There’s a reason indie food magazines are having their moment in the sun. These mags are full of in-depth storytelling, highlighting the ways food interacts with culture, community, art, and economics. Many magazines dive deep into expressions of food that touch fermentation, looking at the different ways that ferments have played into human history and tradition around the globe. These food magazines aren’t tied to corporate sponsorships or PR. They’re focused on telling the stories that don’t get a lot of air-time, leaning into underrepresented regions and showing us the intricacies of how diverse cultures interact with food and bev, and how their traditions are passed on to us. This is important (and fun!) work that inspires, and we can’t get enough of the creativity that abounds from these indie writers, artists, and storytellers. If you’re looking for inspiration, check out some of our fave mags:
Fare
This beautiful print mag focuses each issue on thorough reporting on a single city, with issues covering Lima, Kyoto, Budapest, Lisbon, Kampala, and many more. Each issue is meticulously put together, with stunning photos and illustrations. Contributors bring in stories revealing the historic origins of cultural foods, how they were prepared, and how tradition connects to modernity with representations of today’s restaurants, cafes, and gathering spaces the city offers. Interviews with local tastemakers and elders highlight the sense of connection the city shares, and how different views on food make up the cultural richness the city offers. In the Kyoto issue, writers describe foragers on their morning adventures, customs around kyogashi (traditional Japanese sweets), Kyoto’s punk counterculture, walk-throughs on an organic farm, and so much more. Fare is a magazine that digs deep—a perfect way to engage with far-away cities and consider connections you didn’t know you already had.
Finger Food Magazine
Finger Food Magazine sits in the space between cooking and craft. The magazine’s pages are full of personal stories around food and drink, poems reflecting food’s connection with the natural world, photography and illustration, and craft projects using yarn, collage, paper, and more. Recipes fit neatly with descriptions of cabbage rolls and how they relate to an author’s experience with war. Considerations of food’s relationship with sensuality share space with best practices for foraging. This intensely personal magazine challenges you to consider how your own relationship with food reflects your upbringing and the ways you move through the world.
Food& Spectacle
This beautiful print mag focuses each issue on thorough reporting on a single city, with issues covering Kyoto, Budapest, Lisbon, Kampala, and many more. Each issue is meticulously put together, with stunning photos and illustrations. Contributors bring in stories revealing the historic origins of cultural foods, how they were prepared, and how tradition connects to modernity with representations of today’s restaurants, cafes, and gathering spaces the city offers. Interviews with local tastemakers and elders highlight the sense of connection the city shares, and how different views on food make up the cultural richness the city offers. In the Kyoto issue, writers describe foragers on their morning adventures, customs around kyogashi (traditional Japanese sweets), Kyoto’s punk counterculture, walk-throughs on an organic farm, and so much more. Fare is a magazine that digs deep—a perfect way to engage with far-away cities and consider connections you didn’t know you already had.
Rasa
From the Whetstone team, Rasa’s first issue focuses on South Asia’s deep connection to food. Thought provoking stories and photographs uncover the connections of Indian, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi, and Nepalese food traditions to the cultural practices of today’s modern South Asian citizens. This issue dives into the emotional aspects of food, why and how certain foods are loved, and how they relate to folks’ everyday lives. From anchovies’ hold on Nepalese cooking to the availability of milk powder in Sri Lanka’s political upheaval, Rasa connects the reader to a region with incredible food diversity and soul.
Pick up an indie food mag next time you’re looking for inspiration for yourself or a friend. You’ll support a small business intent on making an impact around how we think of and connect to food. Bon appetit!
