A US woman recently went viral for dedicating herself to a very unusual hobby – cooking recipes etched into people’s gravestones as a unique way of remembering and celebrating their lives.
About a year ago, Rosie Grant was studying library science at the University of Maryland and interning in the archives of the Congressional Cemetery. At one point, she started a TikTok account and started sharing facts about her studies with the internet, and it was this foray into the world of cemeteries that led her to her first gravestone cooking recipe. It was for spritz cookies, featured only seven ingredients and included no instructions, but Rosie managed to use it to make something edible, and the experience just left her hungry for more gravestone recipes.
Photo: Rosie Grant
“Cooking these recipes has shown me an alternative side to death,” 33-year-old Rosie Grant said. “It is a way to memorialize someone and celebrate their life.”
After her original TikTok video of baking the gravestone recipe went viral, Grant started searching for similar recipes and managed to find a few all over the United States. She has spent the past year finding more gravestone recipes and she has stumbled upon a few gems.
In a Utah cemetery, Rosie discovered the final resting place of Kay Andrews, which has her fudge recipe engraved on the gravestone, this time with some simple but clear instructions. The fudge turned out great, but the real treat was learning Kay’s story, hearing her family talk about what made her special, and learning that the woman had always liked to share things with people.
Other recipes include the nut rolls etched into the gravestone of one Ida Kleinman, in Israel, or another American woman who has the recipe to a savory cheese dip etched into her gravestone. So far she has cooked 12 or 13 such gravestone recipes and she is already looking for more to share with her TikTok followers.
“When we’re in mourning, food is very comforting to us,” Rosie told TODAY. “These recipes feel like a more tactile, all-senses-included way to remember someone rather than only using your memory. But when you’re eating grandma’s special cake or cookie or whatever it is, you feel a little bit more connected to her.”
Rosie Grant told The Washington Post that she would love to visit all the gravestones whose etched recipes she has used so far, as a form of respect to the people buried there.
“My goal is to go to all of them,” she said. “I would love to cook the recipe and taste it at their graveside as a cheers to this person who gave this gift to me and to everybody else.”
