Light Theology & Heavy Cream: The Culinary Adventures of Pietro & Madeline

by Robert Farrar Capon

Robert Farrar Capon is well known as the author of the modern classic The Supper of the Lamb (“awesomely funny, wise, beautiful, moving, preposterous,” said The New York Times) and other acclaimed books such as Genesis, the Movie. In Light Theology & Heavy Cream: The Culinary Adventures of Pietro & Madeleine , Capon returns to the kitchen to present a spirited collection of pieces he describes as “culinary and theological snack food.” Providing significant nutritive value in terms of both cooking and thinking, Capon offers them “as a lark.” The protagonists of this endeavor are Pietro and Madeleine, a husband and wife with clear resemblances to the author and his wife, Valerie. With Capon's signature wit and precision, Pietro and Madeleine explore such diverse topics as creativity, addiction, televangelism, spirituality, the correct way to slice a leg of lamb, and the virtues of diners.

“Given the irony of a God who saves the world by foolishness and weakness,” Capon writes, “and the hilarity by which he gives us corn, wine, and oil―not to mention his wonderfully two-faced creatures such as butter, salt, tobacco, and pork fat―this is no world in which to land on one side of a paradox.” Nibbling away on Light Theology & Heavy Cream is to encounter an author who has “always been perfectly substantial and perfectly silly at the same time,” but here “propels himself faster and farther in both directions.”

“You challenge me to match the sum total of the world's miseries with a fast, but then you complain that I fall short because I have eaten lobster instead of beetles or something. Why, I could starve myself stone cold to death and still fall short. To use your very own argument, the world's miseries are tractable only to God's grace, not my merits. A lobster, obediently ingested, can remind me of that as well as anything else, eaten or not eaten, on the same principle.”
―from the first chapter

Genres: Theology, Food, Nonfiction

113 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Robert Farrar Capon was a lifelong New Yorker and served for almost 30 years as a parish priest in the Episcopal Church. His first book, Bed and Board, was published in 1965 and by 1977 left full-time ministry to devote more time to writing books, though he continued to serve the church in various capacities such as assisting priest and Canon Theologian. He has written twenty books on theology, cooking and family life.

His lifelong interest in food intersected with his writing and led to his becoming food columnist for Newsday and The New York Times and also teaching cooking classes.

Reviews

[Jared Mcnabb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful writing and reflections on food, but found myself wanting to argue a theological point from time to time.

Feminine pronouns for the Holy Spirit is always irksome.

[Luke Deacon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable. Made me laugh quite a few times, but there’s some bad theology which made me respect Father Capon a lot less than I did before.

One helpful takeaway: order the second cheapest bottle of wine at a restaurant. Odds are the owner has the cheapest one on hand to satisfy the plebs, but the next one up is pretty good ;)

[Sam Reinhard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Culinarily and theologically delightful.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is Robert Farrar Capon better known as an Episcopal priest or as a cook? Yes. To varying degrees, he admixes his love of cooking (and eating) into most of his works of theology. Sometimes this is overt, as in his classic text: The Supper of the Lamb. In other volumes, less so. In Light Theology and Heavy Cream, he reverts to the overt to delightful effect. In a series of short conversations between husband -- Pietro -- and wife -- Madeleine, he explores topics both culinary and theological, without ever being heavy handed or burdensome. He writing is very much like his preaching (which I have been privileged to hear): lightly seasoned, deceptively simple, complex in conception, entertainingly presented. This collection of stories/vignettes is too brief.

[Graig · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this author’s books, where—in the ones I’ve read at least—he weaves cooking and theology together. In this one he imagines conversations between Pietro (himself) and Madeleine (his wife) as they tussle over food or theology issues. I didn’t like this as much as his other books I’ve read. The dialog thing didn’t really work for me.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A trifle, an appetizer that reminds me of the main course of his The Supper of the Lamb, that perfect mix of theology and food advice that I need to reread again. This books contains generally more modest ideas and arguments, originally published in the Door, and now collected together. Capon is a man sure of his faith and of his cooking skills - mostly amusing and sometimes even informative and thought-provoking. Plus some good recipes too, from a man who knows the value of heavy cream.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the banter. This book is a series of conversations between a husband, wife and the occasional visitor. It's humorous and thought provoking. Capon is witty and provokes the reader to think all the way through controversy.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun book to be read slowly. Many of the same themes from Capon's other books are in these chapters, but are more fun to read as it is a dialogue between a man and his wife.

[Thomas Fackler · Rating 2 out of 5]

A quick and easy read. Capon writes nicely. "It was OK" because I grew up immersed in this theological point of view and so the book didn't take me anywhere.

[Douglas Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it, mostly for the turns of phrase. But a little too arch and cute.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful read. Jesus used parables to explain the Kingdom. Capon uses the kitchen. Short essays that provoke much more thought than you would expect.

[Kait Doud · Rating 5 out of 5]

A light-hearted exchange of theology and cookery. And yes, heavy cream was mentioned many a time - what could be better in a book?