Soul Food the Magazine

Okay, so I've been way too much take-out lately since I've started back at school part-time and a new job simultaneously. As soon as training at work settles into a comfortable rhythm I'll be back on the cooking track but in the meantime I have been coppin' some information about soul food happenings. Like for instance, are you aware that there exists a magazine dedicated to it? Apparently it's pretty although I managed to miss the first issue but I’ve sent for it.
It's pretty decent. I know that may not sound like a ringing endorsement but coming from a magazine journalism student that's damn good for a start up.

It's published by Today's Black Woman; the same people who do Hype Hair so hopefully it’ll stick around for longer than my long lost Suede mag.



Keep in mind that I love the concept, love the recipes, and love the abundant information. My main beef with the magazine though, is that the pictures aren’t' nearly the high quality caliber you expect from a food oriented magazine. A lot of the pics are great work and the food looks scrumptious but then there are way too many that look like they were done with my no-frills (and downright antiquated) Kodak easyshare CX7300. That's not cool. Chef G. Garvin is on the premier issue cover and damn he's fine – I hafta have that one! Thankfully the cover shot doesn’t mess with his sexy good looks.



In the second issue there's an adorable photo spread inside with Tichina Arnold and her daughter Alijah that looks much better in quality.

They do a brief overview of chef Marcus Samuelsson and include 3 recipes from him. I don't even like peanuts on my pad thai so I'll have to take baby steps towards Chef Samuelsson's dishes.

In the celebrity dish section the gorgeous Amel Larrieux say she makes her kids a dish made of “yams, onions, and brown rice sautéed in sesame oil, sprinkled with cinnamon and nutmeg”. Um, Blech! I was always under the assumption that sesame oil was primarily used as a flavour enhancer at the end of cooking not for sautéing. *shrug* But either way, her dish is so not gorgeous. It sounds downright disgusting actually. She always took me as that kinda mother-earth, granola eater though, so it didn’t really surprise me.



Tyra Banks would not call the models fierce in this magazine, especially one dude who seems to not know where the camera is/can’t focus his eyes on a particular subject. He doesn't look particularly interested in the other models or the food. It’s nice to see Black models have another venue but dang!



The story entitled Cool Kitchen colors is especially wack. Not only because the pictures are horrid and unprofessionally executed, but the colors consist of drab dark brown wood and southwestern-style peach colored walls. Boo.

There’s a story on cookware where they question 2 chefs on the merit of stainless steel vs. non-stick. One chef sounds like he doesn’t know what the hell he’s talkin’ about and the other sounds reasonably aware. For instance, they ask the chefs about the rumors surrounding chemicals from Teflon and one dude says he doesn’t think “that there’s much that could harm you”! Um…ok.
And I’ll even give it to the guy that he’s a Cajun chef so he might not have an occasion to use particular cookware for particular dishes, but I’ve also been under the assumption that a chef is a chef is a chef (accreditation and all that jazz). So when the other chef says there are particular instances where non-stick pans are the general rule (omelets, delicate fish, or cheese dishes) and he answers in the negative, I’m perplexed.

LisaRaye and her mother make a disgusting looking dish of chicken and dumplings that calls for 2 spices, salt and pepper. Huh? And I’m all for glamour in the kitchen but LisaRaye wears a white lace outfit for her cooking chores while her mother wears black embellished with colorful embroidery…to work with flour! Maybe I’m just a messier cook or my suspension of disbelief just wouldn’t take, looking at this cooking “demonstration”. They were cute though!

I know from reading this you might think I don’t recommend the magazine or that I’m a little harsh but I wholeheartedly do and I am only harsh because I want it to get even better. Trust me, staring a venture like this takes time to work the kinks out and I have faith that this may be the next sleeper hit of the publishing world. And since most of the stories appear to be written by one woman, I’m seriously thinking about offering my editorial services…for a chance to meet G. of course!Pick up Soul Food Magazine at your local bookstore (where they’ll have a better selection of specialty publications). In Canada find it at Chapters/Indigo.