Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Cooking brings generations together. For private chef and TikToker Maddy DeVita (@handmethefork), spending time in the kitchen watching and learning her Nonna's recipes was the sweet cornerstone of their relationship. DeVita opened up in an emotional TikTok video (that has been viewed over 20 million times) that after her Nonna recently passed away at 96 years old, she inherited her Nonna's treasured 'sauce pot' that will forever hold a special place in her heart and kitchen.

"this pot is now my entire personality," she captioned the video.


@handmethefork

this pot is now my entire personality

The video includes montages of DeVita and Nonna cooking together, followed by an emotional scene where her family gathered together to honor Nonna's legacy--and where she was gifted the sauce pot that had been in the family for 70 years. And TikTok got all the feels. "Now THIS is generational wealth ❤️," one viewer commented. Another wrote, "It's not just a pot, it's her legacy. You inherited her legacy 😭."

Part of a large Italian-American family, DeVita shared with PEOPLE that her Nonna had 7 children and 25 grandchildren. "Nonna was the true matriarch of my dad’s side of the family,” DeVita toldPEOPLE. "She and my grandfather divorced when my dad was young, and it has taken me some time to wrap my head around the fact that she was a single mother of seven kids, worked throughout medical school and went on to have a career as a physician for over 60 years. She was a trailblazer in so many ways."

@handmethefork

what a day 🥹

In another sentimental TikTok video, DeVita shared the exact moment she was gifted the pot from her uncle, who explained that the pot cost $4.95 at People's Drugstore, and that she received it as a wedding present in 1954. He also shared that his mom had taught him how to make risotto in the same pot. "Of course I immediately burst into tears. This sauce pot is just so special to all of Nonna's 7 kids, let alone all of her grandchildren," DeVita says in the video. "So to be entrusted with it just means the world. And it also means I will be having many, many, many Sunday dinners at my apartment which I am not complaining about."

DeVita also told PEOPLE that she began to learn her Nonna's recipes during the pandemic after realizing the recipes weren't written down anywhere. So she began posting videos of the two cooking together on her Instagram account.

"It kind of became a monthly tradition — I would go down to Paramus, we’d pick a new recipe and I would come ready with all the ingredients," she said. "It was so special to just have this kind of one-on-one time with her and bond over this shared interest in food."

Since inheriting the sauce pot, DeVita has been making meals in her Nonna's honor. The first one she cooked? Her meatball recipe.

@handmethefork

“I’m not a big proponent of garlic… you just want the essence of the garlic in the oil”

"She led by example, always putting her family first. I think everyone feels that so much now that she's gone," she said. "I'm happy to say I definitely feel closer than ever to my family, and I think that's largely because of Nonna."

More For You

woman in brown shirt covering her face

It normalizes vulnerability.

Photo by Fa Barboza on Unsplash

Mom encourages parents to let their kids see them cry in emotional video

Kids often look at their parents like superheroes–strong, confident and indestructible. But of course, they are human. And with that comes feeling and expressing emotions, some that are sad and heavy–especially when dealing with the loss of a loved one.

And Instagrammer Ashley Lemieux (@ashleyklemiuex), a grief expert who has her Masters in Science with an emphasis in Grief and Bereavement, shared why she believes kids should see their parents cry.

Keep ReadingShow less
parents signing into their baby's crib; a baby with sensors stuck on his head

Callie Foster (@thelacouple) and her husband Leo share their journey learning sign language with son Luca.

thelacouple/Instagram

Couple documents emotional journey learning sign language after son is born deaf

When Callie Foster (@thelacouple) and her husband Leo welcomed their baby boy Luca into the world in 2021, they received an unexpected health diagnosis. After failing his newborn hearing screenings twice, and following further testing, at six weeks old they were told that Luca was profoundly Deaf. As first-time hearing parents, it was overwhelming and emotional news that they have shared with their followers on Instagram. "We grieved the sounds we thought he'd never hear, the whispered I love yous, the world we assumed he'd miss out on," Callie wrote in an Instagram video detailing their journey with Luca.

But they immediately took action, researching and engaging with online parenting and Deaf communities. One mother's advice changed everything: ‘All your baby needs is love and language—keep singing, keep talking, but most importantly, start signing.' So they did.

Keep ReadingShow less
madeliefvis_, the greatest showman, wedding

Maddie (madeliefvis_) and her family practice dance from 'The Greatest Showman' for sister's wedding.

madeliefvis_/Instagram

Family practiced epic dance from 'The Greatest Showman' for 8 months to surprise sister at her wedding

Surprise performances at wedding receptions are always iconic. And TikToker Maddie (@madeliefvis) and her entire family pulled off one for the books. To surprise her sister who was getting married, they learned the dance and exact choreography for the song "From Now On" from the movie The Greatest Showman to surprise her at their wedding reception.

"Watch our family practice for 8 months to learn this dance from my sister's favorite movie as a surprise for her wedding," she wrote in the video's caption.

Keep ReadingShow less
kimberly dowdell, reunion, down syndrome

Brothers Blake and Jack have an emotional reunion.

thekimberlydowdell/Instagram

Teen with Down syndrome travels hundreds of miles for incredible reunion with brother

Going off to college is the break-free moment that most young adults long for. While the newfound freedom is an amazing change, it is also a time of transition--which can bring a lot of uncomfortable feelings with the adjustment. It can be overwhelming, scary, and unfamiliar. So when mom Kimberly DowDell (@thekimberlydowdell) received a message from her son Blake that he was feeling anxious and overwhelmed during his second semester at college, she knew exactly what to do. She loaded up the family, including her husband and Blake's brother Jack (who has Down syndrome), and got on the road to go see him. And the brothers had an emotional reunion that was shared on social media.

"Blake is in his second semester of college, and being away from home can be hard. When he told us he was feeling anxious and overwhelmed, we didn’t even think twice—we jumped in the car and drove 286 miles just to be there for him," she wrote in the post's Instagram caption. "To remind him he’s not alone. To give him words of encouragement. To wrap him in a hug that says, we see you, we love you, and we’re always here for you."

Keep ReadingShow less
Hand dyeing brassy hair

A beautiful hair journey.

Fabulous son helps his mom embrace gray hair after years of dyeing

Have you watched The Substance? I have not (body horror isn't really my thing), but from what I gather, the message at the film's core is profound: Don't resist aging because doing so only invokes chaos and destruction. This sounds nice in theory, but there's so much pressure to age the "right" way in the real world. Older women especially face an impossible task: aging "gracefully" while the world around you treats youth as the ultimate prize.

However, a viral YouTube video is not-so-quietly rewriting society's beauty rules. When celebrity hairstylist Guy Tang's mom decided to embrace her natural gray hair and stop dyeing it dark, she turned to her son for help. The transformation, documented in one of Tang's many videos, took over eight hours to complete—an astounding testament to the power of reclaiming authority and recognizing the beauty of aging.

Keep ReadingShow less