Reader’s Digest is moving content from a popular online website to print with the launch of its new food section, Open Kitchen. The section, compiled by magazine food editor Valerie Howes will include user submitted recipes from company-owned Allrecipes.ca.



Each issue the revamped food section will showcase information on kitchen gadgets, book reviews and news about food in addition to online-sourced recipes. Reader’s Digest editor in chief Robert Goyette says the goal of Open Kitchen is to involve the audience by using crowd-sourced recipes which are simple to make at home. “We wanted a section which spoke more to the audience with easy to cook recipes, something you can make at home with the recipes you have," he says. “You don’t have to spend the whole weekend looking for ingredients. Wanted to include recipes which are submitted by readers who need to feed a family everyday and are looking for easy to cook things.”

Allrecipes.ca is the number one recipe site in Canada, according to Reader’s Digest and averages 1.7 million unique visitors a month.

In other foodie news at the brand, Reader’s Digest has also launched a French-version of its Allrecipes Dinner Spinner iPhone/iPod Touch application. The English version is free or $2.99 for the Pro version in the iTunes store and has received more than one million downloads since its launch in December 2008. The application is based on a slot machine format where users shake your iPhone or iPod Touch to see random recipes from the website’s database. 

Reader’s Digest is published monthly by The Reader’s Digest Association (Canada). It has a readership of 5,969,000 according to the fall PMB report.