"church" news and stories

As eaters who've had the opportunity to stuff themselves silly at a dinner on the ground know, Southern churches can be fine places to dine. Church potlucks, socials and family night suppers are sometimes the most reliable bets for knee-weakeningly good deviled eggs, pimento cheese, tomato salad, ham casserole and caramel cake.

But a recent trend means folks no longer have to monitor bulletins for edible events: Baptist churches throughout the region have lately formalized their role in upholding Southern food traditions by opening full-service cafés on their now sizable campuses. While chefs across Dixie are succumbing to the allure of molecular gastronomy and global cooking techniques, some churches have become important outposts of culinary preservation.

"Our clientele here would rather have a piece of fried chicken than a piece of beef tenderloin any time," says Chris Harwell, a professionally trained chef who helms the kitchen at Immanuel Baptist Church's Solid Roc Café in Lexington, Ky. "It's not the most sophisticated of palates."

In Colombia, the image of Jesus has been seen on the side of a mug of hot chocolate. Specifically, the face appeared on the side of the mug in a pattern of drips. Because this week, the week before Easter, is known as "holy week" by the Catholic Church, the are rumored to be investigating the appearance. In the meantime, a shrine has been set up for visitors to view the cup in the kitchen where it was discovered.

This isn't the first, nor probably the last, time that religious icons have been found in food.

[Image WKYC]

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