The Winter 2025 issue of Gravy explores themes of place, home, and land, following family traditions through changing geographies and circumstances. Along the way, contributors remind us that traditions can be more interesting—more complicated, more revelatory, more powerful—than they sometimes get credit for.


Author Silas House remembers eating Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes as a child, which were manufactured in the company’s factory outside of Chattanooga, and explores the pride and affection Appalachians feel for the iconic desserts. The importance of these cakes to his family are a perfect example of a tradition—serving festive baked goods around the holidays—that stayed alive by evolving to fit changing times and circumstances. 


Elsewhere in the issue, writers carry forward their own family traditions with intention and effort. Neema Avashia grew up in West Virginia, where neighbors helped her parents plant a backyard garden full of ingredients that kept her family tethered to their Indian roots. Her essay describes how today, in her Boston home, a shared garden connects her back to the Mountain State. Wes Pirkle considers the changing face of quail hunting—and the dogs that made it possible—through his own experience, which began in Georgia in the 1980s, continued in Europe during his military career, and persists back in Georgia today.


Columnist Hanna Raskin reports on prayer at the restaurant table, and what the practice means for both guests and hospitality workers. Andrea Weigl writes of North Carolina Triangle restaurants past and present, and what restaurants can tell us about a community’s evolution. Journalist Jewel Wicker interviews Atlanta chef Demetrius Brown about the colonial legacy of French cuisine. Emily Smith shares a poem of peaches and motherhood.