Counter Service is a quarterly independent food publication and forum bringing together creatives in hospitality, food and wine to share narratives, exchange knowledge and periodically, throw a fun party. We look at the intentional & unintentional ways food impacts and influences our lives. We focus on those who are enriching the culture around food, and who are often not highlighted in the ever fast-paced, trend-aware food world. We share stories from food on the edges.

Counter Service is admittedly not "cooked to perfection" or "perfectly seasoned," instead we are  always aspiring to cultivate community, create art and curate experiences. 

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We started as a platform in newsletter form for food industry wunderkinds to express their passions about food via prose, poetry, photography, or music. Since then, back in the day, Counter Service has now grown into a  online publication predominantly written and run by those still working in the food industry. And now, we can be on your coffee tables or in your bookshelves as cookbook-meets-printed-journal form.

INTRIGUED?

Now taking submissions for CS Journals, a bi-monthly dispatch from the CS community

Email us at: hello@counterservicemag.com

What does Counter Service look for?

 We take submissions of any kind, really. Counter Service is a platform where we like to talk about what happens around the table and the edges of the food world. That doesn’t mean you have to talk about food, but most likely it will come up in your submission at some point. We look for fiction, nonfiction, personal essays, poetry, playlists, photography, graphic design, vignettes, obsession pieces, illustration, and profiles of people/places/things/ingredients/etc.

Each issue and journal does revolve around a central theme, but largely this theme is a guideline and not a rubric. If you feel so inspired to write/photograph/design something and it doesn’t fit our theme, let us take a look anyways and we’ll make it work some way or another. For examples, peep us on our website for the latest issue.

What are the rules?

 Submissions can range from a 75-150 word “obsessed” piece to a 5,000 word essay. We love ‘em all.

 Have a full piece you want to toss our way? Ideally this piece hasn’t been published anywhere else, first. Second, maybe have someone take a quick glance over it before it pops up in our inbox. Third, hit send.

Really wanting to submit but don’t know what exactly is calling your name? Pitch us. Send us an email with a few ideas that you are thinking of, and we will work closely with you to hone into the best format, length, and direction where you will shine.

Submission date: Acceptance

Submission are rolling, but typically the submission date will be two-four weeks prior to publication. If we accept your submission, we will work closely with you to edit and fine-tune your piece to get it shining like the diamond that it is. If we chose to not run with your submission for that particular issue, we will try to work with you over the follow weeks to work it into future issue.