At a time when magazine publishing seems to be in an ever-faster downward spiral, food magazine Lucky Peach has firmly placed itself on US news-stands: defiantly ignoring the ‘rules’ other publications have long abided by…

First of all, the mag is completely devoid of advertising. Secondly, whilst many magazines are abandoning the printing press to go digital, Lucky Peach is going in the opposite direction: It started life as an iPad rag, an interactive series of videos and other digital magic designed for tablet devices. Further discussions deemed a quarterly glossy necessary, and the result is a superbly written, and graphically gorgeous publication; the writing accessible, and absent of clique geekiness too often lurking behind the pages of special interest magazines.

The man behind the publication is David Chang - super chef of New York’s Momufuku restaurants. Lucky Peach is the English translation of the restaurant name, and each issue is set to focus on a different food topic.

However the real secret behind the mag, is that it does things so much differently than any of its predecessors: It recognises that all types of people (not just twee housewives trapped in the 1950s) enjoy the craft and creation of food. The magazine’s design and contents reflect this: whilst visually gorgeous, this magazine is all about the food, not how it suits your home decor.

http://www.mcsweeneys.net/luckypeach