The Christmas issue is its largest selling of the year and is always keenly anticipated by food fans, say the publishers. This year’s cover features a sparkly gingerbread house with a difference. Readers can download the free Aurasma app onto their device, then scan pages of the magazine to reveal a special Christmas message and practical tutorial videos from the Good Food team. These include how to carve a turkey and how to prepare citrus fruits for seasonal recipes. Readers can then pause the augmented videos, making it a really practical cooking aid.
The printed magazine cover is the most elaborate and innovative in the title’s 23 year history. It features a number of decorative finishes, produced by Celloglas, including a gold foil masthead and a first for the title – screen-applied copper glitter varnish. The result is an impressive and dramatic cover with fantastic stand-out on the news stand.
The magazine pages are packed with new recipes for every occasion over the holiday season, whether you’re cooking traditional family meals or trying something new this year. There are stunning and stylish ideas for decorating cakes, and modern food for friends, plus suggestions for simple ways to transform leftovers into delicious dishes, from Christmas burgers to tasty salads.
According to Gillian Carter, editor, Good Food: “Good Food is a practical brand, so we use technology not for gimmicks, but to help deliver up-to-date and expert cooking advice, such as our videos. Aurasma is helping us deliver great added value to readers with smart phones and tablets. On top of that we have invested in the beautifully finished print version that is sure to stand out on the newsstand.”
Matt Mills, Head of Partnerships at Aurasma said: “The BBC’s Good Food magazine has been a big part of many people’s Christmas preparations for the last 23 years. We are delighted that the magazine is now adding an extra ingredient - Aurasma - to help readers serve up delicious BBC Good Food recipes quickly and easily. It’s brilliant to see this glittering Christmas edition of the magazine come to life with interactive video guides – the perfect cooking aid in the kitchen.”
Koli Pickersgill, Group Production Manager at Immediate Media said, “We take great pride in our Christmas front covers on BBC Good Food and it was exciting to pass each stage first on press at Polestar Chantry, then at the Celloglas Leicester site, watching the cover impact build up as each finish was applied. The resulting front cover is first class and proved an innovative way of using the glitter varnish on the gingerbread house.”
Avril Jenkins, Customer Services Director at Polestar Chantry, said, “Every year BBC Good Food raises the bar for us to produce the most outstanding Christmas issue possible. It was a real challenge and great fun to work in conjunction with Celloglas to turn their team’s creative ideas into this final spectacular reality!”
Steve Middleton, Sales Director of Celloglas commented, “Christmas is a fantastic time to create a special cover. December is an important issue for BBC Good Food and planning for the finishes started in the summer of this year. We had so many options available, but we managed to choose this fantastic combination that creates a festive shelf impact.”
BBC Good Food magazine is on general sale on November 2, priced at £3.70.
