Epicurious
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This article relies on references to primary sources. (December 2006) |
| URL | epicurious.com |
|---|---|
| Commercial? | Yes |
| Type of site | Food writing |
| Registration | Optional |
| Owner | Condé Nast Publications |
| Launched | 1996 |
| Alexa rank |  2,959 (February 2013[update])[1] |
| Current status | Active |
Epicurious is an informational website about food and cookery. The site's features include a recipe database; a message board; interviews with renowned chefs; and articles pertaining to food preparation, hospitality in the home, restaurant dining, and culinary tourism.
Epicurious is owned by Condé Nast Publications, and operated by Condé Nast Digital. The recipes on the site are selected from the repertoires of professional chefs and home cooks, as well as from back issues of Condé Nast's magazines Bon Appétit, Gourmet, and Self.[2]
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Namesake [edit]
The name Epicurious is word play. First, it is a portmanteau of the words epicurean (which describes a seeker of luxuries, especially in food and comfort), and curious. Second, Epicurious is a homophone of Epicureous, which is synonymous with the original meaning of Epicurean; these words describe a devotee of the philosophies of Epicurus (341 BCE – 270 BCE). Whereas epicurean (lowercase) later came to describe those who indulge in sensual pleasure, Epicureous never took on this meaning.
Coincidentally, Epicurious is also a homophone of Epicurius, one of the Greco-Roman epithets for Apollo. In addition, the fictional gourmet magazine Epicurious is used as a plot device featured in the 1978 comedy film Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?.
Television series [edit]
In the late 1990s, Condé Nast contracted Banyan Productions to develop the Epicurious brand into a documentary series that synergized with the website.[3] The Discovery Channel broadcast the series.
Mobile apps [edit]
In April 2009, Condé Nast published an Epicurious mobile app to the iOS App Store.[4] Versions for Android, Windows Phone 7,[5] and iPad followed.
The apps enable users to browse or search for recipes, to save recipes, and to build shopping lists.
In April 2012, Condé Nast bought ZipList, a digital shopping list and recipe service that enables users to save recipes they find online, and to create digital shopping lists from web content. Epicurious was the first Condé Nast website to use ZipList.[6]
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ "Epicurious.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2013-02-01.
- ^ Williams-Sonoma, Epicurious Make Recipe for Online Sales
- ^ "Banyan Takes a New Direction"
- ^ "Epicurious iPhone App Review". AppStruck.
- ^ "Official Epicurious App for Windows Phone". 1800PocketPC.com. 18 August 2010.
- ^ http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/11/conde-nast-acquires-online-recipe-service/?scp=2&sq=epicurious&st=nyt
