About HONE

When Whetstone magazine launched in 2017, the world of food media was a dramatically different place. The industry badly lacked diversity, and lots of the coverage on food had been distilled into “really cheap” or “really expensive.” Mercifully, things are different now. 

Media smartened up because audiences demanded it and technology enabled it. Editorial got more diverse and so did the restaurants receiving the biggest awards. 

Along the way Whetstone Media raised a million dollars, launched a podcast network (with over 100 scripted episodes!), created a second print magazine, Rasa, in addition to printing the 11th edition of our flagship magazine, Whetstone. Almost all of that was made possible by filming two seasons of a hit Netflix series. All of it has been quite a ride. It’s also been littered with hard-learned lessons and legal documents that had to be signed to make it possible.

What became apparent is the field of culinary arts and its adjacent industries were missing an intermediary afforded to talent in other sectors like sports, speaking, art and entertainment. Talent, content, PR, brand and media; now all of it lives together and is changing fast. What is needed more than ever is fluency across these mediums, which is what Whetstone has and why we created HONE. We are undoubtedly in the age of talent, which makes representation all the more urgent.

As everyone became a media company and sharing content for highly tailored audiences became more prolific, our role in the world shifted, and now we’re shifting with it. 

Publishing, production, platform, talent. Now WHETSTONE | HONE can do it all. 

A brand or star?  Whatever your offer, we’ll help you make it sharper.

  • Whetstone Media and HONE were founded by Stephen Satterfield. Since 2007, Stephen Satterfield has devoted his career to redefining food and beverage as means to organize, activate and educate. He saw the need for more inclusive storytelling and a media company dedicated to food origins and culture from around the world.

    Prior to his career in media, Stephen Satterfield was a sommelier and social entrepreneur promoting wine as a catalyst for socioeconomic development for Black wine workers in South Africa. He is "one of the country’s most respected food journalists" (Eater), and host of the acclaimed Netflix docuseries, High on the Hog. The NAACP and Peabody Award-winning project is now entering its highly anticipated second season.

  • Shanika Hillocks is a multifaceted, multidimensional human being. Versatile and adept, she’s worn several hats—publicist, influencer marketer, speaker, writer, brand strategist, podcast host, on-camera talent and content creator—over the last 10 years of her professional career.

    Her written work has been featured in outlets including Condé Nast Traveler, Esquire, Domino, SevenFifty Daily, and Wine Enthusiast, among others. Regardless of the role, the core elements of her practice are authenticity and storytelling for and by diverse audiences. She’s thrilled to take her values and lived experience to the clients and community as principal of her brand strategy and marketing consultancy based in New York City. Most recently, she was awarded Wine Enthusiast’s 40 Under 40 Tastemakers of 2021.