Delicious food, prepared and served with love, builds community, offers comfort and the opportunity to share our faith, and could, perhaps, be considered a work of art.

Their faith and the joy they experience through bringing others together to share a meal has led two women – Giovanna Trimpe and Janye Murphy–to use their gifts to create a cookbook titled Holy Chow: The Hospitality Edition. Trimpe, who has experience as the head chef at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Peter Chains and has penned two previous Holy Chow cookbooks. Her husband, Mike, is a deacon at the Cathedral Basilica, and the Trimpes, along with Murphy and her family are active members of the faith community there.

Raised in Venezuela in an Italian family, Trimpe came to the United States with her family at the age of thirteen.

Every day after school, with her parents still at work, it was the young woman’s responsibility to prepare the evening meal. Her skills, which were self-taught, have been honed over the years. Besides her professional experience, Trimpe has been volunteering to share her skills, raising more than $300,000 for various charities.

Married to husband, Paul, and the mother of five, Murphy is a native of Northern Kentucky, who now lives Colerain. She holds a degree in English from Thomas More College and has worked in journalism, publishing and advertising. After 25 years of educating her children at home, and with her youngest well into her teens, Murphy felt as though God was calling her to something new. She was familiar with Trimpe’s prior endeavors and grateful for the welcome she offers to guests and new parishioners at the Cathedral Basilica.

“I wrote a thank you note to Giovanna and said, ‘You know, your next book should be on hospitality because you are so gifted at it,” Murphy said. “She is also a greeter at St. Peter in Chains and does such a great job making people feel welcome, which is the root of hospitality.”

“God puts things in your path, and I’ve always enjoyed entertaining family and friends and serving others. There’s a lot of joy in that,” Murphy added. “But I never thought I’d be writing a cookbook!”

Initially reluctant to take on the seemingly daunting task of producing another cookbook, Trimpe was persuaded by Murphy’s enthusiasm for the project. “I think God sent her to me because He wants one more book out of me,” she said. “Jayne is a fantastic writer and, you know, it was a great opportunity because she said she would write the meditations if I would do the recipes. She has been great to work with and really humbles me. We’ve been good for each other, and I really believe the Holy Spirit sent Jayne to me.”

The new book follows the same basic format as the first two, Murphy explained. It features Giovanna’s delicious recipes presented in an easily understood, conversational style, the “Rosary Difficulty Rating,” pro-tips, and inspirational Bible verses. In addition, there are meditations accompanying each verse.

“We take a deeper look at how the Holy Family experienced and shared hospitality,” Murphy said. “Their experiences are common and applicable today. The Holy Family was both welcomed and shunned at various times in their lives. They always offered the good they had to share–the love of Christ. Each Bible verse and meditation is followed by practical tips on ‘How to be Hospitable.’ Color photos accompany each recipe, and the book includes lovely tablescapes to inspire the use of beauty in meal presentation. Basic information on how to set a table and tips on event planning complete the book.”

“Many people, myself included, are often afraid of taking those first steps toward hospitality. It requires courage,” she noted. “By pairing recipes and biblical examples, we have prepared a nudge toward hospitality in book form.”

Murphy believes Holy Chow: The Hospitality Edition is particularly relevant in our post-COVID world. “We are in need of than physical healing,” she said. “We need emotional and spiritual healing, as well. I truly believe that the Christian value of hospitality proves a cure. Over and over, Christ shared a meal with His followers. As Catholics, our most intimate encounter with our Lord is eucharistic – a meal. Following His example, we are called to invite our neighbors to relationship. This is most simply and profoundly done by sharing a meal.”

“I do think hospitality has become a lost art,” Trimpe added. “People are afraid to have others over for dinner, to cook for them. I think we need to be able show others that it’s okay to be hospitable, to invite someone who has just moved into the neighborhood over for dinner, to take care of each other. I think people will really like the book, the recipes and the meditations, because it’s all about Jesus. Part of my inspiration has been ‘The Chosen,’ and it has really given me a lot of inspiration about food.”

In addition to their creative collaboration on Holy Chow: The Hospitality Edition, Trimpe and Murphy are also involved with welcoming others and building community at the Cathedral Basilica’s New Parishioner Evenings. The meals take place in the priests’ residence at St. Peter in Chains. Murphy noted that Christ used a ‘hospitality model’ during His earthly ministry. “He invited, He welcomed, He shared meals and He told stories,” she said.

“New Parishioner Evenings take community building down to its grass roots. Everyone needs to eat. People are not intimidated by heavy hors oeuvres, free drinks and a ‘behind the scenes tour’ of the pastor’s house. The New Parishioner Evenings provide an opportunity to connect with the people we know by sight, but do not know their names. Christ called His apostles by name. The invitation itself is a first step in getting people to think more deeply about belonging to the parish community.”

At press time, Holy Chow: The Hospitality Edition was close to being ready for publication. It will be available online and at select area bookstores. “It’s coming soon,” Murphy emphasized. “It’s coming in God’s time.”

This article appeared in the June 2023 edition of The Catholic Telegraph Magazine. For your complimentary subscription, click here.