ABOUT
CHOW is the smartest food site on the Web, featuring entertaining videos; original stories; tested recipes; and in-depth discussions about restaurants, cooking, and more on our Chowhound boards.
- Jane GoldmanVice President and GM
- Meredith ArthurSenior Manager, Operations
- EDITORIAL
- Roxanne WebberSenior Features Editor
- John BirdsallSenior Editor
- Deborah LewisAssistant Managing Editor
- VIDEO
- Jenny StewartVideo Producer
- Blake SmithSenior Video Producer
- Daniel MasaokaAssociate Video Producer
- Elliot WaringAssociate Video Producer
- FOOD
- Amy WisniewskiFood Editor
- Christine Yue GallaryAssociate Food Editor
- Lisa LaveryKitchen Editorial Assistant
- DESIGN
- Potsie RiveraInteractive Designer
- Chris RochelleSenior Photographer
- CHOWHOUND
- Jacquilynne SchlesierSenior Community Manager
- David PistrangChowhound Project Manager
- PRODUCT MANAGEMENT
- Suzy BrannonProduct Manager
- ENGINEERING/WEB DEVELOPMENT
- Shane EtzenhouserSoftware Engineering Manager
- Jason BuehlerSoftware Engineer
- Drew LongSoftware Engineer
- Chris SanbornSenior Web Developer
- Michael DowneyWeb Developer
CHOW
235 Second Street, First Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105
Phone: 415-344-2000
Fax: 415-344-1219- Moderation/Login Issuesmoderators@chowhound.com
- Site Feedback/Site Talk message board
Technical Questions - Advertising OpportunitiesCBS Interactive ad page
- Public Relationsmorgan.seal@cbsinteractive.com
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
- EDITOR & PUBLISHER EPPY AWARD WINNER
- » Best Food Website with 1 million unique monthly visitors and over
- TASTE AWARDS NOMINEE
- » Best Food Travel Series: Web, for CHOW Tour Portland: Asian Small Plates
- IACP (INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CULINARY PROFESSIONALS) AWARDS FINALIST
- » New Media & Broadcast Awards: Culinary Website
- » New Media & Broadcast Awards: Televised Culinary Series, for NY CHOW Report
- WEBBY AWARDS NOMINATION
- » Online Film & Video, How-To and DIY
- 33RD ANNUAL TELLY AWARDS WINNER
- » Silver Medal, Online Video: Videography/Cinematography, for CHOW Tour Portland: Asian Small Plates
- THE TASTY AWARDS WINNER
- » Best Food Program: Web
- 32ND ANNUAL TELLY AWARDS WINNER
- » Silver Medal, Online Video: Documentary, for Obsessives: Urban Farming
- » Bronze Medal, Online Video: How-To/Instructional, for CHOW Tips
- WPA MAGGIE AWARDS WINNER
- » Best Web Publication/Consumer
- WPA MAGGIE AWARDS NOMINATION
- » Best Web or Digital Edition Article/Consumer, for Lessley Anderson's "Chinese Takeout Artist"
- WEBBY AWARDS OFFICIAL HONOREE
- » Website, Food and Beverage
- » Online Film & Video, How-To and DIY, for CHOW Tips
- WEBBY AWARDS NOMINATION
- » Website, Guides/Ratings/Reviews
- ASME DIGITAL ELLIES NOMINATION
- » Video, Food News
- EPPY AWARDS FINALIST
- » Best Food Website with 1 million unique monthly visitors and over
- 2010 ONLINE JOURNALISM AWARDS WINNER
- » Specialty Site Journalism, Affiliated
- JAMES BEARD AWARD WINNER
- » Website Focusing on Food, Beverage, Restaurants or Nutrition
- WEBBY AWARDS WINNER
- » How-To and DIY, for the You're Doing It All Wrong video series
- WPA MAGGIE AWARDS WINNER
- » Best Web Publication/Consumer
- WPA MAGGIE AWARDS NOMINATIONS
- » Best Web or Digital Edition Article/Consumer, for Roxanne Webber's "The Beer with the Green Label: Sierra Nevada tries to reclaim its cred"
- » Best Regularly Featured Web or Digital Edition Column/Trade & Consumer, for Helena Echlin's Table Manners column
- SOCIETY OF PUBLICATION DESIGNERS PUB 45 WINNER
- » Silver Medal, Digital Awards
- NEWS AND DOCUMENTARY EMMY AWARDS NOMINATION
- » New Approaches to News & Documentary Programming: Arts, Lifestyle & Culture, for the Obsessives: Soda Pop video
- IACP NOMINATION FOR BERT GREENE AWARDS FOR FOOD JOURNALISM
- "The Beer with the Green Label: Sierra Nevada tries to reclaim its cred" by Roxanne Webber
- THE TASTY AWARDS OFFICIAL HONOREE
- » Breakout Foodies of the Year
- THE TASTY AWARDS NOMINATIONS
- » Best Food Program - Web, for the Obsessives video series
- » Best How-To Programs, for the Obsessives video series
- 31ST ANNUAL TELLY AWARDS WINNER
- » Bronze Medal, Online Video, for Obsessives: Soda Pop
- WPA MAGGIE AWARDS WINNER
- » Best Overall Web Design/Trade & Consumer
- WPA MAGGIE AWARDS NOMINATIONS
- » Best Regularly Featured Web or Digital Edition Column/Consumer, for Helena Echlin's Table Manners column
- » Best Web Publication Website/Consumer
- SOCIETY OF PUBLICATION DESIGNERS PUB 44 ONLINE MERIT AWARDS WINNER
- » Online Video, for the Obsessives video "School Lunch Revolutionary"
- » Online Series or Column, for The Ten
- JAMES BEARD AWARD NOMINATIONS
- » Website Focusing on Food, Beverage, Restaurants, or Nutrition
- » Video Webcast, for the Obsessives video "School Lunch Revolutionary"
- NATIONAL MAGAZINE AWARD NOMINATION
- » General Excellence Online
- IACP NOMINATION FOR BERT GREENE AWARDS FOR FOOD JOURNALISM
- "Eat Your Lawn: A new wave of gardeners replants front yards with food" by Roxanne Webber
- WEBBY AWARDS NOMINATION
- » Best Website/Lifestyle
- WPA MAGGIE AWARDS HONOREE
- » Best Overall Web Design/Trade & Consumer
- » Best Web Publication Website/Consumer
- WEBBY AWARDS PEOPLE'S VOICE WINNER
- » Best Website/Food and Beverage
- JAMES BEARD AWARD NOMINATIONS
- » Website Focusing on Food, Beverage, Restaurant, or Nutrition
- » Webcast, for the Obsessives video "Innard Workings"
- NATIONAL MAGAZINE AWARD NOMINATION
- » General Excellence Online
- IACP NOMINATION FOR BERT GREENE AWARDS FOR FOOD JOURNALISM
- "By the Way, I'm Vegan: When diners drop the dietary bomb, chefs must work magic" by Lessley Anderson
- OVGUIDE VIEWSER CHOICE AWARDS HONOREE
- » Best Video Site on the Web/Food and Wine
- IACP BERT GREENE JOURNALISM AWARD
- "Sweet, Sour, Salty, What? The return of bitter to the American palate," a feature about maturing American tastes by Senior Editor Lessley Anderson.
- WEBBY AWARDS HONOREE
- » Best Copy/Writing
- » Community, a shout-out to the inimitable Chowhounds.
- » Blog — Culture/Personal for the Grinder, our chronicle of food media and culture.
RECENT PRESS
- Best Food Writing 2012 (October 2012)
- Features John Birdsall's The Pastrami Dilemma
- The Independent (July 2011)
- "The 50 Best Food Websites" (Slide 2)
- Chowhound is "a huge source of inspiration. ... Interesting, well-informed people contribute, so the calibre of information is always excellent."
- Best Food Writing 2010 (October 2010)
- Features Lessley Anderson's Attack of the Anti-Meat Crusaders!
- Best Food Writing 2009 (November 2009)
- "The tenth anniversary of this classic anthology is a feast of the finest culinary prose from the past year's books, magazines, newspapers, newsletters, and Web sites. ... Lessley Anderson takes a closer look at the purists and popularizers behind the growing raw foods movement in 'The Raw Deal.'"
- The Telegraph (November 2009)
- "YouTube videos: The Best Channels"
- "Chow's channel ... offers practical guidance for gourmands from cooking perfect rice to cleaning a rack of lamb with string."
- Cleveland Plain Dealer (March 6, 2009)
- "Chowhound.com Message Boards Are Full of Tips for Delicious Dining Worldwide"
- "How, you might reasonably ask, did I know about a suburban, family-oriented Louisiana seafood house? It's not in the tour books, and I'd only been to Louisiana once, 20 years ago. But I use Chowhound. More precisely, www.chowhound.com, a food- and restaurant-lover's online guide that's one of my most treasured travel resources."
- CBS: The Early Show (January 21, 2009)
- "Helping Out Of Work Friends"
- "Etiquette expert Helena Echlin from Chow.com offers Julie Chen polite ways to socialize with friends in need, especially those who've lost their jobs."
- Rachael Ray (January 5, 2009)
- "Solving New Etiquette Dilemmas"
- "Chow.com etiquette expert Helena Echlin ... 'help[s] people become even better at being a guest or being a host.'"
- Rachael Ray (November 25, 2008)
- "Rach to the Rescue & an Oven Giveaway"
- "Alex Boylan and the Rach to the Rescue RV pull up with Aida Mollenkamp, Food Editor of Chow.com, to show Bonnie how to make the perfect homemade [Thanksgiving] dinner that all of her family can be thankful for."
- PC World (October 1, 2008)
- "10 Great Sites for Local Content and Mobile Devices"
- "My foodie friends say [Chowhound] is the place to go to dig up great restaurants, recipes, cooking and dining stories and blogs, and good discussions about food and drink."
- Examiner.com (October 1, 2008)
- "Ten Best Alternatives to the Food Network"
- "If you're looking for how-to videos, imaginative recipes, and lively discussion, Chow.com is the place to go."
- ABC News (August 21, 2008)
- "Chow.com Serves Good Eats"
- "The foodie Web site delivers recipes, cooking tips and restaurant reviews."
- The Sydney Morning Herald (July 31, 2008)
- "Navigating Modern Manners"
- "The modern debate over how we should behave has become a whole lot feistier than it used to be. Just ask Helena Echlin, who pens the 'Table Manners' column on cult foodie website Chowhound.com."
- CBS: The Early Show (July 30, 2008)
- "'Ask Aida' -- About Eggs!"
- "Chow.com's Aida Mollenkamp Answers Questions, Shares Recipes; Her Food Network Show Debuts This Weekend"
- Rachael Ray (December 21, 2007)
- "Lara's Surprising Dish"
- "'Is that me on a cookie?' Rachael asks. Lara had it made at Chow.com where you can get cutouts of your favorite celebrities to make your own unique gingerbread cookies."
- New York Times Magazine (November 25, 2007)
- "In Defense of Lurking"
- "The elegantly organized Chowhound, 'for those who live to eat,' puts Zagat to shame, engaging voluble gourmands from all across the country — at length. Try the 'What’s my craving?' feature. Corned beef, red velvet cake, Atomic Fireballs: read till you're stuffed."
- Stuff (November 12, 2007)
- "Foodie Websites Offer Entree into Exotic"
- CHOW reaches New Zealand! This piece about destination sites for gourmets extensively quotes CHOW Editor in Chief Jane Goldman.
- Travel + Leisure (September 2007)
- "T+L's Top 25 Travel Websites"
- "An obsessive community of feisty people around the world share secret finds. The site features interviews with experts, videos of local culinary customs (watch how to tie pancetta), and blogs such as the newly launched Tasting Notes."
- Time Magazine (July 2007)
- "50 Best Websites 2007"
- "This hip food site, owned by CNET, serves its content like a five-course multimedia meal, with audio and video, photos, blogs and boards."
- NPR: Morning Edition (April 18, 2007)
- "Bloggers Debate Code of Conduct"
- "The Web and the blogosphere can get plenty nasty. But blogger Kathy Sierra's call for a code of conduct was greeted by a torrent of posts threatening her with violence. Now some of the Web's leading voices are pushing for more civil behavior." Chowhound Community Manager Jacquilynne Schlesier weighs in on the debate.
- The Independent (February 17-23, 2007)
- "The 50 Best Food Websites" (not available online)
- "Too many cookery sites are stuffed with opinion, but lacking in style. Not this one. 'The moribund chowhound.com has been reborn and is now a must-visit site with how-to videos, forums, blogs, articles and features,' advises Andy. Within its smartly designed pages you'll find everything from how to care for cast-iron pans to a foodie Q&A; with Franz Ferdinand's Alex Kapranos and a discussion of how polite it is to eat from someone else's plate (not at all)."
- Marie Claire (February 2007)
- One of "Five Hot Spots to Surf This Month"
- "CHOW.com: This online reincarnation of the now-defunct culinary mag serves up a buffet of inventive recipes, need-to-know etiquette, and food news. Link to companion site chowhound.com, where food enthusiasts exchange recipes and restaurant reviews."
- New York Post (January 9, 2007)
- "Surf's Up: The Sites You Can't Leave Home Without"
- "TASTIEST FOOD SITE"
- "Chowhound was always the refuge of the traveling foodie, and this year not only did it undergo an enormous, sensible redesign, it paired up with the defunct-but-worthy Chow magazine to become part of Chow.com, our favorite portal anywhere, with food blogs, food travel articles, plain old food articles for when we aren't going anywhere, and more treats. Hopefully this inspires last year's winner in this category - Roadfood.com - to juice things up a little."
- New York Times (August 16, 2006)
- "A Food Web Site, Spiced with Attitude" (registration required)
- "HIPNESS is rarely a prime ingredient in the most popular Web sites devoted to food and drink. Chow.com, a new food Web site that begins its rollout next week, hopes to inject that sensibility into its smorgasbord of recipes, restaurant reviews, party hints, video tutorials and coverage of the marketing and culture of food."
The History of CHOW
CHOW.com was formed in 2006 when the Internet media company CNET Networks bought a San Francisco–based print magazine called CHOW and a long-standing New York–based discussion-forum website called Chowhound. CNET was acquired by CBS in 2008. CHOW is now a part of CBS Interactive, with 22 employees and 12 moderators.
Prior to its acquisition by CNET, CHOW magazine had published four issues, beginning in November 2004. It was founded by magazine editor Jane Goldman (formerly of The Industry Standard). Early pieces included "Why Are Shopping Carts So Hard to Steer?," a profile of Gabrielle Hamilton written by Anthony Bourdain, and a story on smuggling illegal cheeses.
Chowhound was started in 1997 as a message board for people to trade information about where to find good food. You can read more about the early days of Chowhound in Calvin Trillin's 2001 New Yorker story "New Grub Streets" (full article available to subscribers only).
Chowhound's original manifesto:
Everyone has one in his life: the brother-in-law with a collection of 800 takeout menus, the co-worker who's late from lunch because she HAD to trek to one end of town for soup and to the other for a sandwich. Chowhounds know where the good stuff is, and they never settle for less than optimal deliciousness, whether dining in splendor or grabbing a quick slice.
We're not talking about foodies. Foodies eat where they're told. Chowhounds blaze trails. They comb through neighborhoods for culinary treasure. They despise hype. And while they appreciate ambiance and service, they can't be fooled by flash.
No media outlets serve Chowhounds. They've never had a place to gather and exchange information. This discerning, passionate crowd has long been completely invisible and utterly disenfranchised... until now.
If you, too, fret endlessly about making every bite count; if you'd grow weak from hunger rather than willingly eat something less than delicious, this place is for you! Welcome to our community. Let's talk. Let's swap tips.
You needn't be an expert to participate. If you're less food-obsessed than the rest of us, but have a yen for egg creams, gazpacho, or Quisp Cereal, let the resident hounds guide you to the best stuff. Follow (and chime in on) the rollicking discussion -- featuring thousands of messages from characters all over the world.
What can you do on CHOW?
Open the dropdown menus at the top of the CHOW home page to find links to new and archived stories, videos, recipes, and discussion threads. On the Recipes page, enter a single search term at the upper right to find a range of recipes, or use the Dish Decider feature to narrow your results.
When you register for a free membership on CHOW, you get access to all that the site has to offer. You'll be able to sign up for newsletters, leave comments, and post recipe reviews. You'll be able to weigh in on existing discussion threads, start a new one, or ask the community of Chowhounds for food and restaurant recommendations.
How do you register?
Click the Sign Up link in the top right corner of the home page. You'll be asked to choose a username and password, and to provide an email address. Note that usernames cannot be changed, and registering multiple accounts is not permitted (see our Posting Etiquette for more information).
How do you update your email address? Remove your account?
On your profile page, there's an option to update your email address in the Account section under the Settings tab. To deactivate your account, send an email from your registered email address to moderators@chowhound.com. Deactivating your account will prevent you from posting on the site, as well as from seeing your profile or any other features that require login. It won't remove any posts you've made in the past, nor will it hide any information in your profile.