Chef priest opens restaurant in the United States to provide new opportunities and feed souls

It is not common to see a Catholic priest working in the kitchen of a restaurant, but Father Leo Patalinghug is not your typical priest.

Based in Baltimore, United States, Father Leo is a radio and television presenter. One of his programs is Savoring Our Faith (Savoring Our Faith) on EWTN, in which the priest, an award-winning chef, “talks about food and faith.”

In 2009 he won the cooking contest Throwdown with Bobby Flay (Face to Face with Bobby Flay) on Food Network. From there, he launched his initiative to food truck (food truck) call Plating Grace and Grub and recently opened a new restaurant in downtown Baltimore called Gastro Social.

In his new restaurant, as well as in his food truck, Father Leo employs people who have been in prison and need a second chance, as well as those who come from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The idea for Gastro Social came about after seeing the success of the food truck—which has become a common sight in disadvantaged neighborhoods in Baltimore—and how it could change people’s lives.

“So to grow the food truck efforts, we are going to use this restaurant space as our central kitchen, but also turn it into a place where we can keep people employed year-round,” the priest told the EWTN News correspondent. , Colm Flynn, for the program EWTN News In Depth.

The priest also wants to use the space to “bring together people from different backgrounds to celebrate around food” and continue the mission of his NGO, The Table Foundationwhich is “harnessing the power of food to do good.”

Father Leo shared that, in this time of serving and helping those in need, he sometimes feels like they are just “putting a band-aid on a situation,” but maybe “if with just one of our employees we can get to the core of their wound and healing her, we know that can change her life.”

One of the lives that has changed thanks to the priest’s work is that of Emmanuel McFadden, 22 years old. The young man grew up in a dangerous neighborhood in Baltimore and became involved in drugs and other street dangers.

One day he realized that if he didn’t change his life, he would end up in prison or dead, like many of his friends. After hearing about McFadden’s desire to become a chef, Father Leo gave him a chance.

McFadden told Flynn that Father Leo teaches his employees more than just learning to cook: “He also teaches us other skills, like communication.”

“I always believed in God,” McFadden said. “I never delved too deeply into my religion, but I always knew there was a Jesus. Jesus always had my back. That’s why I’m here today. Many of my friends are in prison, some dead, and I am here, with no criminal record, I have never been imprisoned, you can’t tell me that that is not Jesus.”

Another life changed considerably by Father Leo is the executive chef of the popular Cuba Libre restaurant in Washington, D.C. After spending six years in prison for assault, Steven Allbright received his second chance working with the priest, and is now running a kitchen and a multi-million dollar operation.

“I was really hoping someone would give me a chance just to wash dishes in the kitchen,” she told Flynn. “I still get emotional every time I talk about how God has worked in my life, just welcoming Father Leo, learning to forgive myself, and learning that God forgave me.”

“Never in my life did I think I would be here in this kitchen as a boss,” Allbright shared. “I am here for God.”

When asked why this ministry is so important to him, Father Leo said: “For me, as a Catholic priest, the most important thing I have in my life is the Eucharist. It’s food, and if I get it, I’m supposed to, as my mom would say, become what I eat.”

“So I just know that offering food to those in need and also feeding those not only hungry in body, but in mind and soul, really changes people,” he concluded.

Translated and adapted by ACI Prensa. Originally published in CNA.