Grand Prix Gastronomy in 2025
Changes are afoot!
Hello my beautiful culinary friends — we've had a fantastic few years of Grand Prix Gastronomy, haven't we?
We've relished the slow, comforting process of baking bread. We've left stews simmering on the stovetop all afternoon, flooding our homes with the scent of a comforting meal. We've made messes of our kitchens trying to juggle three pans at once. We've also cooked a hell of a lot of great food.
But in 2025, I'll be stepping back.
This is not goodbye!
Not even slightly — it's more of a “see you later.” A “we'll be sooooo back in 2026.”
Over this winter break, I've done a lot of thinking about the ways I want to spend my time, and the projects into which I want to pour my effort. I'm one of those people who loves juggling a thousand things at once. I started working in college, went directly to grad school to pursue two degrees at once, took on and then quit a full time job, wrote two thesis projects and a book all at once, married a fine fella from Canada which meant hunting down visas and also buying a house all at once, and also trying to pile a thousand different projects on top of all of that.
In 2024, I: switched jobs, worked a full-time job, regularly contributed to other publications, cooked my way through the Formula 1 calendar, launched a podcast, started a weekly livestream with a friend, wrote scripts for other people's podcasts and videos, started writing one book and editing another, traveled, got sick, nursed a sick kitty back to health, designed a website, wrote a full guide to a Concours d’Elegance, and contributed to the bulk of a new magazine.
The problem was that I never felt like I was doing those things well, or giving them the full attention they deserved. And how could I? I'm over here trying to do the work of a small army!
Something had to give, and by “something,” I mean “pretty much most of everything I'm trying to do all at the same time.”
When I told my husband I was thinking of setting Grand Prix Gastronomy on the backburner for a year, he was heartbroken — and honestly, so was I. We brainstormed this project together. We plan together. We cook together. We eat together. This project was designed to spice up our dinner plans, and it has been truly so much fun eating our way through the world.
So, I started putting together a few ideas for GPG 2025, only to realize, girl, this is exactly the kind of mindset that keeps you overcommitted! You trim down your schedule, then go, “Now that my schedule is trimmed down, I can start 19 new projects!” No!!!!!! No that's too much!!!!!!!
GPG takes a lot of work. Planning the meals is one thing. Then I have to create graphics, shop (which can require going to multiple specialty stores), set up a whole filming rig, take photos, cook the meal, tear down the filming rig, edit the photos and video, write the Substack, upload and caption all the photos and videos, and then promote the damn thing, all while, like, living my life and also cleaning the kitchen I inevitably demolished.
I was burning out on GPG at the end of 2024 and knew that, if I wanted to continue, I needed to really rethink my goals for the year and find a new way to go about the whole thing. I also knew that there were a lot of things I wanted to do more.
As the year came to a close, I challenged myself to pick three projects to focus on in 2025, and to try to make sure those projects overlapped as much as possible. When I read a book for research, for example, I want that book to be relevant to as many of my projects as possible — and three projects felt like a manageable number.
My job at PlanetF1.com had to be one of the projects, because that's the thing that pays the bills. I knew I wanted to relaunch my podcast “Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys” in a big way, so that was going to be the second project. And my whole entire goal in life is to write books, and I've had a great idea that I just haven't been able to put down on paper. All three are motorsport history related, with an emphasis on American racing history. They'll all be relevant to each other. The post I write for PF1 will have been inspired by an episode of DPTJ, which I wrote in order to flesh out a chapter of my book. That is exactly the kind of crossover I'm talking about.
Unfortunately, there's not much room for Grand Prix Gastronomy in that whole process. Not this year, at least.
That's not to say the series is over; in fact, I really really really really miss it already, and I want to revive it in 2026. But I have to protect the ol’ brain space this year.
But I will still be on Substack! Part of my push for “Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys” this year is to spark conversations and look deeper into the world of motorsport. That means book reviews, critiques of culture, advice on how to become a motorsport journalist, and more.
If you want to join me on that journey, you can subscribe to DPTJ:
You can also check out my Linktree for all the various places I'll be in 2025.
Thank you all for two wonderful years of Grand Prix Gastronomy. I cannot wait to see all your smiling faces again in 2026.