28 Apr 2025 09:06
261 Edible Theology with Kendall Vanderslice
261. Edible Theology with Kendall Vanderslice
John 6:35 NIV "Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."
**Transcription Below**
Kendall Vanderslice says "Yes, before you ask, that is my true name."
Kendall is a baker and writer whose best thinking occurs as she works dough between her hands; scribbles down thoughts on pieces of parchment dusted in flour, until she can parse them out later before her keyboard. When she embarked on a career as a pastry chef, she found that her love of bread transformed the ways she read Scripture. Fascinated by God’s use of food throughout the arc of the Gospel, she merged her work in the kitchen with academic study of food and theology.
As a graduate of Wheaton College in Illinois (BA Anthropology), she began engaging questions of food and faith. Interested in commensality—or, the social dynamics of eating together—she studied food at Boston University (MLA Gastronomy). Her thesis on church meals sparked a range of theological questions, leading her to Duke University where she wrote a thesis on the theology of bread (MTS). In 2018 she was named a James Beard Foundation national scholar for her work on food and religion.
She lives in Durham, North Carolina, with her beagle, Strudel, her sourdough starter Bread Astaire, and her brood of hens: Judith Jones and the Three Gourmands.
Questions and Topics We Cover:
- You've studied so much about food and theology . . . are there any favorite lessons or resources that you still think about today?
- Is there any other science in the bread baking that is fascinating because it also has a richer, deeper spiritual meaning?
- What's one recipe in the book you're especially excited about?
Other Episode Mentioned from The Savvy Sauce:
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Gospel Scripture: (all NIV)
Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
Romans 3:25 (a) “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.”
Hebrews 9:22 (b) “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”
Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:11 “Not o
