“Back in 2008 our neighbour in Brooklyn was Diner Journal, an independent food periodical that comes out three times a year, and they inspired us to look at food,” says Keough. “At the same time, we liked the format and editorial line of Butt, a pocket-size quarterly dedicated to gay men that was very inclusive.”
Noticing the kind of characters, conversations and confidences that turn up around the table, the pair decided to start their gamble with a dinner party in Keough’s New York home. The challenge: to create the most elaborate meal possible using only ingredients that could be found at the corner shop. The whole process and evening was documented in words and pictures.
“We wanted it to be as close to real life as it could, rather than be aspirational,” says Keough.
The inaugural issue of Put A Egg On It was a mere eight pages, but its unaffected tone appealed to readers and the duo decided to keep going. It now runs to 68 pages filled with personal essays about how people relate to food, themed recipes, art portfolios and a featured meal every issue.
The summer 2016 instalment includes a story by Jorge de Cascante about the perils of seeking comfort in a family meal after a break-up, and another by Finn Paul about connecting with an uncle over a cheap breakfast and takeaway cannoli. A photostory on New Yorkers’ eat-on-the-go habits is shot by Keough and, for the main event, there are more images of chef Giuseppe Conte cooking for friends and family at home in Las Vegas.
The cover always features someone taking a bite – a pose that is rarely flattering and often considered a photographic faux pas – and is always printed on green paper. “Over the years, we’ve learned how to correct for it,” says Keough. “Mostly we need to bump up the contrast. We like the gamble of it – since the proofs come back on white paper, we can’t see the final result ahead of printing every copy.
“It’s a wild card but we like leaving some things to chance. It’s part of our philosophy. And green is the colour of growing things.”
“Our photographer friend, Geoffrey Ellis, came back to us with this proposal about an out-of-work cook in Vegas feeding his family,” says Keough.
The magazine welcomes unsolicited submissions – with the proviso, published on their website, that Keough and McGinnis are “looking for personal stories, not journalism”. This open-hearted approach sometimes leads to unexpected finds, such as Lauren Zaser’s story Blander, Thicker, Sweeter.
Featuring the grandiose and anachronous landscape tableaux hung in Chinese takeaway joints across New York, it is, says Keough, exactly the kind of thing Put A Egg On It is looking for: quirky, cheeky and absurd. “There’s no shortage of wonderful places and ideas, nor of talented people,” she says. “The challenges are financial and logistical.”
Even so, she and McGinnis are always ambitious with their plans. For the 10th issue, they worked with The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts to locate and publish pictures that the legendary artist made of his equally well known friends in his kitchen. They also featured Jessica Craig-Martin’s photographs of the lavish Explorers Club Annual Dinner at the Waldorf Astoria.
Now the pair are working on a long-term project for which they spend time in a gallery space equipped with a kitchen and invite people to come and enjoy a meal in exchange for a story. So far they have held events in New York, New Orleans, Tokyo and London, and they hope to add a few more before publishing a book compiling the best tales told at their table.
