Behind the Scenes: Savory S'more Cover

by AJ Dronkers, EdibleDC Associate Publisher

Some people called us crazy for starting EdibleDC Magazine a little over a year and half ago. As we ran the idea past friends and mentors, hearing "isn't print dead?" wasn't uncommon. Despite the fear we took the entrepreneurial plunge backed by our award winning Edible Community. Releasing each issue is like dropping your kids off at the first day of school, you question all your decisions from editorial to design. The good news, after a year and a half with lots of bumps and bruises we are thriving.

The DC community has embraced our vision of promoting our local farmers, artisans, chefs and we've built a family among the creative community of writers, photographers, stylist, and designers. One of our greatest pleasures is hearing your feedback especially when we release the new cover. The recent Fall Savory S'more cover generated some of the most commentary and feedback to date - so we decided to share a little more of the back story and vision from the collective team.

The Chef Matthew Ramsey

It was one hot summer and as Team Edible gathered to discuss fall content and imagery, we thought about how great grilling will be during the long, sweet mid-Atlantic fall. As Sam Adkins developed a delicious grill menu highlighted by September and October produce and a fresh look at seasonings, it led us to a waxing nostalgic about s’mores . Of course, we decided it couldn’t be just any s’more and we tapped into the idea of a fantasy s’more.

No one is better at food fantasies than Mathew Ramsey, who we profiled last fall with his caramel apple burger. We threw down the challenge, and it only took him a few hours to respond—“I’ve got it.” And so he did.

A pan-fried flank steak with home made mole sauce, a homemade cheesy marshmallow and a homemade cracker. Mathew is an accomplished chef and photographer. What he assembled is not for the faint of heart home chef, but we can assure it was delicious. You can see more of Ramsey’s photography and food fantasies at pornburger.me and there is a book of his work on the horizon, due out next spring by ECCO Publishing.

The Illustration Guru: Gavin Sullivan

"My inspiration for the fall cover was a combination between vintage sign painting and an object diagram. Playful yet bold I wanted it to taste, feel and smell like autumn while pointing out the savory layers of the tasty s'more by Matt Ramsey." - Gavin