The Small-but-Mighty Ways All of You Knock Our Socks Off

Food52 is not your typical office anytime of year (unless you consider perfectly art-directed bookshelves and show-stopping layer cakes coming out of the test kitchen typical), and that goes double for the holidays. We’ve got trees a twinkling and carols on repeat as early as October. Here’s what we’re up to right now.

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Food52 has always been a place for people who love food to connect and learn. It’s where we talk about cooking tips and techniques and tools, and share triumphs and not-yet-successes. It's a collaborative, creative community that challenges how we approach the kitchen, and how we find joy in every nook and cranny of the home.

Here all the ways you (all of you!) continue to blow us away:

You're the Apples of Our Eye

Take, for instance, our latest contest, Your Best Recipe With Apples. You might expect an apple pie or two—but no! Last week our Food52 team tasted the five finalist recipes, none of which featured a pie tin.

"Managing the contest entries is one of my favorite responsibilities,” Food Writer & Recipe Developer Ella Quittner said. “This batch was especially creative! No spoiler alerts (check back here soon for the top 5!), but we had some updates on classics, some new kids on the block, sweet, savory, you name it. If there were ever a reason to go apple picking, this contest batch is it."

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Contributing to the conversation

"I spend way too much time in the comments section and Hotline," Senior Editor Eric Kim told me. "I love reading about what everyone's cooking and eating; I'm so nosy. Have you ever looked inside a stranger's fridge? You can learn so much about a person."

And then there’s the creative shake-up the editorial, product, and engineering teams were so excited to share with you: Last week we debuted our brand-spankin’-new article redesign!

“We've completely redesigned the article page,” said Senior Product Manager Laura Wolfgang. “And one of our goals is to increase community engagement.”

Not only does the redesign make the comments section of articles easier to navigate, but it also features a “helpful” selection for comments that go above and beyond. We can't wait to see what you share!

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We're Your No. 1 Fan Club

Over on Facebook, our Cookbook and Baking Clubs are constantly sharing riffs and twists. This month, for example, due to popular demand, the Cookbook Club is cooking through not one, but three books: our popular vote, Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan; our moderator pick, POLPO: A Venetian Cookbook (Of Sorts) by Russell Norman; and our bonus year-long book, Six Seasons, of course!

Meanwhile, the Baking Club is working through Kristen Miglore’s ode to all things sweet, Genius Desserts, as well as our year-long pick, The Baking Bible. But the funniest twist came from member Annette Mertens’ throwback post:

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Teamwork makes the dream work

And the biggest, greatest, mightiest thing you've done? More 10,000 of you shared your thoughts, experiences, and know-how to help us design our new line for kitchen, home, and life. Tomorrow, we reveal the name, as well as our very first product, the dreamiest cutting board we've ever sliced and diced upon. A trusty sidekick for all kinds of kitchen adventures.

So, to the members of our community, thank you for all of your creative contest entries, comments, and cooking—and we can't wait to see how you knock our socks off next!

What's your favorite thing about this community? Share in the (newly redesigned!) comments section below.