Save Me the Plums

Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir is the fifth memoir by best-selling American food writer Ruth Reichl, formerly a restaurant critic at the New York Times and food editor at the Los Angeles Times. The memoir details her years as editor-in-chief of the magazine Gourmet, from its peak as one of the tentpoles of the Condé Nast publishing empire to its shocking closure in 2009. Major themes in the memoir include Changes in American Publishing in the 20th Century, The Bittersweet Nature of Achieving Dreams, and The Connection Between Food, Memory, and Emotion. 

This guide is based on the 2019 Random House e-book edition.

Content Warning: The source material and this guide feature depictions of death and mental illness.

Summary

As a child, Ruth Reichl fell in love with Gourmet magazine’s sensory, adventurous stories of global food. However, when she began her career as a food writer at age 22, she was disappointed to find that the magazine had lost its edge. After two decades as a food writer, Reichl, then a food critic for the New York Times, was approached by James Truman, the editorial director of Condé Nast. Truman offered her the position of editor-in-chief at Gourmet. She rejected the job, but was persuaded to meet with Si Newhouse, owner of Condé Nast. Newhouse’s arrogance and stiff manner annoyed Reichl, but he insisted that she was right for the role and urged her to reconsider.

While reflecting on her childhood with a mother who had bipolar disorder, Reichl realized she was frightened by change and decided to accept the job to challenge herself. After a meeting with the magazine’s publisher, Gina Sanders, Reichl was offered the job with a salary six times higher than that of her position at The New York Times. Although she agreed to give the New York Times three months, the old Gourmet editor was fired immediately, and Reichl was thrust into media interviews and arrangements for her new position, all while juggling her remaining obligations as a restaurant critic. Reichl’s initial meetings with the Gourmet staff revealed her ignorance of the magazine world, and she reached out to editor friends for assistance.

Over the next three months, Reichl transitioned uneasily from the Times to Gourmet. She hired her old friend and assistant, Laurie Ochoa, as executive editor, and poached Larry Karol from Allure to be the new managing editor. Together, the three transformed the staff culture at Gourmet, encouraging writers and junior editors to pitch ideas for the first time. Although thrilled by the energy of the staff, Reichl was annoyed to find that attending meetings with advertisers was also an important part of her job. Reichl was charmed by Condé Nast CEO Steve Florio, despite his bravado and extravagant lies. Florio warned her that Newhouse would not tolerate failure.

After a year of unsatisfying newsstand sales, Reichl hired a new art director, Diana LaGuardia, who encouraged her to stop letting advertisers dictate content. LaGuardia designed a controversial cover featuring a dead fish, which turned out to be a success. Reichl also hired a new travel editor, William “Bill” Sertl, whose connections in the literary world brought new voices to the magazine. When she was invited to Newhouse’s birthday party, Reichl felt she had officially been accepted into the world of Condé Nast. She proposed a special issue on Paris and took the Gourmet staff on a lavish tour of the city’s finest hotels and restaurants. The issue was the best seller in Gourmet’s history. Reichl wished her mother was alive to experience the luxury and success of her new career.

On September 11, 2001, Reichl was in the Times Square offices of Gourmet when terrorists attacked New York City. After ensuring the safety of her staff and agreeing on a plan of action, Reichl reunited with her husband and son in their upstate country house. Shortly after, Reichl returned to Manhattan, where she helped cook food for first responders and personally delivered it to Ground Zero. As New Yorkers struggled to adjust to the new normal, the Gourmet staff hosted a series of after-hours parties to thank chefs and others in the food scene for their efforts in the aftermath of the attacks. Giulio Capua replaced Sanders as publisher of Gourmet.

Reichl was shocked when Ochoa accepted a job as editor-in-chief of LA Weekly. Ochoa suggested John “Doc” Willoughby, the editor of Cook’s Illustrated, as her replacement. Although Willoughby worked well with the Gourmet staff and was willing to publish exciting content, he failed to bring in adequate ad sales. Florio suggested that Willoughby be fired, but Reichl defended him, turning her attention to her own performance. When LaGuardia announced that she, too, was leaving, Reichl panicked. However, she was thrilled with the work of her new hire, art director Richard Ferretti, who came to the magazine despite a pay cut because he loved cooking. Emboldened by this new energy, Reichl authorized the publication of articles by prestigious literary authors like Junot Diaz, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and David Foster Wallace, whose iconic essay “Consider the Lobster” challenged the ethics of eating lobster.

When Florio was named vice chairman of Condé Nast, his replacement, Chuck Townsend, changed the corporate culture, cutting costs across the board. As a result, Truman quit, leaving Reichl feeling abandoned. Reichl was delighted when Newhouse finally granted permission for a dedicated Gourmet website, but soon learned that all recipes must be published on Epicurious, which featured recipes from across Condé Nast’s publications. Though she worried that Gourmet’s website would not be profitable without ads, she began to publish content online that truly excited her. As Reichl was named 2007 Editor of the Year by Adweek, she learned that Gourmet publisher Giulio Capua was being promoted to Architectural Digest, with the former AD editor moving to Gourmet. Reichl took the move as a sign that Gourmet was no longer respected at Condé Nast.

As the United States moved into a recession, ad sales at Gourmet dropped dramatically, and Reichl worried the fate of the magazine was at stake. She attempted to boost her public image to raise the profile of the magazine, but the efforts took her away from her editorial duties, and she fell out of love with her work. Reichl proposed a Paris-on-a-budget special edition issue to reflect the ongoing recession. She researched the issue personally, staying in budget hotels and finding affordable meals for readers. The trip reminded her of the emotional aspect of food and travel.

In 2009, despite rising ad sales, Reichl and the Gourmet staff were summoned to a meeting where Newhouse announced that the magazine would be closing. The current issue was cancelled, and staff had two days to empty their offices. Newhouse offered no explanation. Although Reichl struggled to adjust to life after Gourmet, she was relieved when her other colleagues got jobs, and she eventually began writing fiction. When Capua’s mother died, he offered Reichl her collection of hundreds of Gourmet magazines. As Reichl recreated an old recipe, adapting it to suit her family’s taste, she wished her parents could have shared in the long and satisfying journey of her career.