Part of our assignments is to create two spreads (Front + Back Spread & Middle Spread) for a food magazine, focusing on colours, text & fonts and including the imagery we will be taking.
Here are a few examples that I found to get me going.
Most magazines use fun fonts and bright colours to attract the customers. The food on the front page is usually the featured item, or something special, for whatever reason. The other text on most food magazines is minimal, and out of the way, not taking attention from the main image. Also some magazines include the index or featured articles on the left or right side.
Overall, the key things to keep in mind are:
Background Colour, Text Colour, Page Composition & Overall Attractiveness.