SXSWORLD

SXSW.COM | F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0 | SXS W O R L D 1 9 sure, we are goofballs and like to have impromptu cream-whipping competitions, and Brad likes to make me try his fermenting experiments that will almost certainly kill me one day … but still." Most of Bon Appétit's video "stars" still have their day jobs. During nearly every Test Kitchen video, there's also actual cooking and recipe-testing for the print publication and website going on. Morocco, whose official title is Deputy Food Editor, says he spends maybe 20% of his time on the videos. Associate Editor Christina Chaey says, "Most of my day is spent at my desk editing text, reading story proofs, and meeting with the art and photo teams." Such is the new media universe, where the videos, the web, social media, merchandise, and events are all on equal footing with the flagship magazine. "Business- wise, what began as a sliver of the pie — video, and our YouTube channel, in particular — is now a major chunk of it," says Rapaport. But magazine subscrip- tions are also up, with record-setting numbers coming in the wake of Bon Appétit's traditional November/ Thanksgiving cover, which, instead of offering the usual sexy turkey shot, did eight different sexy turkey shots with eight different test kitchen personalities featured. "At the end of the day, the entire brand needs to be strong, and each platform needs to propel and feed each other," says Rapaport. "And that's where Bon Appétit is in 2020." "Hot Takes from the Bon Appétit Test Kitchen" will be a Featured Session in the Connection & Culture Track at SXSW 2020. See schedule.sxsw.com for more information. Chris Morocco. Photo by Alex Lau Chris Morocco. Photo by Alex Lau "I'm not sure that people fully understand that not a single one of us is a trained actor."

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