We Have Some Big News!
A preview…
You may have noticed that The Deligram looks a bit different than it used to. That’s because we moved to Substack. And it’s not the only change you can expect to see from us. Since we launched, The Deligram has been a passion project, born out of a sense of curiosity about the artisanal food makers in our community. We want to keep sharing these stories on our platform and doing even more, but in order to do so we need your support! We simply cannot afford to keep making The Deligram without it covering its own costs.
That’s why we’re launching a premium subscription ($5/month or $55/year), which, starting next month, will include additional content. We have lots of other exciting ideas for ways our paid audience can have a deeper experience but we’ll start here with what we know: publishing great content about artisanal food. With enough support though, there is so much more we can do! In this special issue of The Deligram, our co-founders Anna & Teddy reveal why we’ve decided to take this path and what you can expect from us moving forward.
Anna: Growing up in France, artisans making food products were always in the spotlight. People would cross rivers and drive miles to check out this charcuterie spot or that specific baker. But New Yorkers, with their strong culture of dining out, were often more interested in restaurant chefs. With COVID, food makers's products became the spice of dining in. Everyday, I would hear about old and new talents making insane stuff in their kitchen, via instagram and word of mouth. Teddy and I realized there was no room in the traditional media to document this category, and that is how The Deligram was born.
Teddy: Our fascination with local makers really came from curiosity more than anything else. Telling smaller, local stories has been a part of my career, from when I started working with the Washington Post and now in New York for a range of publications. With The Deligram, I love having the freedom to make whatever we want to make without restrictions. We can cover anything we think is special or cool. I love having the opportunity to meet people who are doing interesting and incredible things, who are also my neighbors. And, of course, eating well.
Anna: Getting to know and learn from a variety of people has been so rewarding. From the multi-generational Italian American family making ravioli and the Persian refugee honoring her childhood memories to a young Ashkenaze baker commercializing her mom's mandel bread and a teacher making honey in a community garden... each of our subjects makes me fall in love with food again.
Teddy: We’ve been working on this project for about a year and a half and it’s been very successful in terms of publishing and readership. (Thank you!!) We love what we make and people love to read it. We want to keep doing it, but to do so we need your support. We are at a point of needing funds to continue operating. It’s not a lot of money but it’s enough that it can’t be sustained any longer without help. That’s why we’re launching a paid subscription. We want to build this thing together with you, our community of readers.
The premium subscription will include additional content, for example a roundup of products that Anna and I are testing and loving right now to give you an inside look at products we might feature in the future.
Anna: With this new structure, we’ll be able to continue our core mission to highlight independent food artisans, and also offer new content, from some of our friends' favorite picks that were previously just on our Instagram, to recipes, exclusive news from our community of makers and more.
Teddy: Most of what we publish will look very similar to what we’ve done so far. And I hope that’s a good thing! Being on substack also gives us some options that we didn’t have before to create connections with other publishers and our audience, both paying subscribers and people who read more casually. I hope that we get enough support from our audience that we can try new things. We have lots of ideas! In person experiences, different formats, and maybe even taking The Deligram on the road to cover makers outside of New York City.
Anna: When we started this, we weren't sure the enthusiasm for local food craft would continue past the pandemic. But makers still need exposure and our readership keeps growing, so we’re inspired to keep going and to do even more. We're excited to expand what we’re doing, and hope you will continue this journey with us!