April 2026

Introducing The Southern Fork Substack subscription

I completed Season 10 of The Southern Fork last month. That’s a milestone any way you look at it, and it’s enough to make a person reflective, though I will admit I slide down that slope pretty often. :)

I’ve had other writing focuses, from visual art to music to personal profiles. I’ve been an American Studies college instructor, written two books of ghost stories, and even taught and published poetry.

But this writerly “beat” continues to light me up 15 years in. Why do I like covering food and food-based travel so much?

Because it’s magic hiding in plain sight. And it’s part of our everyday.

Food is the most banal of our needs besides air, the everyday ritual that connects us to interbeing, that denies the gap between us and place, others, ourselves, our purpose, our life force to begin again another day. That’s big and heady, sure, but think about the intimacy of it all.

There is dignity of humanness in service and sometimes jubilant magic in the richness of the sun-warmed peach, the freshly caught shrimp still smelling of wet salt, or that moment when you get a flash that this is one of the nights to remember, sitting beside each other in a crowded dining room.

Growing food, making it, or serving it can be the most noble of things to do for another, but it’s not saccharine. It’s often dirty and tiring and requires the strength of observation, of study, as well as defiance against the cult of convenience that’s always tempting us with the deadly sin of what-is-the-point.

That’s why I created The Southern Fork 10 years ago, to dig into the stories beyond the ingredients, the snappy chef bios, the flashy cocktails or soundbytes.

There’s something going on here, and I’m here for it. You are too, or you wouldn’t be engaged with my work enough to be on this email list. Thank you for that. And know that this newsletter — which will return to its regular format next month — will always be free.

But I’m ready to engage more with you, so I’m doubling down. There’s so much more than a podcast can encompass.

Today, I’m launching The Southern Fork Substack subscription, a robust, more À la minute version of my work and way of viewing the world. For $5/month, each subscriber will receive:

• A Pocket Pebbles newsletter each Friday. Written in a short, easy-to-read-and-reference format, this list will be smooth stones of inspiration to skip across the surface of your weekend, from kitchen tools I’m learning to love, news-y items from past guests or my current travels, and always a seasonal drink recommendation or two.

• A meatier, bi-weekly article that focuses on the kind of content you’ve come to expect from me. Think travel recommendations, restaurant deep dives, chef conversations, and farm focuses; they’ll all be here.

• A new, Substack website designed to help you use the resources I share through searchable tags that can help you plan your next meal, long weekend, or restaurant visit.

While many of the articles will remain based in the American South — this is my legacy, of course — not all will be. Food is a universal language, so The Southern Fork’s coverage will be true more to tone and focus than strict geographical lines.

Ideas don’t have borders; I go where the work leads.

Everyone on this list will receive the first Pocket Pebbles email tomorrow, so I hope you’ll find something of value in it.

I’ll continue to write for other publications and produce other podcasts beyond my own. And a new The Southern Fork podcast season will launch in September 2026. But welcome my new home address. :)

I’m so excited to share more opinions, more recommendations, and more of just the beauty and inspiration I find out on the road. I hope you’ll join me.

Let’s dig in.

— Steph