New cookbook author behind the viral rise of gravestone recipes
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Ghostly Archives creator Rosie Grant is out with her first book: "To Die For." Photo: Courtesy of Harper Collins Publishers
Forget secrets — more people are taking recipes to the grave, carving their signature cookies, pies and dips on their headstones.
- And this week, "To Die For," the first-ever cookbook of gravestone recipes, is out from viral food folklorist Rosie Grant, aka @Ghostly.Archive.
State of play: The Alexandria native began documenting death as an intern at Congressional Cemetery.
- She began sharing cemetery life on TikTok, then expanded her project by hunting down and recreating gravestone recipes across the country.
"To Die For" compiles 40 beloved dishes — from spritz cookies to guava cobbler, and Irish coffee — alongside reflections from families who immortalized loved ones through food.
- Grant started her cookbook project during the pandemic, losing two grandparents along the way.
- "There's something so visceral about connecting loved ones to food — the smells, the taste, all of your senses connecting with a memory," she says. "You can be back in their kitchen."
The intrigue: Grant found the recipes by word-of-mouth — mostly desserts from women, though savory standouts like meatloaf, chicken soup and even a special Jack Daniels marinade are included.
- "I think most of these women lived 'normal lives.' They loved their families. They loved hosting people. It was a skill set that they were really proud of," she tells Axios.
- "They weren't necessarily famous in their lifetimes, but they were known in their communities, they hosted every holiday, they gave through food. And they just seemed like very fun, lively people."
How it works: Before visiting a headstone or sharing a recipe, Grant always connects with the family — or in a few cases, living people who got a jumpstart on afterlife planning.
- She visited one woman in Arkansas and made gravestone sugar cookies alongside her as friends and neighbors poured in. "I thought it was the novelty of some TikTokker showing up," says Grant. "But everyone came because Peggy was baking."
The big picture: Death and food have long intertwined — from Mexico's Día de Muertos feasts, where traditional foods nourish souls, to Midwestern funeral potatoes, a dish brought to grieving families.
- Gravestone recipes are part of a modern personalization of death, where stones now feature laser-cut photos and even Amazon-sold QR codes that link to digital memorials.
- While full recipes are rare, more gravestones reference food — take Julia Child's memorial, which offers a final culinary tip: "Fat gives things flavor."
What's next: Grant is in the process of planning her own gravestone recipe at Congressional Cemetery: clam linguine, her favorite dinner party dish and the last recipe in her cookbook.
- "I'm moved by the idea that what matters in life is not our accomplishments, but how we connect to others," Grant writes. "If I'm going to be remembered for anything, let it be a good meal, paired with great company."