The Pope’s Cookbook

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls: the Pope’s cookbook is here, and it’s packed with earthly food from a heavenly perspective. Hell yes.

For Pope Francis, Sunday lunch—the moment when family members and friends celebrate the beauty of eating together while appreciating the “good things” the table has to offer—is the most important moment of the week. It’s no coincidence that the words “Enjoy your meal” are a regular part of the Sunday greeting. Although the fact that the Pope once graduated as a food technologist probably has something to do with it, too. Clearly, his love of food goes beyond “our daily bread.”

Hazelnut cake and polenta

Jorge Mario Bergoglio—even the Pope simply has a name, of course—grew up in Buenos Aires, where his grandmother introduced him to her culinary knowledge, skills and love for her region. That region isn’t Buenos Aires, but the hilly northern Italian region of Piedmont. In 1921, his grandparents emigrated to Argentina, but they took their food culture with them. So during the holidays, the Bergoglio family table in Argentina was also filled with Italian specialities such as hazelnut cake, polenta, dried chestnuts and agnolotti (a type of ravioli).

Special stories and recipes

Eating with Francis is packed with special stories and recipes, focusing on the moments and experiences that have marked his life: from what he experienced with his family in Buenos Aires to the present day. Particularly special are the passages in which author Roberto Alborghetti talks to Maria Elena, the Pope’s youngest sister, about the past: “Mum was a wonderful cook. She made fresh pasta, cappelletti with ragù, Piedmontese risotto and oven-roasted chicken that was finger-licking good.”

‘Mum was a wonderful cook: she made oven-roasted chicken that was finger-licking good’

She explains that her brother was forced to get behind the stove at a young age, when their mother was left paralysed during childbirth. Jorge Mario was the eldest at home, so he was given the task of preparing the food. As soon as he came home from school, he got to work, under the guidance of his mother, who explained step by step how to prepare various dishes. According to his sister, the family always cooked with great pleasure. She may have loved his risotto most of all.

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No gluten-free communion wafers

In short: even for the Pope, it all ultimately comes down to food. Or, well, almost all of it, anyway. The recipes range from our daily bread to bagna cauda, asado with chimichurri and spaghetti with meatballs, as well as the risotto so beloved by his sister and the pistachio mousse that I love at least as much. I only have one small note left for all the angry believers who can’t tolerate gluten: this book also contains no recipe for gluten-free communion wafers.

Title: Eating with Francis
Author: Roberto Alborghetti
Publisher: Kosmos Uitgevers
Price: €20.-