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
2 days ago
2 days ago
All Soul Food Priest listeners must be fans of Nutella! Just kidding! In today's episode, Fr. Ben, Silvia, and Khira discuss the controversy Nutella caused on one college campus as well as the responsibility of Catholic universities. All parents of high schoolers and young adults want to listen to this episode while searching for colleges to attend.
Thank you for listening. We'd love to hear from you! You can visit Ask Fr. Ben | St. Michael Church (stmichaelmemphis.org) to submit questions and topic ideas for the podcast. You can also follow us on Facebook at Soul Food Priest and let us know what you think of the podcast.
Thursday Apr 18, 2024
Thursday Apr 18, 2024
Fr. Ben walks through his happy place, an international grocery store. Breaking away from our usual grocery store can be as unusual as walking outside our comfort zones. Why is that important? Fr. Ben serves you a tapas explaining why!
Have a question? Go to Ask Fr. Ben | St. Michael Church (stmichaelmemphis.org) to submit questions and topic ideas for the podcast. You can also follow us on Facebook at Soul Food Priest.
Wednesday Apr 17, 2024
Wednesday Apr 17, 2024
We want to apologize! This episode was intended to be released April 11th; however, due to technical issues, we're releasing it late. We hope you still enjoy it though!
What would your last meal be if you knew this was your last day? Fr. Ben poses this question to Silvia and Khira in this episode and their disussion will make you laugh.
Also, we receive questions about the Apocalypse. Is it coming, especially given all the disasters, feuds, and potential wars? What do Catholics believe about the Apocalypse? Take a listen!
Have a question? Go to Ask Fr. Ben | St. Michael Church (stmichaelmemphis.org) to submit questions and topic ideas for the podcast. You can also follow us on Facebook at Soul Food Priest.
Monday Apr 15, 2024
Monday Apr 15, 2024
In this homily, Fr. Ben describes the difference between authenticity and duplicity. What does it look like in a person and how should we be as faithful Catholics? This definitely serves as a great examination of conscience.
Thank you for listening. We'd love to hear from you! You can visit Ask Fr. Ben | St. Michael Church (stmichaelmemphis.org) to submit questions and topic ideas for the podcast. You can also follow us on Facebook at Soul Food Priest and let us know what you think of the podcast.
Tuesday Apr 09, 2024
Tuesday Apr 09, 2024
Knowing Who we are and Who's we are is crucial to developing a thick skin. Fr. Ben explains this in his homily and why it's important in the spiritual life.
Thank you for listening. We'd love to hear from you! You can visit Ask Fr. Ben | St. Michael Church (stmichaelmemphis.org) to submit questions and topic ideas for the podcast. You can also follow us on Facebook at Soul Food Priest and let us know what you think of the podcast.
Tuesday Apr 02, 2024
Tuesday Apr 02, 2024
Happy Easter!! We pray that many blessings be upon you and your families this season.
Easter means that, as Catholic Christians, we are a people of hope. This should be what people see. So, what does an Easter attitude look like? Take a listen as Fr. Ben explains in his homily.
Thank you for listening. We'd love to hear from you! You can visit Ask Fr. Ben | St. Michael Church (stmichaelmemphis.org) to submit questions and topic ideas for the podcast. You can also follow us on Facebook at Soul Food Priest and let us know what you think of the podcast.
Thursday Mar 28, 2024
Thursday Mar 28, 2024
A listener asked the question: How do I evangelize? A lot of Catholics are unsure of how to evangelize and what it looks like. In this episode, Fr. Ben, Khira, and Silvia discuss the best ways to evangelize and how to be bold in the faith.
Thank you for listening. We'd love to hear from you! You can visit Ask Fr. Ben | St. Michael Church (stmichaelmemphis.org) to submit questions and topic ideas for the podcast. You can also follow us on Facebook at Soul Food Priest and let us know what you think of the podcast.
Thursday Mar 21, 2024
Thursday Mar 21, 2024
Fr. Ben serves up a small plate of BBQ, Memphis style, and discusses what this can teach us about the importance of being together.
Thank you for listening. We'd love to hear from you! You can visit Ask Fr. Ben | St. Michael Church (stmichaelmemphis.org) to submit questions and topic ideas for the podcast. You can also follow us on Facebook at Soul Food Priest and let us know what you think of the podcast.
Monday Mar 18, 2024
Monday Mar 18, 2024
Fr. Ben discusses the beauty of being able to laugh at oneself. The great saints were able to do it. Listen to this homily to understand why.
Have a question? Go to Ask Fr. Ben | St. Michael Church (stmichaelmemphis.org) to submit questions and topic ideas for the podcast. You can also follow us on Facebook at Soul Food Priest.
Thursday Mar 14, 2024
Thursday Mar 14, 2024
What in the world is Babka? Take a listen (hint: our Polish listeners will know). Why is Holy Week so important? Why is the Easter Vigil so long? Why does the mass look a little different during the Triduum? What is the Triduum? All these questions discussed in this episode with Fr. Ben, Silvia, and Khira.
Thank you for listening. We'd love to hear from you! You can visit Ask Fr. Ben | St. Michael Church (stmichaelmemphis.org) to submit questions and topic ideas for the podcast. You can also follow us on Facebook at Soul Food Priest and let us know what you think of the podcast.
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.