To Die For: A Cookbook of Gravestone Recipes

An inspiring collection of recipes preserved on gravestones, with fascinating interviews from the families, celebrating the beloved food legacies of their dearly departed.

For so many, food is a touching, nostalgic thing that brings us together. So much so that some families choose to remember their loved ones through the dishes they made and the food that brought comfort to those around them by immortalizing their recipes on their gravestones.Rosie Grant, the creator behind @GhostlyArchive, has been searching out and documenting this interesting phenomenon. In To Die For, Rosie collects 40 recipes she’s found across the globe, carved into headstones or associated with a grave that has a story to share. Each recipe is accompanied by an interview with the remaining family, plus photography of the food, the gravestone, and any memorabilia the family wanted to share.Recipes include:Spritz CookiesHomemade FudgeChicken SoupFrench Silk PieGuava Cobbler…and more!Thoughtfully and respectfully explored, Rosie has documented this connection between food, legacy, and family, remembering the deceased through the recipes they most loved, and giving their families a platform to share their loved one’s story and cherished dish with the world.

About the Author

Rosie Grant is the creator behind @GhostlyArchive on TikTok and Instagram, where she researches and re-creates recipes found on gravestones. She works at the Center for the Study of Women at UCLA and is currently working on a food studies certificate at the UCLA Extension School. She received her Masters in Library Science (MLIS) at the University of Maryland with a concentration in digital archives in 2022, where she got to combine her love of food writing, cemeteries, and archival work. The gravestone recipe project first began during her digital archives internship at Congressional Cemetery in Washington, DC.