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GracinG your plate with goodness Men who Cook by SuSAnnAh MAddux The Rev. Ben Gosden recently stepped out of his pastor's robe and into his apron to spend an afternoon cooking with us. He's an associate pastor at Mulberry Methodist Church, but when he's not at church he puts the gospel in his plates. "There is something sacred about cooking and sharing meals," he said. "(It's) a spiritual nourishment." When he was growing up in Columbus, one of Ben's favorite sounds was that of a cake tin being dropped on the countertop on a Saturday morning. He knew his mother was making a pound cake. He learned to cook out of necessity, and his mother was adamant that he needed to learn to provide for himself. His mother remains a "fantastic cook," according to Gosden. In fact, he has proclaimed to his sister "You can have anything you want (from mother's house), but I want those recipes." As the chief cook in his family, he doesn't "invent" dishes, most often following a recipe. But he often enjoys taking something simple and making it "beautifully delicious." Now, he also enjoys the routines that come with cooking. There is something gloriously monotonous about chopping up the ingredients for whatever he's cooking. Although he admits he has "gotten a little territorial in the kitchen," he and his wife, Katie, enjoy nights at home with their 2-year-old daughter, Olivia, cooking together. Taking a nod from his mother's open-table policy, the couple often host church groups for dinner. "Fast food teaches us that we don't have time to be bothered," he said. "You have to work harder to reserve time to share with one another." 112 l MAcon MAgAzIne APRIL/MAY 2014 The Rev. Ben Gosden