Fr. Ian Delinger
Host of "Playing with Food" on Issues & IdeasFr. Ian Delinger currently serves as Rector at St Stephen's Episcopal Church in San Luis Obispo. He was born on the Central Coast, and was raised in both rural western Nebraska and on the Central Coast. He studied Chemistry at Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri. Then, he moved to the Silicon Valley where he was as a project manager in a consulting firm which specializes in environmental, health and safety issues for the semiconductor manufacturing industry and other high technology industries, followed by a couple of stints in corporate events management and marketing.
Fr. Ian left the Silicon Valley after nine years to train for ordination at Westcott House Theological College in Cambridge (UK). He was then ordained in the as a Deacon in 2004 and as a priest in 2005. He trained in a parish in Manchester, and then served 8 years as Chaplain to the University of Chester.
Preparing and sharing food have been at the heart of both Fr Ian’s family life and his ministry. Fr Ian firmly believes the preparing and sharing of food to be a spiritual activity, sanctioned by God, and demonstrated throughout the Bible. He illustrated this in a reality cooking show on BBC2 called ‘Instant Restaurant’ in which he turned his home into a spirituality-themed restaurant. (And made a good profit!)
Fr. Ian has dabbled in other media, including, print, BBC Radio and currently for the University of Chester’s Radio Station for which he hosted a weekly radio show, which has been nominated for and has won the Jerusalem Awards, recognizing Christians in Broadcasting.
Ian is very interested in showing the Church and active faith in a positive light in the public arena, including in the media. One of Ian’s dream jobs would be to host a Saturday cooking and meal sharing show, as “Fr Ian” to combine his passion for food and his wish to show the Church positive, enriching and a source of spiritual nourishment.
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Who would have thought that coffee could grow on the California Coast. The Playing With Food Team visited one of the first coffee plantations in California in Morro Bay, and the State's only coffee processing facility in Ventura. -
Wine. It’s all around us. And there’s so much to learn! There are classes at Broken Earth Winery in Paso Robles which include learning the basics and tasting the varietals, but also pairing food and wine! -
A local cattlewoman is raising grass-fed beef, and she introduced the Playing With Food team to the picanha cut. -
Olallieberries are unique to the cool, coastal fog areas of the West Coast. They have long been grown in Avila Valley and Cambria. But few actually know what they are. So, the Playing With Food Team went on a discovery mission. -
Bao simply means “stuffed bun”. The pillowy white buns hold precious filling! They are super delicious, but they are a pain to make. So, Playing With Food went to SLO Public Market to learn the tricks of the trade. -
Local farmers are giving school lunches a complete makeover thanks to a relatively new program of farm-to-school. Local farmers stop by to drop off freshly-picked, locally-grown fruits and vegetables, freshly-baked bread, kumquats and more! -
Accomplished cookbook author for Williams-Sonoma and other publishers, Brigit Binns, lives right here on the Central Coast. After a career of writing recipes, she has now written a memoir of growing up in Hollywood as daughter of actor Ed Binns. Brigit invited the Playing With Food Team into her kitchen to cook, chat and eat, our favorite pastime. -
First it was the pandemic in 2020 when supply chains were closed off. Then it was avian flu in 2022 when flocks were being destroyed. People bought chickens! The average American eats about 275 eggs each year. So, if they are in short supply or really expensive, someone with a decent backyard may want to build a hen house. Among those in the know, they are referred to as “backyard chickens”, but Playing With Food is focusing specifically on Urban Chickens…ones that live in the city where they might annoy neighbors or be involved in cock fights. -
One would be forgiven for not thinking that Peruvian cuisine was popular on the Central Coast. But San Luis Obispo has TWO Peruvian Restaurants. And the next closest Peruvian Restaurant appears to be all the way in Thousand Oaks! The Playing With Food Team visited a small one-woman operation to explore Peruvian ingredients and flavors. -
The craft cider movement on the Central Coast is producing cider where every barrel is unique in flavor and character. I just had to explore more, and I started in the orchard, and went all the way to bottle.
