How cakes can put us in touch with the saints

Cooking with the Saints
By Alexandra Greeley and Fernando Flores,
Sophia Institute Press, 352pp, £27/$35

‘When food is prepared as a gift by one who loves , the original plan of God for the communion of His people is restored.” Cooking with the Saints offers this kitchen table communion through a collection of international recipes arranged around saints from every global region.

The book began in the urban and international parish of St Veronica’s in Chantilly, Virginia, which boasts 5,000 active parishioners, a primary school of 400 and a homeschool community. On Sunday, there are six Masses; three on most weekdays. Parishioners form the usual litany of lay societies – KSC, LoM, RCIA, CYO – but there are also active prison ministries, adoption support, pro-life groups, a Divine Mercy Cenacle, and a “Garden Apostolate” that grows plants on parish land for use by the community and the local needy.