Wilson: targeting 25 to 55 year olds, Delicious: 80 per cent original
The cover and launch date of the UK edition of Australian food magazine Delicious were revealed this week.
The debut title from new publishing company Seven Publishing will hit UK news-stands on 5 November – two weeks ahead of an anticipated rival from BBC Worldwide, known as Project Olive.
Delicious is expected to be the first monthly magazine to launch in the food sector since BBC Good Food in 1989 and top celebrity chefs Jamie Oliver, Rick Stein and Nigella Lawson have come on board for the first issue.
Targeted at 25 to 55-year-old food lovers, it will have an emphasis on simple, easy to cook meals and the first issue includes a 16-page feature by Oliver.
Seven Publishing is hoping to recreate the success of Delicious in Australia, where it is the biggest-selling glossy food title with sales of around 100,000. The UK version is expected to have the same high standards in photography, contemporary design and writing.
Editor Mitzie Wilson said she had tried to move away from traditional casseroles to “assembly” food. “I think food is much fresher and simpler now. It’s more about a bag of salad leaves and a chicken breast that you can put together in less than 20 minutes. If I’d do it as a working mum, it’ll go in,” she said. “It is not so much aimed at people cooking for their families, but people cooking for themselves.”
Although the UK edition will take some inspiration from its Australian counterpart, the content will be 80 per cent original. “There will be a lot more features on the British food scene generally and serious features on food issues,” Wilson added.
She played down the BBC’s launch, which is led by BBC Good Food editor Orlando Murrin. “They are possibly aiming at a younger audience than ours, with more restaurant and travel features. We’re not interested in food abroad. There is far too much in this country,” she said.
It is understood that BBC Worldwide also pitched for the contract to launch Delicious and chose to go ahead with Project Olive when it was awarded to Seven. The launch has been a particular irritation, say BBC insiders, given that many staff on Delicious are former BBC employees.
Wilson is a former editor of BBC Good Food and worked for the BBC for 13 years before leaving to join Delicious. Seven managing director Seamus Geoghegan was formerly director of lifestyle at BBC Worldwide.
Gillian Rhys, ex-associate editor on BBC’s Eve magazine, is features editor and Kobi van den Akker, ex-Eve, is art director. Matthew Drennan, freelance food writer and former editor of the Ready, Steady, Cook partwork, is on board as food editor. Mike Potter, founder of Redwood Publishing, is executive chairman and Jo Sandilands, former editor of Woman magazine, is editorial director.
Delicious will launch with a print run of 250,000 and a cover price of £2.
By Ruth Addicott
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