James Oseland: Q&A with the Saveur Editor-in-Chief

James Oseland's career at Saveur started with a crab cake.

But not just any crab cake.  It was a Maryland crab cake—a Maryland crab cake in Baltimore, to be precise, formed of local jumbo-lump crabmeat by the hands of a Charm City chef.  James's parents grew up in Baltimore.  A love of crab cakes was his birthright. 

He sent a letter to the editors of Saveur with a few one-sentence pitches, including one about that famous Maryland dish.  James's editors sensed there was a Saveur story behind that crab cake; two days later, they sent him to Baltimore to write his first full feature for the magazine.

This is what Saveur has always done best, telling the deeply personal story behind every meal.  "It's more than a food magazine.  We're almost an anthropology magazine," says James, who has been Editor-in-Chief since 2006.  "We tell the story of the great and glorious potential of the human spirit through food."

That philosophy continues to resonate with readers and peers alike.  This year, Saveur won a National Magazine Award in the Single-Topic Issue category for its October 2008 issue, A World of Breakfast.  It was their 18th nomination and fourth win—an amazing feat for a 15-year-old magazine that comes out nine times a year.  "That was a real pinch-me, I-can't-tell-if-this-is-real-or-not kind of pleasure, and an affirmation of the sincerity and intelligence that the staff puts towards creating this magazine."

But 2009 has also been a record-breaking year on the business side.  As other magazines in their category have watched ad revenue bleed away, Saveur has grabbed market share.  Their June/July issue had 22% more ads than last year's, and their August/September 2009 issue increased ad pages by 9.5% over last year.  Both issues were the biggest in Saveur's 15-year history. 

James speculates that other major American food magazines have tried to change their editorial focus during the economic downturn, chasing budget eating trends.   "We didn't do that.  We didn't feel any need to do that," says James.  "A lot of the choices we make editorially are not driven by what's the best business choice or the most commercial thing we can do, but instead are ultimately driven by what interests us as a staff.  I think that very simple equation translates not only to the readers but also to the advertisers."

James is also getting noticed for his turn as a judge on Top Chef Masters, Bravo's tournament-style competition which pits 24 big-name chefs against one another for the chance to win $100,000 for charity.  "I was at this very off the beaten path Taiwanese restaurant in Elmhurst, Queens, got recognized there and thought, wow!  The power of TV is pretty serious," he laughs.

James's favorite places to eat in New York right now: 

Excellent Pork Chop House, 3 Doyers St.: "I'm strangely obsessed with Taiwanese food right now.  My favorite thing, I don't even know what it's called, is a large bowl of rice with braised minced pork with pickled mustard greens on top.  I absolutely adore that.  I get a side dish of either the cold cucumber with garlic or the blanched Taiwanese greens.  That, for me, is complete heaven."

Resto, 111 E. 29th St.:  "They have this dish at lunch - spaghetti with, I believe, gruyere cheese and this wonderful ham-like bacon, topped with a perfectly fried egg.  It's very, very good."

Han Ah Reum Supermarket, 25 W. 32nd St.: "Every morning at about 11am, they put out these insanely inexpensive lunchboxes."

Gramercy Tavern, 42 E. 20th St., Gramercy: "I'm a great fan."

Marlow & Sons, 81 Broadway, Brooklyn: "They have some splendid offerings, especially in the evening."