A top chef with a vocation (H/T Deacon Greg Kandra):

I remember certain parts of Scripture where there is food involved. That’s sort of what keeps me interested in what I am doing if I am having a low point, ” said the Upperline’s longtime chef. “We come into the world needing nourishment to survive and grow and for our existence, to keep us going. It has a purpose, and it has a purpose that can be traced way back to when Jesus was here.”

Anyone who has tried Smith’s food at the Upperline — the dark, dense gumbo, the nostril-flaring Gulf shrimp piquant, the duck-andouille etouffee that is filling in more ways than one — should not be surprised to discover there is a spiritual component to his cooking. Upperline owner JoAnn Clevenger, who has worked with Smith for nearly 20 years, was still shocked late last month when Smith told her he was leaving the kitchen behind to become a priest.

Read the rest here.

I love reading unusual vocation stories. This one particularly interests me, because I am a wannabe cook. I dabble in the art. I think that feeding people is important in ministry—even if it is just coffee and doughnuts after mass. It is essential to youth ministry. Like the army, the youth group marches on their stomachs.