MUMBAI: BBC Magazines has announced the launch of Romania's first food and lifestyle magazine, Good Food .It has subscribers from Bangladesh to Bosnia but the Romanian version of Good Food marks the first international edition of the magazine.

The monthly was launched as a Christmas special packed with 132 pages. A third of the content will originate from Romania and the title is set to build the profiles of Romanian food experts and chefs.

The Romanian edition builds on the excellent relationship between BBC Magazines and Media Sport Group who launched the car magazine Top Gear in Romania this year. Top Gear has already become the market leader in advertising in Romania and the introduction of Good Food demonstrates the strength of the business partnership. Media Sport Group is currently exploring future projects with BBC Magazines.

Thanks to BBC Worldwide licensing deals, Jamie Oliver's Naked Chef is currently broadcasting in Romania on TVR 2. 50 Things to Eat Before You Die will soon be shown on the same channel.

BBC Magazines global licensing manager James Hewes says, "The explosive growth of the economies in Eastern Europe has created a large and growing middle class whose aspirations increasingly match those of their Western European neighbours. This growth has created a great opportunity for a fantastic mid-market food magazine such as Good Food. Romania, as the second largest country in Eastern Europe, is a natural choice for Good Food's combination of down-to-earth home cooking and exciting new food trends from around the world."

The UK Good Food launched 16 years ago acted as a springboard for launching the careers of Jamie Oliver, Gary Rhodes and Rick Stein and almost every other TV chef.