Stephanie Gravalese is a food culture analyst, writer, and critic with nearly a decade of experience uncovering the stories behind what we eat — how memory, emotion, and cultural shifts shape our relationship to food. She specializes in the emotional economy of food: what we reach for in times of change, what we mourn when it’s gone, and what that says about who we are. From fast food nostalgia to inflation-era cravings to the quiet panic when beloved products disappear, she traces the points where identity, joy, and survival intersect — where food becomes a lens for understanding how we live now.

She is a contributor to Food & Wine, a Food and Dining contributor at Forbes, a food and travel writer through the Yahoo Creators Program, and the capital region dining critic for the Times Union in Albany, New York. She hosts the Food Stories Told podcast, where she explores the history, foodways, and personal stories that explain why certain meals stick with us. She has served as a judge for both the IACP Cookbook Awards and the James Beard Awards. Food equity remains central to her work — spotlighting themes of access, dignity, and cultural memory, encouraging readers to see food not just as fuel or trend, but as a lens into who we are, what we’ve inherited, and how we adapt.