Eater (website)

Last updated

Eater
Eater logo.svg
Owner Vox Media
Independent
URL eater.com
LaunchedJuly 2005;18 years ago (2005-07) [1]

Eater is a food website by Vox Media. It was co-founded by Lockhart Steele and Ben Leventhal in 2005, and originally focused on dining and nightlife in New York City. Eater launched a national site in 2009, and covered nearly 20 cities by 2012. Vox Media acquired Eater, along with two others comprising the Curbed Network, in late 2013. In 2017, Eater had around 25 local sites in the United States, Canada, and England. The site has been recognized twelve times by the James Beard Foundation Awards.

Contents

Description and history

The food and dining site Eater is a brand of the digital media company Vox Media. [2] [3] It serves as a local restaurant guide, offering reviews as well as news about the restaurant industry. [4] [5] The property earns revenue via advertising, sometimes displaying content generated by Vox Creative. [6]

Eater was co-founded by Lockhart Steele and Ben Leventhal in July 2005, [3] [7] and initially focused on New York City's dining and nightlife scenes. [8] The blog was one of three comprising the Curbed Network, founded by Steele in 2004, [9] along with the real estate and fashion networks called Curbed and Racked , respectively. By 2007, Eater was receiving tens of thousands of readers per day. [1] After expanding into Los Angeles and San Francisco, [1] [10] the network went national in 2009, [8] and covered approximately 20 cities and one U.S. state (Maine) by mid 2012. [11] [12]

Vox Media purchased the Curbed Network for approximately US$30 million in November 2013. [2] [13] [14] Traffic to Eater increased by 250 percent following the acquisition. [15] In early 2014, Business Insider reported that Eater was generating approximately 2 million of Vox Media's 45 million unique monthly visitors, according to the analytics company comScore. [5] The site began using Vox Media's content management system, Chorus, and producing more video content. [3] [15] Steele said he sold Eater partly to observe Chorus' influence on the site. The platform allows Eater to enhance map, journalistic, and visual features, and improves user engagement via forums. [15]

In mid 2017, Eater launched a London site, the network's first outside North America. Eater hosted 23 sites for cities in the United States and Canada at the time. [16]

In 2021, Vox Media acquired drinks website Punch as a brand within Eater. [17]

Programming

Eater may be best known for its maps, which serve as guides to readers on where to eat in specific cities. In 2022, Eater launched their Eater 38 maps, which share 38 essential restaurants in each Eater cities. Other Eater maps include Eater heatmaps which spotlight the newest restaurants in cities; as well as maps focused on certain cuisines or certain neighborhoods. The majority of Eater maps showcase restaurants across the 23 US cities for which it has dedicated sites, but there are also maps identifying the best restaurants in popular national and international destinations including St. Louis, Honolulu, Kansas City, Barcelona, Rome, Paris, Tokyo, and Florence.

In addition to written content, Eater has a team devoted to video. The site produced a web series called Savvy, which featured chefs, restaurateurs, and sommeliers discussing dishes and cooking techniques. The program's second season aired in 2015. In 2017, Vox Media greenlit the series Cult Following and You Can Do This for Eater.Eater’s video program is currently focused on mid-form docu-style video, with series such as Mise en Place, The Experts,Smoke Point, and Vendors. The program has earned five New York Emmy awards, including two for Vendors (one in 2022, another in 2021), and four Daytime Emmy nominations.

Eater and PBS collaborated on a six-episode documentary television show about the cuisine of immigrant neighborhoods throughout the U.S., hosted by chef and restaurateur Marcus Samuelsson. The show, No Passport Required, marked Eater's first television production project. Vox Entertainment produced the show, which premiered in July 2018. Vox Media executives Jim Bankoff and Marty Moe serve as two of several executive producers.

In January 2018, Eater and SB Nation aired an online three-episode celebrity cooking competition series sponsored by PepsiCo. The show featured National Football League players Greg Jennings, Rashad Jennings, and Nick Mangold as competitors, as well as chefs Anne Burrell and Josh Capon.

In 2020, Eater debuted its first TV series in partnership with Hulu, Eater’s Guide to the World. The seven-episode show was hosted by Maya Rudolph and explored unique dining experiences across the world, with episodes spotlighting Los Angeles, Costa Rica, Casablanca, and more.

Eater has a robust digital footprint and presence across the most influential social platforms, including Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Facebook, reaching over 30 million people a month across digital platforms.

In 2022, Eater announced its first book deal in partnership with Abrams publishing. Eater is slated to release a line of books, including a cookbook publishing in 2023 featuring restaurant recipes, edited by Eater restaurant editor Hillary Dixler Canavan, and travel guides to New York City and Los Angeles, publishing in 2024.

Leadership and editorial staff

Eater was initially led by co-founders Leventhal and Steele, who had the titles "Head Eater" and CEO, respectively. [8] [13] Steele, who also served as president of the Curbed Network, [8] ranked number 34 in The Daily Meal 's 2011 list of "America's 50 Most Powerful People in Food", for his role as a founder of Eater. [4]

In 2014, Amanda Kludt was named Eater's first editor-in-chief, [3] [18] and Robert Sietsema was hired to be a New York-based food writer. [5] [15]

In March 2022, Stephanie Wu became Eater’s second-ever editor-in-chief, succeeding Amanda Kludt. Kludt is now the group publisher of the lifestyle publications at Vox Media, comprising Eater, POPSUGAR, Punch, and Thrillist.

Reception

Food & Wine has called Eater "required reading". [1] In 2006, the magazine included Steele and Leventhal in their "Tastemaker Awards" list, recognizing fifteen people who had significant impact on the food and wine industries by age 35, for their "ingenious" posts. [10]

The network's content has been recognized twelve times by the James Beard Foundation Awards, established to honor excellence in cuisine, food writing, and culinary education in the United States. [19] [20] Eater has also won six awards from American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) and five Emmys. On the local level, various Eater cities have been recognized by local chapters of the Society of Professional Journalists including the SPJ Northwest, SPJ Chicago, and SPJ DC as well as the New York Press Club and Los Angeles Press Club.

Eater has also popped up in popular culture, cited in TV shows such as The Bear and The Morning Show.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mario Batali</span> American chef, writer, restaurateur and media personality

Mario Francesco Batali is an American chef, writer, and former restaurateur. Batali co-owned restaurants in New York City; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Newport Beach, California; Boston; Singapore; Westport, Connecticut; and New Haven, Connecticut. Batali has appeared on the Food Network, on shows such as Molto Mario and Iron Chef America, on which he was one of the featured "Iron Chefs". In 2017, the restaurant review site Eater revealed multiple accusations of sexual misconduct against Batali and, in March 2019, he sold all his restaurant holdings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Zimmern</span> American journalist

Andrew Scott Zimmern is an American chef, restaurateur, television and radio personality, director, producer, businessman, food critic, and author. Zimmern is the co-creator, host, and consulting producer of the Travel Channel television series Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern,Bizarre Foods America, Bizarre Foods: Delicious Destinations, Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre World, Dining with Death, The Zimmern List, and Andrew Zimmern's Driven by Food, as well as the Food Network series The Big Food Truck Tip. For his work on Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern, he was presented the James Beard Foundation Award four times: in 2010, 2012, 2013, and 2017. Zimmern hosts a cooking webseries on YouTube, Andrew Zimmern Cooks. His show, What's Eating America, premiered on MSNBC in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Four Seasons Restaurant</span> Defunct restaurant in New York City

The Four Seasons Restaurant was a New American cuisine restaurant in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City from 1959 to 2019. The Four Seasons operated within the Seagram Building at 99 East 52nd Street for most of its existence, although it relocated to 42 East 49th Street in its final year of operation. The restaurant was themed around the seasons of the year, with menus, decorations, and vegetation that changed every three months. It attracted numerous high-profile personalities and often hosted "power lunches". Despite mixed commentary of the restaurant's food, the Four Seasons was highly popular, winning the James Beard Award many times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Chang</span> American chef and TV personality

David Chang is an American restaurateur, author, podcaster, and television personality. He is the founder of the Momofuku restaurant group. In 2009, Momofuku Ko was awarded two Michelin stars, which the restaurant has retained each year since. He co-founded the influential food magazine Lucky Peach in 2011 which lasted for 25 quarterly volumes into 2017. In 2018, Chang created, produced, and starred in a Netflix original series called Ugly Delicious, and through his Majordomo Media group, he has produced and/or starred in more television and podcasts. On November 29, 2020, he became the first celebrity to win the $1,000,000 top prize for his charity, Southern Smoke Foundation, and the fourteenth overall million dollar winner on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Beard Foundation Award</span> Annual awards for culinary professionals in the US

The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media awards are presented at a dinner in New York City; the chef and restaurant awards were also presented in New York until 2015, when the foundation's annual gala moved to Chicago. Chicago will continue to host the Awards until 2027.

<i>Curbed</i> News website covering housing and urban design

Curbed is an American real estate and urban design website founded as a blog by Lockhart Steele in 2006. The full website, founded in 2010, featured sub-pages dedicated to specific real estate markets and metropolitan areas across the United States. Steele once described Curbed.com as an "Architectural Digest after a three-martini lunch.” The site hosted an annual contest, the Curbed Cup, to pick the best neighborhood in each city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jody Williams (chef)</span> American chef and television personality (born c. 1963)

Jody Williams is an American chef and television personality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Momofuku (restaurants)</span> Culinary brand

Momofuku is a culinary brand established by chef David Chang in 2004 with the opening of Momofuku Noodle Bar. It includes restaurants in New York City, Toronto, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles, a bakery established by pastry chef Christina Tosi, a bar (Nikai), and a quarterly magazine. The restaurants are notable for their innovative take on cuisine while supporting local, sustainable and responsible farmers and food purveyors.

Daniel Humm is a Swiss chef and restaurant owner; he is chef/owner of Eleven Madison Park.

Vox Media, Inc. is an American mass media company based in Washington, D.C., and New York City. The company was established in November 2011 by Jim Bankoff and Trei Brundrett to encompass SB Nation and The Verge. Bankoff had been the CEO for SB Nation since 2009.

Michael Psilakis is an American celebrity chef, author, and restaurateur. He is best known for his Greek cuisine and appearances on television shows including Ultimate Recipe Showdown, Iron Chef America, The Best Thing I Ever Ate and No Kitchen Required. He has owned and operated a number of popular restaurants around New York City and has cooked for President Barack Obama at the White House.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lockhart Steele</span>

Lockhart Steele is an American blogger best known for the Curbed family of real estate, restaurant, and shopping news sites.

Helen Rosner is an American food writer and editor. She is food correspondent for The New Yorker.

The Dabney is a restaurant located in Blagden Alley, in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Chef-owner Jeremiah Langhorne opened the restaurant in 2015, focusing on Mid-Atlantic cuisine. The Dabney was named one of the Best New Restaurants of 2016 by Bon Appétit magazine, it was a awarded a Michelin Star in 2017, and Chef Langhorne won the James Beard Award for Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic in 2018.

Corey Lee is a Korean-American chef and restaurateur based in San Francisco. In 2014, his flagship restaurant, Benu, became the first in San Francisco to receive three stars from the Michelin Guide, making Lee the first Korean chef to garner that accolade. In 2019, Benu made its debut on The World's 50 Best Restaurants. Lee is also a two-time James Beard Award winner, a former Food & Wine Best New Chef, and a Goodwill Ambassador to Seoul.

John Francis Mariani is a food & wine journalist, restaurant critic and author.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canard (restaurant)</span> Restaurant in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

Canard is a French restaurant with two locations in the U.S. state of Oregon. The original restaurant opened in Portland. A second location opened in Oregon City in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berlu</span> Vietnamese restaurant in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

Berlu is a Vietnamese restaurant and bakery in Portland, Oregon.

Vong was a restaurant in New York City. The restaurant served Southeast Asian cuisine and had received a Michelin star, before closing in 2009.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Goldman, Adam (January 12, 2007). "Blog Wields Power in Restaurant World". The Washington Post . Associated Press. ISSN   0190-8286. OCLC   2269358 . Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  2. 1 2 Hempel, Jessi (November 11, 2013). "Vox Media acquires Curbed Network for $20-30M". Fortune . Meredith Corporation. ISSN   0015-8259 . Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Bhuiyan, Johana (April 16, 2014). "Food site Eater 'Vox-ifies'". Politico . Capitol News Company . Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  4. 1 2 "America's 50 Most Powerful People in Food for 2011". The Daily Meal . Spanfeller Media Group. 2011. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 Shontell, Alyson (March 13, 2014). "Vox CEO: Here's How We're Able to Get Tons of Traffic Without Gaming Facebook". Business Insider . Axel Springer SE . Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  6. Main, Sami (October 26, 2017). "Why Capital One Chose Vox Creative to Promote Its New Credit Card". Adweek . Beringer Capital. ISSN   0199-2864 . Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  7. Oppenheimer, Mark (March 19, 2010). "The Optimist's Blogger". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331. OCLC   1645522 . Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Druckman, Charlotte (October 6, 2009). "The Insiders: Ben Leventhal and Lockhart Steele". The New York Times. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  9. Grant, Drew (November 12, 2013). "Lockhart Steele Curbs His Enthusiasm". Observer . Observer Media. ISSN   0029-7712. OCLC   50230244 . Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  10. 1 2 Krader, Kate; Tep, Ratha (November 1, 2006). "'06 Tastemaker Awards". Food & Wine . Meredith Corporation. ISSN   0741-9015 . Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  11. Midson, Lori (December 1, 2011). "Eater launches Denver food site". Westword . Voice Media Group . Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  12. Goad, Meredith (June 13, 2012). "Now posting: Eater.com's new Maine restaurant blog". Portland Press Herald . MaineToday Media. OCLC   9341113 . Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  13. 1 2 Sternberg, Josh (November 13, 2013). "Why Lockhart Steele Sold Curbed to Vox". Digiday . Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  14. Spangler, Todd (October 31, 2017). "PBS Picks Up Marcus Samuelsson Food and Culture Docu-Series from Vox Media's Eater". Variety . Penske Media Corporation. ISSN   0042-2738. OCLC   810134503 . Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Castillo, Michelle (September 22, 2014). "Eater's Redesign Is a Test for Vox Media's Chorus Platform". Adweek. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  16. Guaglione, Sara (July 12, 2017). "Vox Launches 'Eater London,' Company's First". MediaPost Communications. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  17. "Vox Media acquires cocktail media brand "Punch"". August 23, 2021.
  18. Vora, Shivani (February 2, 2018). "How Amanda Kludt, Editor in Chief of Eater, Spends Her Sundays". The New York Times. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  19. Rudulph, Heather Wood (October 31, 2016). "Get That Life: How I Became the Editor-in-Chief of Eater". Cosmopolitan . Hearst Communications. ISSN   0010-9541 . Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  20. James Beard Foundation Awards: * "The 2015 James Beard Award Winners!". James Beard Foundation. May 4, 2015. Retrieved April 9, 2018. * "The 2016 James Beard Award Winners!". James Beard Foundation. May 2, 2016. Retrieved April 9, 2018.