Fall In Love With Bon Appetit’s Newest Drop, The Relationships Issue

While the rest of the food world is waxing lyrical about ripe tomatoes and summer succotash, leave it to trendsetting Bon Appétit’s new Editor-In-Chief Jamila Robinson to pivot. “We have all come into food from the joy it brings us so how do we tap back into the way our audiences love food?” Robinson asks. “If food is an act of love and connection, how do we create content that will speak to those audiences? We’re doing late summer produce but we’re looking at what our relationship is to late summer produce and then building recipes that speak to that.”

BA’s September issue is the first it’s kind for Robinson’s team called “The Relationships Issue.” Articles feature a variety of perspectives including heartwarming and personal editorials, approachable recipes, good-enough-to-eat images and, of course, lots of love.

“I think of food as the artform we all participate in. We think about feeding someone; it’s this elemental act of love. It’s the first thing that we do, something that we do multiple times a day. It connects us in these really beautiful ways whether that’s the restaurant you go to on the first date, the thing you cook that makes you feel comforted.” Says Robinson, referring to one article in particular where mention of divorce does come through. “I love one story in the relationships issue that is called ‘The Divorce Salad.’ It’s about how the writer got back to herself after her relationship ended.”

Robinson is of course referring to referring the “Divorce Salad” where writer Emily Farris, a newly divorced woman, reconnects to herself through the act of caring for -herself- by creating a salad that perfectly suits her needs. A simple marinated balsamic bean salad becomes a grounding moment in the day for an individual reconsidering her context in the world. “Relationships are elemental to what we do and everyone has a relationship with food.” Says Robinson. “A big part of our strategy is thinking about how food intersects with all parts of our lives whether that be sports or music or art.”

Another section called “Say It With Dinner” is all about the dishes we cook for the people we love. Everything from first dates to engagements or even “love letter” recipes that strengthen connection. “We know that a lot of millennials and Gen Z’s are feeling this way. Here’s how you can bring people together.” Robinson explains. “It’s almost a cliche. You know ‘food brings people together’ but it does. There’s a lot of social science research and we wanted to take that into consideration.”

While the temps are still soaring, fall is just around the corner and Jamila Robinson has started the way she means to continue. “I’m really excited about this issue.” She says. “It shows the kind of future that Bon Appetit and Epicurious are looking towards with how people are looking at food. We want to anticipate what they’re doing. We want to acknowledge how they’re spending their time and include food in those moments.”

How does that fit into the larger movement in food journalism?

“The broader philosophy at Bon Appétit and Epicurious is that food is for everyone.” Robinson explains. “We all have those memories of making something with a grandparent, sister, aunt friend and we can tap into that joy. You know we can roll dough together. These techniques aren’t an arduous thing. That’s how you build flavor. There’s nothing wrong with convenience foods, I grew up on them. If we start thinking about food as a way to make people happy and bring joy, even if we’re critical then the criticism is a way to build community.”