Death of the gourmet foodie?

We pulled into the parking lot just 40 minutes before the book store would open to start handing out tickets.

My stomach twisted in knots the closer we got to the mall, expecting to find hundreds of people who camped out overnight to see my favorite culinary super star. If Bobby Flay could draw a line of over 500, Emeril must bring at least 1,000.

But as we pulled into the lot it became clear there were no more than 40 people standing outside the Books a Million, a relatively few loyal fans who showed up early to ensure a spot for the book signing.

Where were all the foodies?

The scant crowd became the talk among our small group as we waited for the store to open. Maybe the event wasn't well publicized. Maybe Emeril has lost popularity since Food Network dropped his show a few years ago.

Maybe most people - even the most hardcore foodies - just aren't that into cooking.

I love Emeril for so many reasons, not the least of which is that his food is amazing, all packed with bold and daring flavors that just perfectly meld together into incredibly sensuous culinary masterpieces. I've tried a number of his recipes - jambalaya, several gumbos, moussaka, ropa vieja, banana cream pie - and they were all amazing. But a word to the wise: Many will take you hours. Not a feat for the busy, broke or faint-hearted.

Emeril is one of the very best, and many of his recipes are intricate and precise, requiring a keen attention to detail.

But let's face it. How many people will stand there frying dozens of pieces of potato and eggplant just to get the base layers for your moussaka? Or stand by the counter blending a banana cream pie filling (or spend hundreds of dollars on the standing mixer)? Some of these gourmet recipes cost close to $100 to make, and after all we have been going through a recession.

This debate of gourmet versus Rachael Ray has been swirling around the food world this past month with the closure of the nation's oldest food publication. Gourmet magazine was one of the latest casualties of the advertising issues that are plaguing the whole print media industry. Its parent company decided it wasn't profitable to keep it going, especially when it stood in competition to its other food magazine, Bon Apetit.

Foodies all over the Internet have painted the two magazines as rivals in a sophistication versus superficial kind of battle. I've read both magazines over the years, and enjoyed them both. Although I will say I don't think anything jumped off the pages of Gourmet and commanded me to cook it. For whatever reason, it always made me want to sit back on the patio with a glass of wine and casually flip through its pages, not get into the kitchen. The most memorable article I ever read was an investigative piece on the chicken industry.

Something about Bon Apetit made me want to cook. Maybe it was snazzier pictures, or a more engaging layout. Maybe it was the monthly features about restaurants or new kitchen gadgets I found entertaining.

I can kind of understand why Gourmet went out of business. Maybe the recipes weren't any tougher. But there's a lot to be said for perception.

If there's any indication where demand in the food industry lies, just look at the shift in programming on the Food Network. Emeril and Mario Batali are long gone, replaced by home cooks that specialize in fast meals, cheap meals or those requiring minimal ingredients.

Call it the Rachael Ray phenomenon.

But at the same time, I'm not one to knock fast and easy, especially for people who don't know their way around the kitchen. I wasn't born into the cooking world with the skills to put together complex recipes. When I started cooking I pulled most of my recipes from Rachael Ray cookbooks and magazines. They were easy and undaunting, and wouldn't break my bank account with the grocery bill.

I moved up from there, and now I often have dinner parties with elaborate meals courtesy of From Emeril's Kitchen, the cookbook of his restaurant.

As much as many people will knock Rachael Ray - and the scores of people who have followed - there is a reason people like her. Call it lazy, but most people today want easy. They are pressed for time and money. There's a reason many people in this country are more inclined to pull up to a McDonald's then pull out a cookbook.

Even with the simplicity Rachael's style has brought to the food world, I recently saw an interview with Food Network officials who said it's not enough. They acknowledged that while the station has succeeded in drawing people in for entertainment purposes, it needs to find some way to inspire people to get into the kitchen.

Emeril's newest cookbook is called 20-40-60: Fresh Food Fast and gives home cooks instructions for preparing home cooked meals in that respective time period.

I'm sure some of the stuffier foodies will say he is a sell out, or dumbing his food down to make money or compete with other rising stars. But hey, don't we all? The whole world is changing. It's your choice if you want to come along.

As far as Emeril goes, I think it's great his new book might make him more accessible to the masses. His food is great and everyone should try it, even those who might not have hours of time or $100 to put toward making dinner.

Those few loyal hard core home cooks among us, we'll still have From Emeril's Kitchen as an option.