Ruth Reichl looks back on her time at Gourmet and the golden age of magazines

Ruth Reichl is a giant in the world of food writing. Her new book, Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir, chronicles her 10-year tenure as the editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine.

Gourmet had been around since the '40s, but shuttered in 2009 right as advertisers began tightening their belts during the recession. Ten years before that, it was a different story: money was flowing. When Reichl signed on to the magazine in 1999, she was offered a personal driver, a clothing allowance, and a private dining room in her office, complete with its own bathroom.

Reichl brought a new perspective to the magazine that turned food writing on its head. She joined q's Tom Power to explain how being an outsider and a novice in the world of food writing was the key to reinvigorating and revamping Gourmet.

— Produced by ​Diane Eros