Ruth Reichl is one of the most influential names in food. Her storied career includes stints at the Los Angeles Times as a restaurant critic and food editor, as well as the restaurant critic for the New York Times. She is also the author of five bestselling books, the recipient of six James Beard Awards, and spent 10 years as the Editor-in-chief of the now defunct Gourmet magazine.

But as any resilient woman will tell you, when one door closes, a few other doors open. She’s now an editor-at-large for the mega-publisher, Random House, is currently writing three new books, and on April 6th, will make her debut as one of the new judges on Top Chef Masters.

She was kind enough to carve out some time to chat with me while on a recent trip to Palo Alto for a speaking engagement. I asked her about how life has changed since the closing of Gourmet magazine, how she feels about food bloggers, and what she really thinks about Ruth Bourdain.

ELAINE: What was life like after Gourmet magazine shut its doors?
RUTH: At first I thought, “Oh my God, I’ll never have another job!” and I immediately made a deal to write three books, which I’m working on, and that’s great. I’m finishing my first fiction novel, and I promised to write a cookbook and then a memoir about my time at Gourmet and its closing.

But then about eight months after the magazine closed, I was literally getting a job offer a day. The most interesting is one I can’t talk about. Let’s just say it’ll be the food magazine of my dreams. I’m very lucky. (NOTE: We know now that Ms. Reichl will be running the Gilt Groupe’s “Gilt Taste” website.)

ELAINE: And you’re going to be on Top Chef Masters! What made you want to take that offer?

RUTH: I just thought it would be fun! I was kind of curious about how reality shows worked and it seemed like a learning experience. But I had already agreed to be a fellow at Dartmouth, so I’m not in every single episode.

ELAINE: What was the experience like?

RUTH: Top Chef Masters was such a surprise. They could not have been more passionate and respectful of the chefs, judges, guests and I loved every minute of it. And they take it all very seriously. I thought the judges would surely have to lean on the producers to make the decisions about who gets cut, and the producer probably would’ve liked a different outcome in some cases, but I never heard it from them.

And Curtis Stone (the new host) is so good looking, you’d think he had to be an idiot. But he’s so smart and has a heart of gold. He’s honestly one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met. He insisted on cooking for the entire crew a multi-course meal after the show wrapped. He’s totally for real. I was so sorry when it was all over. It felt like family. You really get to know everyone. It’s very intimate.

ELAINE: What are your thoughts on the new Gourmet Live app for the iPad?

RUTH: …I’m not going to say. It is what it is.

ELAINE: What do you think about the new generation of food bloggers? Are they changing the landscape of food writing in general?

RUTH: A lot of them are really, really good. I think it’s changed for restaurant critiquing in particular. You can read 30 reviews and make up your mind yourself. A professional restaurant critic’s word shouldn’t matter that much. People should bring their own intelligence to it. What real criticism should do is give you a better way to appreciate food and give you the tools you need to enhance your experience, good or bad. And food bloggers have put the burden back on the professionals to be good educators and good writers, and maybe even be a little bit more humble about their own opinions.

ELAINE: You’re fairly active on Twitter. Why do you use it?

RUTH: I just don’t have time to keep up with so many blogs. But if someone I follow on Twitter tells me to read something on a blog, I will! I love the social and political aspects. There are people I don’t see much but I keep up with them on Twitter. And as a writer, I feel like there’s a voice that I didn’t know I had using Twitter. There’s a real discipline to putting something into 140 characters. I’m trying to actually make a word picture in 140 characters and it’s been really fun for me. It turns out to be a very natural voice for me.

ELAINE: What do you think of Ruth Bourdain getting nominated for a James Beard Award this year for Humor?

RUTH: I think it’s great! I agree with Tony Bourdain! If we can’t have fun with food, what are we gonna have fun with? I hope he/she wins so they’ll have to get up and accept the award!

But I actually think it’s a “he,” and I don’t think it’s any of the people that have been talked about. I think all the theories about who this person is are all wrong.

ELAINE: As a former Bay Area resident, what do you miss about the area?
RUTH: At the moment, if you go to the farmers market in New York there’s not much. In the Bay Area you’re spoiled with fresh produce year round. I really miss that. And there’s an incredible energy with farmers and food producers here. There’s a great artisan food community here that you don’t get anywhere else.

Last week I read a piece by Meghan Daum, an author I love, that spoke to our obsession with technology in a witty, sarcastic way. The content itself was nothing new--nothing you haven't heard before. She spoke about our 'there's an app. for that' culture and our fixation and attachment to our mobile devices. The solution she jokingly came up with: create an app that effectively turns off your mobile device until self-reflection has truly been achieved, giving you an enforced breath of fresh air. Now while I can't guarantee the following publications will do just that, I will say there's something about print. And it delights me to no end that there are still small food publications out there doing their thing in this very difficult, very online media-driven society we now live in. So Happy New Year and get reading ya'll! Let's ring in 2011 by turning a few pages.

Image from 3191 Quarterly

1) Fire and Knives is dubbed "new writing for food lovers." Former Guardian food-blogger Tim Hayward's London-based quarterly gives established and new writers alike an outlet to write about and publish pieces on what they love most: food. And it's often difficult to find long-form stories these days in small print publications, but that's not the case here. You'll find long stories, great photo essays and random but endearing tributes and diatribes touching on a variety of food cultures. The publishers are adamant about not having an online version of the publication, but you can subscribe to the charming, small-sized, matte quarterly and get it in the mail. The old-fashioned way.

2) 3191 Quarterly It's a bit of a stretch to call 3191 Quarterly a "food publication" but I'm putting it here anyway because it's so much about our everyday life and food is so inherently intertwined within that. This publication is from Stephanie and Maria, the gals who bring you the brilliant blog, 3191 Miles Apart. The gist of the blog? Each woman is from Portland (one in Maine, the other in Oregon) and post images and thoughts every Friday "about simple living and our current inspirations". So it's not surprising that in their seasonal quarterly publication, you'll find beautiful photographs and pieces on domestic life, food and drink, travel, hopes/dreams, family, and the everyday minutae that make up our daily lives.

3) Sweet Paul began as a food blog and now they do a quarterly magazine which you can actually view in its entirety online (current Issue). For those of you paper-lovers out there (myself included), you can also buy a print version. Begun by Paul Lowe, New York food and prop stylist, the food photography here is, as expected, stunning and soulful. And the content is rich and inspired: the most recent issue covered everything from unexpected gift wrapping ideas to creating beautiful woven lamp shades or baking homemade treats for your pooch.

4) Anthology Magazine is another stretch in terms of food publications. It's not strictly about food, but I can't not include it. I absolutely must tell you about Anthology if you don't already know about it. They're firm believers that print is not dead and their first quarterly issue entitled "The Slow Life" has actually sold out. So apparently many of you agree. Thank god. The first issue had pieces ranging from an interview with Grace Bonney, creater of Design Sponge to a feature on Outstanding in the Field or a day at home with James and Caitlin Freeman (Blue Bottle founder and pastry-chef wife). From the moment I laid eyes on this publication, I fell in love with it and I'm a firm believer in their future success. We're all in good hands with California-based creators, Meg Mateo Ilasco and Anh-Ming Le. On their website, you can see a preview of the magazine with 16 color pages, but you really need to get your hands on this one.

5) Remedy Quarterly was created in part by blogger Kelly Carambula, of Eat Make Read, out of a admiration for community cookbooks and a love for food stories and unique recipes. It's a hold-in-your-hand publication that looks more like a little vintage cookbook than an innovative new food magazine (of which it is). And I love it for that. Past issues include the theme of Home and Cravings. Pick one up here or subscribe. I can't wait to see what the next one will bring.

Ruth Reichl, editor-in-chief of Gourmet Magazine and former New York Times restaurant critic, joined Forum Tue, Sept. 29, 2009 to discuss her latest cookbook, "Gourmet Today: More than 1,000 All-New Recipes for the Contemporary Kitchen." Reichl has been honored with four James Beard Awards. Her other books include "Not Becoming My Mother: And Other Things She Taught Me Along the Way."

Host: Michael Krasny

Guest: Ruth Reichl, author, editor-in-chief of Gourmet Magazine and former New York Times restaurant critic

More info: About the book "Gourmet Today: More than 1,000 All-New Recipes for the Contemporary Kitchen." at Amazon.com

Explore and buy Ruth Reichl's books on Amazon.com

"Not Becoming My Mother: And Other Things She Taught Me Along the Way." at Amazon.com.
Listen to Ruth Reichl discuss this book on a previous Forum.

Follow Ruth Reichl on Twitter @ruthreichl
Follow Gourmet on Twitter @gourmet
Gourmet.com website