Savor: The Food Lovers' Quarterly, Vol. 1, Winter, 1991

This opening issue of the quarterly video magazine Savor offers a wide variety of restaurant reviews, home kitchen ideas, and tips and techniques from such master culinary artists as Julia Child and Jacques Pepin. The crew visits Sooke Harbour House on Canada's Vancouver Island, Atlanta's Patio-by-the-River Restaurant, and travels to Tuscany to observe how extra virgin olive oil is made. Contributing editors' Barbara Kafka offers microwaving hints, Jacques Pepin shows viewers some ways to save time, Marion Cunningham demonstrates the basics of making good coffee, Betsy Oppenneer guides viewers in selecting good flour for baking bread, and Chicago Tribune columnist Bill Rice begins a discussion on wine with suggestions for glassware. In addition, there is a fascinating segment on Thanksgiving at Plymouth, Massachusetts where "good wife Hopkins" roasts a tasty-looking bird on the spit over an open fire, and prepares hasty pudding. Julia Child and Irena Chalmers both offer acerbic commentary on the tendency of nutritionists to steer people away from eating tasty foods to the high-fiber, low-calorie, "no-taste" health foods of choice today. There are quite a few "infomercials" included during the 2-hour program, many of which do provide information while hawking the product. I don't have a problem with commercials as long as they're clearly separated from the editorial content--which these are. On balance, Savor promises to be an excellent video magazine with immense popularity. Highly recommended. (Available from: Video Magazine Publishing, Inc., 150 Shoreline Hwy, Bldg. "E", Mill Valley, CA 94941; 1-800-547-2867.)