This is one of our favorite Food as a Verb photos.

That's Chris LeBlanc, head butcher at Main Street Meats. See that window? In 2024, we spent good time with Chris and his team, ultimately publishing what we consider one of our finest stories yet.

That window? It's a literal window; from the Main Street Meats bar, you can see into the butcher shop.

That window also became a symbol for us.

We want to offer stories that allow you to see into food and farming. Unveil. Pull back the curtain. Peek and peer. Food as a Verb - that's our work - to find the windows into what's usually kept hidden.

This photo, too, is special to us.

That's Carmen Joyce, beekeeper and owner of Nooga Honey Pot.

See that swarm over her left shoulder?

Moments later, a bee landed on her nose.

Sarah's pictures can tell ten thousand words, but here, only one is needed:

Joy.

So, we want to offer a window of sorts for you, our community, with plenty of joy along the way.

We had a hell of a good time in 2024 with you. To borrow from Bob Weir: it more fun than frogs in milk. We launched a fabulously-designed new website. (Alex DeHart, take another bow.) Shook hands and hugged shoulders. Welcomed new partners. Created a new speaker series (we'll announce February's guest very soon!) and continued to, well, do what we do best.

As 2024 passes the baton to 2025, we want to look back over our shoulder at some of our favorite moments.

Little windows. Lotsa joy.

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year,

David, Sarah and Alex

• A Miracle Swarms in Red Bank.

• To the People and Tables That Leave Us Full.

• Farming Without Soil. Welcome to Fresh Tech.

• Hixson High's Farm-to-School Program

• Aubie Smith's strawberries and the reasons we love them.

• Taco Tuesday and The 423 Chainbreakers.

• Love Connects This Whole Thing Together: a Circle S story of sisterhood.

• After 15,330 days, Sammy Norton milks his last cows.

• The Best Damn Loaf - the inside story on Niedlov's Rouge, our city's truly local loaf. (And, the inside story of David's one gritty, shitty loaf.)

• Chef Erik and Amanda Niel and the meaning of hospitality. It starts with one tallboy story.

• The one-and-only, unforgettably grand Sprodeo.

• Dorris Shober and the foundational influence of Lupi's.

• The Future is Young. The distance between Colombia and St. Elmo is not as far as you think.

• Chattanooga's unofficial ambassador and his incomparable River Street Deli.

• Know Your Burger: the full, farm-to-table story behind a Main Street Meats burger.

• Jim and Amy Jo Osborn's Chili Pepper Ranch

• Welcome Home Chattanooga

• NewTerra and the circle of farm-to-table-to-compost.

* And finally, our friends from Mac's Kitchen and Bar, who opened up so many windows and so much joy from their unforgettable Rossville, Georgia, restaurant.

New Year's Eve was their last night.

For now.

Here's to 2025, when Brian McDonald and Jess Revels will undoubtedly open a new restaurant, one that will continue to inspire and redefine our restaurant landscape.

For them, the best is yet to come.

Story ideas, questions, feedback? Interested in partnering with us? Email: david@foodasaverb.com

This story is 100% human generated; no AI chatbot was used in the creation of this content.