Remembering Lucky Peach, the foodies most beloved magazine ever

25 May / 2018 / Scanner /

Lucky Peach, the six-year-old indie food media outfit from writer Peter Meehan and restaurant mogul and Momofuku founder Dave Chang is sadly a thing of the past.

First envisioned as an iPad app, a “deconstructed, non-linear television show,” from Chang, Meehan, and the producers Zero Point Zero with a companion quarterly print journal published by McSweeney’s Lucky Peach released it’s first issue on June 22, 2011 –the magazine is still selling for over $100 on eBay and $85 on Amazon reports Eater.

“Consisting of longform articles, essays, interviews, recipes, and illustrations, each issue tackled a new theme, from ramen (issue one) to breakfast (issue 17), gender (issue eight), the seashore (issue 12), and Los Angeles (issue 21). The publication which became known for its bold graphic design and creative take on food the Lucky Peach team split from McSweeney’s in 2013, launched a website in 2015, and branched out into a line of cookbooks, including the uber-popular 101 Easy Asian Recipes and, most recently, a vegetable book, a sausage book, and the upcoming egg book.

The magazine won nine James Beard awards –including Publication of the Year in 2016- and a National Magazine Award for General Excellence.

Peter Meehan confirmed Lucky Peach’s imminent shutter in a blog post last March. “I think it’s important for you to know that Lucky Peach loves you and REALLY values the time you’ve spent together” wrote Meehan. “Once it gets over its own internal grieving process, maybe it’ll even be able to manage an adult press release” he added.

“The finale for Lucky Peach comes in the form of a double-issue: a 210-page celebration of Lucky Peach’s six year run featuring a selection of its best interviews, guides and recipes” reports It’s Nice That. As well as featuring Lucky Peach’s best articles, recipes and art from the last 24 issues, the final instalment does include a few new things which are ready to be served. A proper tribute to one of the industry’s most beloved publication that we wish we could feast on forever.