Hot off the Grill

For Immediate Release

August 16, 2005

Hot off the Grill

Respected wine writer and self-confessed ‘foodie” Keith Stewart is to put the country’s creative food and beverage industry under the “Grill” in a new magazine and web site for the hospitality sector, starting in October.

The new title “Grill” will be written specifically for those in the hospitality and restaurant industry.

Stewart says the magazine is about hospitality industry people, food, wine, and all the elements that go into making a successful restaurant a successful business. “It is particularly about the people in the industry – who they are, how and why they do things, what makes them and their businesses so successful and what they think will ensure their ongoing success,” he says.

The magazine already has the support of the New Zealand Restaurant Association and some major industry suppliers. The six issues a year glossy professional magazine will have an initial circulation of more than 6000 copies – going into every major restaurant in the country, says Stewart.

Stewart will write for and edit the magazine, which will be published by specialist business-to-business publisher, Profile Publishing. He says that with many consumer magazines targeting the foodies market, the expertise of Profile will help make “Grill” stand out from the clutter.

“There isn’t anyone publishing a quality professional industry magazine and that’s something Profile is very good at. This magazine, like Profile’s other titles including Management, Marketing AdMedia, and The New Zealand Dairy Exporter, is all about helping professionals do their job better,” he says.

“Grill is all about running a thoroughly professional food business in New Zealand. Our restaurant industry is up there with the best in the world and we want to create a magazine that reflects this reality,” says Stewart.

The name Grill has been deliberately chosen to convey the sense of focus on quality that underpins our restaurant culture, says Stewart.

“The grill, or at least the fire, has been the most common form of food preparation in this country since people started arriving here. The grill is at the heart of the best New Zealand kitchens, and fits with the way New Zealand has adapted its restaurant culture – which is essentially relaxed but focused on high quality ingredients.

“The word also lends itself to the way in which we plan to cover the sector – putting people and processes under or even on the grill now and then is in large measure how we plan to deliver the best advice possible to our readers and the industry in general.”

The first issue of Grill will be published in mid October, in time to coincide with the launch of Stewart’s new book on the classification of New Zealand wines.

Annette Daly has been appointed Grill’s advertising manager and the publisher expects the first issue to be a healthy 80 plus pager.

ENDS

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