Father Leo Patalinghug inside his restaurant, Gastro Social. Credit: EWTN News In Depth screenshot (Courtesy of Catholic News Service)

Francesca Pollio Fenton
Catholic News Agency

It’s not every day that you see a Catholic priest working in the kitchen of a restaurant. But Father Leo Patalinghug isn’t your typical priest.

Based in Baltimore, Patalinghug is a radio and TV host — one of his programs is “Savoring Our Faith” in which the priest “talks food and faith” on EWTN. He is also an award-winning chef.

In 2009, Patalinghug was crowned the winner of the cooking competition “Throwdown with Bobby Flay” on the Food Network. From there, he went on to start his food truck initiative called Plating Grace and Grub, and recently opened a new restaurant in downtown Baltimore called Gastro Social.

At his new restaurant as well as on his food truck, Patalinghug employs those who were previously imprisoned and need a second chance as well as those who come from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The idea for Gastro Social came after seeing how successful the food truck — which has become a regular sight in the underprivileged neighborhoods of Baltimore — was and how lives could be changed.

“So in order to grow the food truck’s efforts we’re going to use this restaurant space as our commissary, but also turn it into a place where we can keep people hired throughout the year,” Patalinghug told EWTN News correspondent Colm Flynn on “EWTN News In Depth.”

The priest also wants to use the space to “bring people from all different backgrounds to celebrate around food” and continue the mission of his nonprofit organization, The Table Foundation, which is to “harvest the power of food to do good.”

Throughout his time serving and helping those in need, Patalinghug shared, he feels at times as though they’re only “putting a Band-Aid on a situation” but maybe “if with just one of our staff members we can get to the core of their wound and heal them, we know that it can change their life.”

One of these lives that has been changed thanks to Patalinghug’s work is 22-year-old Emmanuel McFadden. The young man grew up in a dangerous neighborhood in Baltimore and got caught up in drugs and other dangers of the streets. One day he realized that if he didn’t make a change in his life he would end up in jail or dead, as many of his friends had. After hearing about McFadden’s desire to become a chef, Patalinghug gave him a chance.

McFadden told Flynn that Patalinghug teaches his employees more than just how to cook; “he also teaches us other skills like communication.”

“I always believed in God,” McFadden said. “I never got too deep in my religion but I always knew there was Jesus. Jesus always had my back. That’s why I’m here today. A lot of my friends are in jail, some dead, and I’m here — no record, I’ve never been locked up, you can’t tell me that ain’t Jesus.”

Another life that was greatly changed by Patalinghug is now executive chef of the popular restaurant Cuba Libre in Washington, D.C. After spending six years in prison for assault, Steven Allbright received his second chance working with Patalinghug, and now he’s running a multimillion-dollar kitchen and operation.

“I was really hoping that someone would give me an opportunity just to wash dishes in the kitchen,” he told Flynn. “I’m getting goosebumps still every time I talk about how God has worked in life — just with the introduction of Father Leo, learning to forgive myself, and learning that God forgave me.”

“Never in my life did I think that I’d be standing here in this kitchen as the boss,” Allbright shared. “I am here because of God.”

When asked why this ministry is so important to him, Patalinghug said: “For me as a Catholic priest, the most important thing that I have in my life is the Eucharist. It’s food, and if I receive that I’m supposed to, as my mom would say, become what I eat.”

He added: “So I just know that offering food to those in need and also feeding those not just who are hungry in body but mind and soul, really changes people.”