To members of St. Ann Parish, Patrick Ginty is known as “Director of Religious Education”. To children Mateo, Brian, Clara, James and Ana, he is known as “dad”. And, on September 24th, Patrick will step into the role of “Chef”, dishing up some wonderful Nicaraguan food for our festival!
Patrick grew up in Canada and, at the age of 20, felt the calling to missionary life. When he was 24, he received a scholarship from Ave Maria University to study and evangelize in Nicaragua. He spent 4 wonderful years there, where he met his wife Scarlett, a native of Managua.
Get Patrick talking about food, and you soon realize how passionate he is when it comes to traditional Nicaraguan cooking. As a student, he ate many meals at the homes of friends and picked up some of the “secrets” from their mothers and grandmothers. He is looking forward to sharing those techniques with all of us as he prepares his menu for the festival.
Patrick lived near Granada, a city famous for its Vigoron, a dish made with yuca, fried pork and cabbage salad. He plans to cook up his version of this traditional Nicaraguan dish, along with a side of Gallo Pinto, which is rice and beans. Patrick tells us he couldn’t do a meal without this side dish– it is a staple in the Nicaraguan diet, with many people eating it several times a day! He says there is an art to cooking these beans– and it sounds like he has perfected it!
4 years ago, the Ginty family moved to Clayton to be near Scarlett’s sister and brother in law in Knightdale. They will all be helping in the food booth, along with other parishioners from Nicaragua. Make sure you stop by to try their delicious food and maybe you’ll get Patrick to “spill the beans” about those culinary secrets!
