Global Pastry Magazines-Would like feedback

[Joe Marcionette]

Greetings Pastry Professionals,

My name is Joe Marcionette and I publish Pastry Art & Design Asia Pacific in Singapore and we are a licensee of Pastry Art & Design from New York.

At the moment, we are working to launch a new service called ChefMags.com which will aggregate professional pastry and savory magazines from around the world. On ChefMags.com, a chef will be able to log in and purchase a digital edition of a magazine and download the magazine to your pc. For an example of a digital magazine, please feel free to visit ChefMags.com and click on the glowing icon at the bottom of the home page. Actually, our example is our current issue of PAD AP and you will need Flash Player in order to view the magazine.

What I am looking for is feedback from culinary professionals as to your interest in reading magazines from other countries. At present, we are in negotiations with PCG from Japan, Thuries from France, SweetArt from Germany and Pasticceria Internazionale from Italy. Yes, the magazines will be in their original language but the recipes and photos can be inspirational. Also, the price, approximately US $3.50 per copy is much more affordable than subscribing for the print edition.

If anyone of you have any comments or feedback to this venture please let me know. It would be greatly appreciated.
Regards,
Joe Marcionette

[panini]

Joe,
This sounds like a good idea.
My feedback:
Are you speaking of putting the whole magazine up?
As you may know there is quite a time gap an inconsistancy with getting pub.s here is the US. My only thought would be that I would definately want the option of getting multiple or yearly magazines. This is easier for hectic schedules and is easier to track for expenses.
You're really going to give me Thuriers for 3.50 a copy? Where do I sign? For myself I would probably go for a bundled annual price for all offered as long as there is some system in place to notify me that a mag. is ready for review.
The one thing I would miss is having the magazines for reference. I use mine a lot now. Would there be anyway to be able to have these downloadable, or available for sale. I would'nt think extra funds would be a problem. I'm typing and looking up at, just Thuries, and thinking, it would be nice to have that on CD. They take up a lot of space.
Anyway, just my thoughts.
Panini

[Joe Marcionette]

Hello Panini,

Actually, if you visit ChefMags.com and click on the current issue of PAD AP, once you open and view in NxtBook format, in the toolbar, there is an icon "Save" and you can save the magazine to your PC as an .exe file. This will allow you to store the file (magazine) and reference anytime you like for as long as you like. You can never tear, rip or stain with chocolate!

Chefmags.com will allow the users to preview the Table of Contents of each magazine and decide then upon whether to purchase. Once purchased, the user will be able to download and store on the computer. The file sizes are approxiamately 17 MG which is not exactly small so having broadband is best.

Yes, US $3.50 a copy and each publication will be available as soon as it is published. No 2-3 month wait and far more economical.

Let me know if you were able to view the Pastry Art & Design Asia Pacific issue currently available on Chefmags.com

[cakerookie]

Is the site down? Did not come up when I went to it.I would like to see this myself. Thanks.

[MoreInk]

I just downloaded the mag, so you might try again cakerookie. The negative is if you don't have broadband or higher it may take a looooong time to download--the pastry mag up there now was over 20 mb I think. I usually like to have a copy to flip through and read, and was expecting it to be a .pdf static file of some sort. But I was pleasantly surprised to find that the pages could be easily turned book fashion, and the features page with contents and page numbers were all hyperlinked and you could just go to an article directly. Any particular page can be printed to take to the shop with you if nesc. Would you only be able to see the table of contents page? I wouldn't mind downloading it to purchase, but like at a bookstore, I would like to flip through a few pages before purchasing unless it is a name I'm familiar with.

[momoreg]

Yes, I think I'd go for this. What I do usually is tear out pages I want to save and toss the rest of the magazine. With this I can just delete the rest of the issue when I'm done.This would save a lot of paper in my case.

I couldn't get onto the site either.

[panini]

Joe,
I appologise for the answered questions. I was not able to open the page though. I did try again last night and it was fine.
I have another question, If your site takes off, which I think it will, are there going to be any issues of not being able to log on due to traffic?
I would also like to be able to purchase without giving information through avenues like paypal,emoney,firepay,etc.
Is P$N public and traded
Joe, I would be in and I know a couple of peers that would also be in.
Panini

Momo, the thought of you tearing a page of Thuries drew blood on my Chefs coat

[Joe Marcionette]

Panini,
Traffic will not be a problem as we are going to host the system with a global mirror server farm: multiple server points across the globe that route traffic in the most efficient path. Right now it is sitting on my company's server which can be slow.

Payment will be transacted via Paypal and/or credit card.

The one thing I am still trying to get my head around is the level of interest by chefs of what is happening around the world. For instance, since I live and work in Asia (where traditional "European" pastry is starting to gain popularity) there is a tremendous interest in what chefs are doing in the States and in Europe. But, are US chefs (pastry)interested in what the Italians, French, Japanese etc are creating? I would think so because of the continual search for inspiration but I am curious to see what the readers of this thread think? And most importantly, would they pay US $3.50 for a magazine from Japan that has incredible photography of pasty but written in Japanese?

Thanks again.
Joe

[momoreg]

Any chance you'd be interested in featuring the Australian wedding cake mags? Those are quite costly here, and I'd buy every issue if you had them online.

Pan, not to worry-- I'm talking about tearing out recipes and pics from PA&D, Food Arts, Gourmet. I just can't save every magazine I read.

[panini]

Joe,
I understand the concern about language and translation. Not only is Ives one of my so-called mentors but I also read French. I have to believe that a majority of insperation is visual when it comes to publications. It is also, not that difficult to get something translated. The industry has drifted a little from the strick classical terminology. A visual insperation can be recreated with any items to achieve the look.
I know you're gearing this towards chefs, but if you spend anytime on this board you will find that there is an amazing amount of interest from the foodies, at home,beginning in the industry, etc. We have many at home chefs participating in pulling and pouring sugar and things of that nature.
I sometimes find myself without time to try and search what is going on outside the US. I'm not aware of any one place to go to get global information, except competitions reviews.
I think it's going to be important where to focus your exposure and links. It might be necessary to have contacts here. I know that our local Chef's Association always has a session for vendors which would be a good avenue of exposure.
I've been a bakery owner for sometime now, and kinda know what you're up against. It's always going to be hard to estimate the reward VS risk.
I wish you luck in getting much feedback to help your decision.
Panini

[foodpump]

Nuts and bolts here. What infuriates me with some US pastry mags and many US cooking mags is that the recipies are given in volume. I think every professional baker around the world uses some form of scales and doesn't have the time to convert recipies.

Other than that, just hope not to see any glossy adds for luxury cars....

[Nicholas]

Hi Joe!

1) Though I would prefer a hard copy, that I can carry around with me, since I spend most of my time reading while traveling or out of home, I think it's great that international magazines will be made available online to view on the computer.

2) Even though they will be in their original language, I suppose pictures will be great, for ideas and inspiration. Though it'll be awesome to read and understand what's happening around the world.

Best wishes with this venture. I'm sure it'll be a hit.

[chrose]

My personal thoughts only as opposed to suggestions. I love magazines from other countries. You get to see what the rest of the world is doing and is a great training and reference tool. I have learned a lot from foreign magazines that it's possible I would never have learned otherwise. I myself prefer hard copy as I hate to sit at a PC and read anything more than a page. Also if I choose to print something that can get costly too. The online cost of $3.50 sounds reasonable enough, especially if I can download it to a cd, but still I prefer paper.
One of my all tme favorite magazines was Konditerei und Cafe from Germany. The mag was in German, but the recipe and technique pullouts were in German, English & French which was nice for me.

[Joe Marcionette]

Hey Nicholas and everyone
Thanks for the feedback so far. I too prefer the printed magazine but for reference material (like culinary magazines) I do see the benefit in having the digital edition residing on your PC. Yes, the files can be burned to disc and in keeping the costs low when compared to the printed version, we hope to encourage global participation.

The magazine I am most excited about is PCG from Japan. As a publisher I can tell you their photography is extraordinary and the quality of pastry and cakes being produced in Japan is without equal. No offense to the French but the Japanese took the art form to the next level. Jury is still out on the taste but don't be surprised to see the Japanese do very well at this summers World Pastry Team Championships.

[lamington]

I think there is absolutely heaps of potential in this. All international mags can be horrendously expensive here in Australia and I'm sure chefs, foodwriters and foodies alike would be interested. If possible, don't limit yourself to the chef-oriented mags, as some of the high-class foodmags of broader interest would probably sell well.