Is the world ready for a paywalled food website?
Paywall sites have never worked out as well as their makers intended. The biggest example of a paywall site is the New York Times, which has gone back and forth regarding its subscription model over the years, and currently allows everyone to view a certain number of articles a month (after which, most people simply stop visiting the New York Times website).
How about a paywalled food website, with recipes and information on ingredients? Six bucks a month, and most people's first thought is probably, "Can I get that information anywhere online?"
But hold up, what if I told you that Alain Ducasse is the man behind the site?
Ducasse is arguably one of the most famous French chefs and hoteliers in the world. He was the first chef to own three restaurants in three different cities which each obtained the prized three Michelin Stars rating. He has held 21 Michelin Stars in his career, and no doubt will garner many more in the future.
In the culinary world Alain Ducasse is a combination pioneer, rock star, and legend. The Guardian called him "the emperor of French cooking." Still though… six bucks a month?
The new website will feature "recipes, video tutorials, restaurant addresses and information about ingredients." I suspect that the site will be aimed mainly at other professional chefs, for whom six bucks a month for what amounts to unlimited lessons from Alain Ducasse is not only useful, it's also a job-related expense.
The fact that they take such care to mention "restaurant addresses" also points to high-level foodies as one of their target markets. People for whom the more exclusive (and harder to find) a restaurant is, the better. Ducasse's site could prove a thorn in the side of these ultra-secretive high-end restaurants. It will be interesting to watch the site develop.
Image courtesy Flickr/br1dotcom