'Loving sweets', a new path . . . for the mission
Taipei (AsiaNews) - A message of love can be passed on in many ways. Values can be shared in many ways as well. This is true for spreading the message of Jesus to those who do not know him. Sharing food is one thing that everyone does, wherever they are.
John Jia (賈漢生) today presented his new book, Loving sweets (愛的甜點), showing off what he loves best, baking cakes and desserts. The book is full of recipes he collected over the years.
His main wish is "to take care of others." Baking scrumptious cakes is his way of doing that since everyone likes to have some pastry with a cup of tea or coffee in the afternoon or the evening, sharing a good time with friends.
Kuangqi Cultural Press, a Catholic publishing house in Taipei, released this easy-to-use cookbook. Each pastry has a page with picture with ingredients and instructions to follow.
The book is nice to look at and the pastries are good to eat once they are out of the oven.
"I travelled and met lots of people," he said. "I met monks, priests, nuns, mothers, chefs and concierges. I asked all of them what their favourite pastry was. I was thus able to collect 50 of the best recipes, which are now in my book."
"I chose a Catholic publisher because a dear friend of mine, a Catholic priest, inspired my 'mission' to teach everyone love through pastry. When mothers want to show they care for their children, they bake a cake for birthdays, promotions or are important events. This way, I realised that we are all on the same wavelength. Love for one's parents, friends and workmates is often expressed in pastries. That same is even truer in the case of Jesus' love."
A famous radio DJ and FanFan (范范), a famous Taiwanese singer, hosted the press conference. A dozen or more TV stations sent crews to tape the event and interview the participants. After all the work, everyone gathered around the restaurant table to taste the 50 pastries created for the occasion.
"I thought I was going to interview some boring politician," said Mingling (明玲), a young reporter on her first assignment. "Instead, I got to report on cakes and that is a good start."
She even got to ask John Jia whether his mother baked him cakes when he was little. "Of course," he said, "but she did not come today because she does not like to be in the spotlight.
"What she did tell me was that all the proceeds from the book sales should go to the Camillian (聖嘉民神父) Hospital in Luo Dong (羅東聖母醫院).
"You can help people with pastry. This is the message I would like to pass on today. With a cake, you can really take care of others," John Jia noted.
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04/08/2016 12:37
