!~*Vikas Khanna Official Appreciation Thread*~! - Page 5

Hot on the heels of the BBC Good Food Asia edition comes the India edition. Billed as the UK's best selling Food magazine it is a welcome addition to the present range of food magazines in India.

As a long standing fan of the original, with its beautiful unfussy photographs and an easy to follow  format for recipes I am especially pleased . Several years ago my only access to the magazine was through the good auspices of the British Council .

That august institution has sadly lost its way from the path of popularising British culture through distributing books on art, architecture, fiction, gardening  and science among the information hungry Indian populace. Now it seems to cater only to students of engineering, medicine and information technology, that too  at a hefty price,  and its only intent- to sell an overpriced British higher education  to all comers,  with little responsibility to its buyers in India. But that is another story.

Suffice it to say I am no longer a member of the British Council but slowly began following BBC's Good Food online. Some of my best recipes have come from there.

The Indian edition is published by Bennett Coleman  and Co.( who own Times of India)  They have bought BBC Worldwide . Whether this will reflect in the quality of the eventual publication has to be seen. Many Indian food magazines are very aspirational, reflecting lifestyles of the rich and famous and a handful of "Famous Foodies" and not much in the way of good solid recipes...publishing, in fact , quite questionable ones.

The original GOOD FOOD Magazine always has several tried and tested recipes, and is a dependable guide. The Indian edition promises a section for Vegetarians, the inevitable Eat Out section and more articles relevant to an Indian readership. The Times of India says that seventy percent of the content will be generated here with the rest syndicated from the UK. Does that mean the original magazine? Lets hope so.

Lets also hope it doesn't become just another vehicle for advertising without any regard for content, which is what most magazines seem to be today.