Food and Feasts of Jesus

Douglas E. Neel is an Episcopal priest. He owned a catering company specializing in first century food, teaches classes on ancient food and feasts, and makes his own cheese and wine. He lives in Pagosa Springs, CO. Read the author's culinary blog here.Joel A. Pugh is CPA and President of a research and development company. He is a serious amateur cook, baker, and brewer and has studied ancient bread and winemaking. He lives in Dallas, TX.

Everyone knows that Jesus fed thousands with just a few fish and loaves, but what did people of the first century eat on an everyday basis? According to Neel and Pugh, the ancient Middle Eastern diet has much in common with the region’s contemporary foods despite 2,000 years of changing tastes and technological innovations. Jewish dietary proscriptions may have limited consumption of some foods, but the presence in Jerusalem of Roman occupation forces and other gentiles would have meant some diversity at table. The authors inventory available grains, fruits, vegetables, meats, and fish. Holidays of the era, most tied to the cycle of planting and harvesting, had their own specific traditions for feasts. For those who want to recreate a seder, the authors offer a sample Passover meal and its ritual prayers in both Hebrew and English. Recipes enable anyone to recreate entire meals that Jesus might well have enjoyed.

• Chapter 1: Why Eat the Food of Jesus and his FollowersChapter 2: The Bounty of the First Century KitchenChapter 3: Our Daily BreadChapter 4: The Farmer, Food, and Social ResponsibilityChapter 5: The Sabbath FeastChapter 6: The BanquetChapter 7: The Wedding FeastChapter 8: The Feast of the PassoverSupplement to Chapter 8: A First Century Passover HaggadahChapter 9: The Harvest FeastChapter 10: Eating with God; The Todah FeastChapter 11: Picnic at the BeachChapter 12: What We Have Learned and Why We Join the Feast