directly supporting the creators.

How do I find the best food magazine for me?

Take inventory of what you’re looking for: Do you want a bunch of well-tested, global recipes? Are you looking for essays or interviews with chefs? Look through the options and buy individual copies of the magazines that interest you. If you enjoy one issue, you’ll probably enjoy a subscription.

Why Trust The Food and Drink Gallery?

When writer, podcaster, and publisher Ella Patterson isn’t writing or teaching a class, she’s reading a food memoir, cookbook, or food magazines. If you have a preferred method for storing your food magazines, she's all ears.