Cookhouse Magazine: Soho House Group's In-House Food Magazine

Rachael Narins

Cookhouse Magazine

Most of us won't be spending time at the ultra-exclusive Soho House, a members-only club. Which is fine by most of us as well. But if you'd like a behind-the-scenes look at professional food and cooking, they do have something you might be interested in.

Through a novel approach to getting chefs excited about working at one of its 16 properties, Soho House Group launched two print magazines to focus on those restaurants, the food and what they do. The club within the club, so to speak. The magazines -- Cookhouse for restaurants and House Tonic for bars; both published quarterly by Dan Flower -- focus on the now ubiquitous farm-to-fork philosophy and the ways the Soho House Group restaurants approach that.

At first glance, the quarterly magazine is a bit confusing. Is it a newsletter? Is it a savvy marketing tool? A nice compliment to the people who work there? Turns out, all of the above.

The content is mostly first-person, written by the kitchen staff and managers about their own interests or experiences. One article focuses on a weekend trip that general manager Shelley Armstrong of Soho House West Hollywood took with her kitchen staff to sample food in San Francisco. (Their favorite spot? State Bird Provisions.) Another featured cooks' favorite knives and the best way to care for them. Yet another follows the adventures of a young London sous chef who was given six months to work at the Miami Soho Beach House.

For the "Starters" section, each month one team member reminisces about his or her culinary inspiration (mothers figure heavily). As a U.K.-based company, it had one issue dedicated to American food, with a short history of comfort food. Each issue also takes a moment to give kudos to any company chefs who have received awards or taken part in charity events. For those of you who want to be voyeurs in to the private club world, a recipe from a club member is featured in each edition.

If you want your own copy, the magazines are available at any of the Soho House Group restaurants, including Cecconi's in West Hollywood.

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