Soul Food Priest
This is the podcast where culinary and Christianity collide. Each week Fr. Ben Bradshaw will serve up homilies, whip up Teaching Tapas, answer your burning questions, and pass along recipes.
Listen on:
Episodes
Monday Jun 19, 2023
Monday Jun 19, 2023
Happy Father's Day!
On this special weekend, Fr. Ben reflects on the great calling of fatherhood, and the ultimate goal for each dad. Learn what that is in this inspiring homily.
Thursday Jun 15, 2023
Thursday Jun 15, 2023
Two main staples in most cultural dishes are potatoes & bread. The greatest staple in the Catholic Church is the Eucharist, the Bread of Life. Enjoy this small serving on the greatest meal in the world!
The Catholic Church is now celebrating a Eucharistic Revival. To begin it, Fr. Ben is serving a few helpings of teachings on the Eucharist this year. Stay tuned for more!
Monday Jun 12, 2023
Monday Jun 12, 2023
Catholics celebrated Corpus Christi (the Body of Christ) this past Sunday. Listen to this homily Fr. Ben served up at mass on the importance of the Eucharist, especially in daily living.
Thursday Jun 08, 2023
Thursday Jun 08, 2023
How did a chai tea latte cause Fr. Ben to think about the topic of dating?? What is the purpose of dating? When should one date and not date? Silvia and Khira also provide their stories of dating their husbands.
Monday Jun 05, 2023
Monday Jun 05, 2023
How can self-knowledge help us in life and our spiritual life? Fr. Ben explains this as well as identify some psychological disorders that can impede us from self-knowledge. Humility is key!
Thursday Jun 01, 2023
Thursday Jun 01, 2023
Wisdom Part 2
Gewürztraminer is Fr. Ben's favorite type of wine. What can that grape teach us about our spiritual lives? Listen as Fr. Ben plates up this small lesson filled with wisdom!
Tuesday May 30, 2023
Tuesday May 30, 2023
On this past Pentecost Sunday, Fr. Ben speaks about various people in history who either impacted the world in good ways or bad ways. Each of these people were baptized Christians. The big question is: Will you allow the Holy Spirit to work through you to be on the right side of history?
Thursday May 25, 2023
Thursday May 25, 2023
Do you know the various types of bread around the world? Fr. Ben quizzes Khira and Silvia!
What is Pentecost? What is the importance of Pentecost? What does it mean for the average person?
Monday May 22, 2023
Monday May 22, 2023
All throughout history, people have either faced their problems or run away from them. What is the key ingredient to facing our demons? Fr. Ben provides the answer in the homily along with various examples of those who used it in their lives.
Thursday May 18, 2023
Thursday May 18, 2023
What can aged butter teach us about wisdom? Fr. Ben serves up a small portion of thought on how we can grow in wisdom through knowing HIStory.
Every other week Fr. Ben will be answering your burning questions regarding food and faith. He is joined by two of his friends and staff members, Silvia Vega and Khira Rotty, who will be the moderators for the upcoming Q & A episodes. If you have a question for Fr. Ben go to www.stmichaelmemphis.org/ask-fr--ben or the Soul Food Priest FB page at https://www.facebook.com/soulfoodpriest/.
Fr. Ben Bradshaw S.T.L.
Originally baptized Lutheran, Fr. Ben became Catholic at a young age and attended Catholic schools in Memphis growing up.
He always loved to cook and always considered being a professional chef or a Catholic priest, and so he became both.
At age 17, he began working for a French chef in Memphis and worked in kitchens until age 20. He then entered Johnson & Wales University culinary arts program in Charleston, SC. There he earned an Associate’s degree in Culinary Arts.
Fr. Ben then decided to travel to Russia where he lived and worked as a missionary with a religious community. It was there, in a small village, where he began to consider a calling to be a missionary priest. (Since then he has spent time visiting and working in Guatemala, Mexico, Africa, and Eastern and Western Europe.)
He returned home to Memphis and worked as a pastry chef for 5 years. This led him study in Paris, France at the L’Ecôle Lenôtre school of Pastry Arts, where he studied chocolate and pulled sugar artistry. He continued to consider more frequently the call to be a missionary priest.
After returning to the United States he attended The New England Culinary Institute in Vermont, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Food and Beverage Management. After graduating from NECI, Fr. Ben began considering an option he had not yet considered: Diocesan Priesthood. After much prayerful discernment, he entered the seminary at the age of 27 and was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Memphis in June of 2006.
Fr. Ben earned a Masters of Arts and a Masters of Divinity in Sacred Theology. He wrote his Master's thesis on Pope Saint John Paul II's understanding of femininity and womanhood as it relates to writings of St. Edith Stein. He also holds a Licentiate degree in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Washington, D.C. The focus on his dissertation was on the response of the Catholic Church to the issue of Same-Sex attraction. Since 2005, his continuing education studies have been at the Theology of the Body Institute in Philadelphia, P.A.
Fr. Ben is currently the pastor of St. Michael's parish in Memphis, TN.