Celebrating a Momentous Year for Bon Appétit
Photograph by Elliott Jerome Brown Jr.
I relish the period of reflection that comes after the holiday parties and before the new year.
It’s filled with best-of lists, from everything we ate, our favorite trips, and the recipes we tried. As the covers of Bon Appétit filled my office over the past year, a collage of stories, stunning photography, transportive dining experiences, and new recipes emerged: a mood board of food culture worthy of a toast.
Our team has accomplished so much this year, including snagging a James Beard Award for our video series Street Eats, and a triumphant celebration of 2024’s Best New Restaurants in Portland, Oregon. As I scrolled through Instagram drafts from meals that never made it onto my feed, and hearted moments for my 2024 highlight reel, I found picking my favorite covers a much easier task.
The March issue, my first, remains at the top of my list. That hot dog with accoutrement springs from its royal blue background—the best beauty shot from Taste of the Town, the feature where we visit a city and sample the most iconic local cuisine. That image illustrates my perspective that restaurant coverage should capture the entire landscape—whether it’s snack food in Chicago or haute cuisine in Copenhagen. That same spirit is represented in our May Drinks issue. For the first time in more than 50 years we devoted an entire issue to beverages. It gave us a chance to restock our bar carts, included everything from coffee to soju, and showcased how vodka plays in the kitchen. We also highlighted nonalcoholic cocktails, proving that bars are serving more than alcohol.
Those reflections show our team is constantly adapting our cooking and dining to mirror how our readers experience food in the world.
My two other favorite issues were explorations of the ways food shapes society. Our Relationships issue focused on how food creates connection, while our Sports issue celebrated everything from the dishes that promote health to the ones that are best for a tailgate. Both were triumphs of home cooking, and shared guides for using food as a through line for other parts of life.
That leads me to our 2024 holiday issue theme, Sparkle and Cheer, which fills the pages with clever takes on celebrations. Our gift guide was created for the food obsessive. We’ll show you how to bling out savory dishes with edible glitter. And toasts go to Jesse Szewczyk, whose delightful slate of cookies will become instant classics. We’ll know exactly which bottles to open thanks to Sam Stone’s guide to Champagne and other bubbles.
I’m grateful to everyone who has picked up this magazine, made a recipe from the Epicurious app, or watched a video. Here’s to all the dishes we hope to see on your TikTok feed.
My Favorite New Recipes
I’ve added this recipe from the March issue to my arsenal of allergen-friendly baked goods. It’s as delicious as it is celebratory and makes for a great dessert option for friends and family with dietary restrictions.
I cook this easy recipe when I come across fresh flounder in the market, and make use of Burlap & Barrel’s Zanzibar Black Peppercorns.
Onion gratinée is one of my favorite soups to make, and this simple one-pot dish gives that familiar flavor profile to shells and can be made after work. I prefer to scale it down to 1–2 servings.
Originally Appeared on Bon Appétit
