Ann Brach, Catholic Foundation Chairperson, Bishop Arthur Tafoya & Fr. Leo Patalinghug,
featured speaker at the 2009 Western Slope Fouundation Dinner

Fr. Leo Provides Great Recipe for Grand Junction Audience!

Fresh off of his winning recipe on Food Network’s “Throwdown with Bobby Flay,” Fr. Leo Patalinghug the featured speaker at this year’s Catholic Diocese of Pueblo Foundation dinner wowed the audience with his wit, charm and passion for great food and God.  Fr. Leo, as he is known, was the highlight of a wonderful evening of fun, entertainment and of course good food. 

The Catholic Diocese of Pueblo Foundation held their annual Western-Slope fund-raising dinner on Friday evening, October 2nd, 2009.  The parish hall at Immaculate Heart of Mary was awash with red, black and white decorations that featured Italian Chef centerpieces holding a chalkboard proclaiming “Grace before Meals” as the main entrée for the evening.  Grace before Meals, of course, is the title of Fr. Leo’s best selling cookbook. Fr. Leo liked the decorations so much he took one home for himself and posted a picture on his web-site!

Over 175 guests attended the event that was sponsored by St. Mary’s Hospital-The Regional Medical Center, who made Fr. Leo’s visit possible.  Enstrom’s Candies was the Dinner Sponsor and Callahan-Edfast was the Social Hour Sponsor.  Mesa Moving Systems sponsored the Pot O Gold.  It was a community event in every facet. After expenses over $15,000 was raised for the Foundation.

The evening highlights the work of the Foundation and is used as a yearly fundraiser. Proceeds from the event are used for grants and awards for needy parishes, mission, Catholic Schools, vocations and humanitarian concerns of the Diocese.  This past June organizations from the Western Slope were recipients of nine grants of the 23 awarded. 

After a wonderful catered dinner by Omar’s in Grand Junction, Bob Ladenburger the CEO of St. Mary’s took to the podium to introduce Fr. Leo who arrived earlier in the day from Mount St. Mary’s College in Maryland. His resume is definitely that of an over-achiever who really didn’t consider the priesthood until he was out of his teens.

Earlier in the evening Fr. Leo spent time during the Social Hour meeting many of the guests, posing for pictures and sharing stories, so by the time he took to the stage he already had 175 new friends.  Fr. Leo explained that he fell into the “cooking” aspect of his ministry on a dare from some of his priest friends. One thing led to another and next thing he knew he had a cookbook, a video, a regular radio spot on Catholic radio, and a food show in the works with PBS. Then as a crowning moment, Bobby Flay shows up in Emmitsburg, Maryland one afternoon to challenge Fr. Leo to a cooking duel.  Fr. Leo himself seemed a bit overwhelmed by it all. 

Grace Before Meals; Recipes for Family Life is more than your typical cookbook, it combines short essays and conversation starters with healthy easy to prepare meals.  He is passionate about cooking, but more passionate about bringing families back together around “nourishing food.”  He cited that “food” is a common theme throughout the bible and it is only natural that “Christ nourished our bodies and our souls.” You can learn more about Father Leo at http://www.gracebeforemeals.com .  After his talk which he ended with a beautifully sung song for the Virgin Mary(he can sing too!), and a blessing from Bishop Tafoya, Fr. Leo spent time autographing his books and aprons for so many new fans, he sold out of everything!