Aesthetic Expression: How Toothsome Magazine Sinks Their Teeth into Culture
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They say we eat with our eyes. Ashley Yun and DK Woon, co-founders and chief editors of Toothsome magazine, know this too well.
Toothsome, like many food publications (Pedas and Extended Lunch), first started off as a supper club. Yun said supper clubs are "such a rich medium to tell stories...Supper clubs allowed us to dive into the histories and context of food as well as the design surrounding it." It was a natural step to start the magazine. After realizing there was a gap in the food writing industry that fit their eclectic interests, Yun and Woon set out to make their own. "We wanted more breadth of stories, where we could read something playful one second and then serious the next," Yun said.
Toothsome sits at the intersection of cuisine, culture, and lifestyle publications. Open the inaugural issue, "From AM to PM," and you'll find 23 pieces ranging from essays and poems to photo collages, chef interviews, and family recipes. In the first few pages, a short paragraph introduces Toothsome to the world: "A publication about creativity, culture, and chaos of food. Designed to be bitten into, savoured, and maybe even shared." First published in July 2025, Toothsome is relatively new to London's growing food zine scene, but its readership is growing fast. Earlier this year, Toothsome was shortlisted by Monocle magazine alongside Le Fooding and Farta as one of the "three titles you should be reading to impress in the kitchen."
Unlike many food writers, such as Tanya Bush, co-editor-in-chief of Cake Zine and resident baker at the Brooklyn breakfast restaurant Little Egg, Yun and Woon don't work day jobs within the food industry. Yun has spent over seven years at the independent record label Ninja Tune, where she is Head of Artist Strategy, working on marketing campaigns that help artists grow and connect with their audiences. Despite this background in media, neither Yun nor Woon cut their teeth in food media through restaurants or journalism. That outside perspective, arriving at food writing by way of hosting supper clubs, lets them survey the landscape with fresh eyes.
Food can transport you from one place to another. Shortly after announcing Issue One's publication, Yun and Woon went on a "world tour," repping the magazine at launch events in New York, London, and Los Angeles and documenting their bites along the way. London, where the magazine is edited and printed, is home to plenty of restaurants and bars on the Michelin Guide, and yet Yun and Woon focus on the granular, more personal experiences of eating. They're less interested in reviewing a new restaurant or chasing the news cycle than in personal anecdotes:a family recipe, an homage to egg dishes, stories that are near and dear to writers from all walks of life.
Food is for everybody to experience. Our modern food systems have made food move faster than ever. It is now easier for people to experience food across geographical borders and across cultural contexts. Toothsome magazine aims to showcase how food interacts with modern life. As a magazine, Toothsome believes that food can intersect with wider culture and directly converse with art, literature, music and fashion. In addition, food can awaken histories and memories when obscure recipes, rituals, and ingredients are brought into the pot. There is a ripe world of stories that engage history and memory, as well as open up more critical discussions about food as a vehicle of travel, where the body can indulge, appetites are stimulated, and cravings are quenched.
Toothsome’s creative execution operates on the five pillars listed in their pitching guide. As a result, their features run the gamut: from a look at California-style diners where the clientele are "not operating on IV drips and million-dollar smoothies," with LA-based restaurateur Julian Denis, to an in-depth look at chili farming in Tunisia. That doesn't mean they don't keep an eye on what's happening in the food scene, as they cover new restaurant openings quickly too. In fact, they hosted their second issue at the newly minted Cafe Kowloon, the seductive, dim-lit sibling hidden behind the noodle bar Wonton Charlie's in London Fields.
Yun and Woon handle the literal production of the magazine in a very do-it-yourself manner, with the hustle and passion often associated with an old-school print magazine. Yun herself grew up an avid magazine reader—Style and TIME were some of the titles on her rotation. When asked about her inspiration as a creative director for Toothsome, she speaks fondly of magazines like Apartamento and Cosé Journal for their beautiful art direction and imagery. While putting together their first issue, she found herself referencing older publications like the (now-defunct) Mold Magazine and Lucky Peach to shape their pitch guidelines. "Print allows us to slow down and block out the noise for a second," Yun says in an interview for MagCulture's The Journal.
Yun and Woon recognize that food writing is a saturated space. What makes Toothsome unique is that it doesn't feature the kind of food criticism you'd find in Eater or New York Magazine. With an editorial vision rooted in curiosity rather than an objective to uphold authority, Toothsome zooms into the small parts of eating, focusing on tender and nostalgic moments. To them, food is deeply personal, tied to particular memories and feelings.
Yun's favorite dish, for example, is egg-related. Every morning, her grandmother would make her egg rice, a common practice in Korean households. The simple breakfast has stayed with her throughout her life, occupying a special place in her heart. "It's a bit cliché, but East Asians are raised to love food," Yun said in a podcast episode of The Monocle Radio with Claudia Jacob.
Toothsome's readership and community continue to grow. Their second issue expanded on the first, adding more features as Yun and Woon leaned into a more casual approach to food. Their next issue, "From Ancient to Modern," is already underway, aiming to hold the present's nostalgia for the past against its fear of the future. As with past issues, Yun and Woon will explore that tension through evergreen stories rather than chasing trends. Toothsome is the print manifestation of an Anthony Bourdain ethos, a love of food rooted in a love of people and places, rather than the steel-eyed criticism of former New York Times critic Pete Wells. Yun and Woon want anyone with even a passing interest in food to enjoy their magazine, and they want stories that don't come with an expiration date.
For their third issue, Toothsome hopes to lean further into music and fashion, bringing fresh perspectives to the magazine's next chapter. "Our audience can be anyone from anywhere," Woon says. The magazine is "anyone who has an interest in food" and has an appetite for conversation with others equally curious about what they eat.
Readers can expect more food-related and community-based events from Toothsome in the future. In January, Toothsome hosted a bake sale to give back to the London food community, partnering with charities like The Felix Project, Hospitality Action, and Young Minds to bring food to underserved populations. The publication has also recently collaborated with Pantler’s Rations to create a candle inspired by “The Pearly Popcorn tale of yore’ and with Fink’s at Clissold House in London for a Summer Fête to commemorate summer ending.Pitches for their magazine are now closed for Issue No. 3, but additional Toothsome content can be found on their Substack, where guest writers will often post for FIVES, a newsletter segment that highlights five personal favorites, from five objects that caught their eye on travels, or simply highlighting five pasta shapes that you might not have heard of. FIVES keeps their readers “in the loop on all things Toothsome.”
You can buy the recent issue of Toothsome Magazine directly from their website or from any of their stockists listed.
