Our 20 Favorite Indie Food Magazines

Not very long ago, food journalism was a category dominated by the big guys — Condé Nast (Bon Appétit), Hearst (Food Network Magazine), Time Inc.(Food & Wine, Real Simple). But a new crop of small, independent publications have taken the stage, dedicated to our culture’s near-cultish obsession with the people, places and ideas behind the new food movement. These are the publications that trim the fat, and cover it best.

Alla Carta

First Issue: 2012
Frequency: Biannual
Country: Italy

If you like: Interviews over dinner with fashion’s new and notable luminaries.

Ambrosia

First Issue: 2015
Frequency: Biannual
Country: USA

If you like: Regional cuisine digested through short interviews and easy-to-make recipes.

Cherry Bombe

First Issue: 2013
Frequency: Biannual
Country: USA

If you like: Food at the intersection of culture, as told by the women who matter most in the industry.

The Cleaver Quarterly

First Issue: 2014
Frequency: Quarterly
Country: China

If you like: Chinese culture and gastronomy, with its kaleidoscopic variations around the world.

Cook’s Illustrated

First Issue: 1993
Frequency: Bimonthly
Country: USA

If you like: Zero advertising and hyper-detailed recipes covering everything from stir-fry to salad dressing.

Honorable Mention: ‘Put a Egg On It’

The pocket-sized zine Put a Egg On It hails from Brooklyn, New York, but it’s made by a team with an appetite for bigger things. Printed on green paper, each issue features essays and photo essays on food and cooking around the world, along with a thematic collection of recipes. Learn More

Diner Journal

First Issue: 2006
Frequency: Quarterly
Country: USA

If you like: Original recipe collections seasoned with art, literature and poetry, from an eclectic array of contributors.

Drift

First Issue: 2014
Frequency: Biannual
Country: USA

If you like: Coffee culture handsomely captured in cities that celebrate the bean. Past issues include Havana, New York and Tokyo.

Edible Brooklyn

First Issue: 2006
Frequency: Quarterly
Country: USA

If you like: Stories about the people and places behind Brooklyn’s burgeoning food movement.

Ernest

First Issue: 2014
Frequency: Biannual
Country: England

If you like: The wild side of food and foraging from rugged cultures around the world.

Fool

First Issue: 2012
Frequency: Biannual
Country: Sweden

If you like: Journalism that sees chefs like celebrities, with a focus on fashion and photography that’s rough around the edges (in the best way).

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The Gourmand

First Issue: 2012
Frequency: Biannual
Country: England

If you like: Food and art, and not always in that order.

Gather Journal

First Issue: 2012
Frequency: Biannual
Country: USA

If you like: Esoteric, seasonally driven recipes, coupled with photography resembling art installations.

Life & Thyme

First Issue: 2015
Frequency: Quarterly
Country: USA

If you like: Culinary storytelling through character-driven narratives across the globe.

Lucky Peach

First Issue: 2011
Frequency: Quarterly
Country: USA

If you like: Fun, insightful musings on food, centered around topics both confined (“ramen”) and obscure (“fantasy”).

Modern Farmer

First Issue: 2013
Frequency: Quarterly
Country: USA

If you like: Insider access to the farmers and thinkers changing the way we eat.

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Pallet

First Issue: 2015
Frequency: Quarterly
Country: USA

If you like: Beer, and the entire the subculture that surrounds it.

Render

First Issue: 2014
Frequency: Quarterly
Country: USA

If you like: Ideological journalism from “badass women who are making waves within the persistently male-dominated food industry.”

Sabor Journal

First Issue: 2015
Frequency: Biannual
Country: The Netherlands

If you like: Traveling in search of cultural discoveries, via dishes and customs.

Tapas

First Issue: 2014
Frequency: Triannual
Country: Spain

If you like: Bite-sized insights about the world’s food and fashion and everything in between.

Thrive Magazine

First Issue: 2014
Frequency: Quarterly
Country: USA

If you like: The chefs, celebrities and dishes elevating plant-based cuisine.

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