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.
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Episodes
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.
Monday May 15, 2023
Monday May 15, 2023
Happy Mother's Day to all the physical and spiritual moms out there! Fr. Ben offers this homily to reveal the beauty of motherhood, as well as provide insight to the heart of a mom.
Thursday May 11, 2023
Thursday May 11, 2023
Have you ever wondered what Foie-Gras is and how it comes about? How about what the Catholic Church teaches on topics like science and evolution? Join Fr. Ben and Khira as they discuss these topics and hopefully clarify any questions you might have.
If you would like to submit a question, you can visit the Soul Food Priest FB page or go to our parish website here.
Monday May 08, 2023
Monday May 08, 2023
Jesus tells us in the Gospel, "Do not let your hearts be troubled." Often times it seems like this is impossible. There are some who have had near death experiences and would say it is possible. What can their stories tell us? Fr. Ben discusses this in his homily.
Thursday May 04, 2023
Thursday May 04, 2023
Ever heard of the James Beard Awards? Who was James Beard? What's the importance of a mentor in life, especially the spiritual life? Listen and find out in this tapas Fr. Ben is serving up!
Monday May 01, 2023
Monday May 01, 2023
In this homily, Fr. Ben explains the difference between wisdom and knowledge, and what true wisdom looks like. He shares a beautiful moment he had in Normandy, France, this past week, that caused him to think about the need of wisdom in the American culture.
Sorry we haven't posted a homily in a couple of weeks. Fr. Ben was out of town.
Thursday Apr 27, 2023
Thursday Apr 27, 2023
Visiting priest, Fr. Anthony, and Fr. Ben discuss with Khira Rotty what the day in the life of a parish priest looks like. Have you ever wondered what they do all day? Take a listen!
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 regarding food or faith email us at soulfoodpriestmemphis@gmail.org 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.