The Murphy Girls present WWJE? in Concord, NC

This new year, my sister, Karen Murphy Ireland, and I headed to the Central United Methodist Church in Concord, NC to present a WWJE? (What Would Jesus Eat?) program. To be more authentic, Pastor Andy had requested no utensils. In the time of Christ, the right hand was used to eat and a piece of bread was the scooper. As Pastor Andy had a conference that evening, the church team decided to have knives and forks available for those who preferred to use them.

Instead of baptismal basins for hand cleaning, Andy left us with a huge clam shell that he claimed to have discovered on a beach. We filled it with warm water as well as little bowls on each table. To add a little humor, we informed the guests that Pastor Susanna would also come around to all the tables and wash their feet. There was a audible groan when we asked everyone to remove their shoes, socks or stockings--and a sign of relief to “Just kidding.”

Another poke was to reveal some of the Jesus paraphernalia in Pastor Andy’s collection of trinkets and memorabilia. There was a talking Jesus, an “illuminated” Jesus, a bobble-head Jesus, a Jesus key ring and “Last Supper” after dinner mints. You never really know WHO is in the pulpit!

We had a huge commercial kitchen in which to prepare our food, and an excellent team of volunteers who gathered magnolia leaves for the tables. The leaves were a new shade of “winter brown” as they had been “washed” in the dishwasher.

Not only was everything set up when we arrived, but we finished our preparations ahead of schedule.

Most everyone seemed to enjoy the healthy food with nothing fried and all were good sports. Next time; no mixed salad with dressing, but large pieces of lettuce and veggies to be dipped and then “no utensils!”

WWJE at Binkley Baptist Church

We recently gave our “An Ancient Mediterranean Meal; Foods from the Time of Jesus” program at Binkley Baptist Church in Chapel Hill. “Thanks” to Dr. Linnea Smith, a wonderful psychiatrist and the wife of Coach Dean Smith, for being the conduit…and if I had not been a cheerleader at Carolina when Dean was the coach, well, none of this would have happened.

I am always nicely surprised at the response to first century foods. As I really do not know what people expect, locust and goat meat or our buffet, colorful and full of flavor, from hummus, pita, rosemary chicken and vegetables on bulgur wheat, fruits and melons which is always is well received.

We strive to continue to share our experience from a continued study of foods at the time of Jesus, to the customs of hospitality and etiquette…and may no one ever be a stranger as they may be “angels unawares.”

"Thank you for the experience of the Jesus food. Your expertise was obvious, the food was delicious and the presentation really made the dinner a feast. Your menu was not difficult to prepare and the ingredients were not so exotic that we could not duplicate some of the dishes. We, at Binkley, appreciate all your time and your patience with the "disciples" that tried to follow your instruction." Anne Winfield- student/chef at Binkley

Cooking Class at Discovery Arts Academy in Cary, NC

I'm taking Zacki's Catering Creations in a different direction now with teaching, speaking and private caterings; and they all bring me personal satisfaction. One of my favorite days, is the last day of my Culinary Arts class at Discovery Arts Academy in Cary, NC. This is when the students prepare a lunch for their invited guests (teachers, friends, family) to "show and tell." It is not just about "cooking," but setting a beautiful buffet table, displaying the gift baskets filled with jams, cookies and flowers and being the ultimate host. On one such Friday, a young student proudly gave a tour to my sister, Karen. He showed her his cubby hole, shared details about the classroom and the kitchen, but when he got to the girls' bathroom, let her peek in by herself. Karen, a former teacher, was very impressed with everything! And despite the wind, we had an outdoors picnic that afternoon. This past Friday was too hot for dining al fresco, so we set the stage indoors for "An Ancient Mediterranean Meal: Foods from the Time of Jesus". Candles were lit, roses scattered and the buffet lunch of the first century was served. Even the teachers had many questions about foods of that time and the importance of keeping Kosher!

 

Most of our students were Russian and all seemed to enjoy learning about ancient foods and making gift baskets for moms.

Our unleavened bread was toasted pita.

"Jesus Feast" in the Durham Herald

From the Durham Herald

Faith in Focus:
Published: Apr 21, 2010 02:00 AM

'Jesus Feast' takes the wheel
BY FLO JOHNSTON, Correspondent

A Durham private chef is taking her "Jesus Feast" on the road. Zacki Murphy, owner of Zacki's Catering Creations, has begun offering a presentation called "An Ancient Mediterranean Meal: Foods from the Time of Jesus" to congregations in the area.

Photos of King's Park International on Good Friday. After a cooking class of foods from the first century, 65 members of KPIC attended this special night of "An Ancient Mediterranean Meal; Foods from the Time of Jesus." No fried chicken, pork BBQ, shrimp nor chocolate!

Recently she served a buffet to 125 members of Grey Stone Baptist Church and on Good Friday, she brought her presentation and the buffet to the Youth Life Foundation of the Triangle at King's Park International Church.

She goes into the churches where she teaches volunteers how to make foods of the first century and instructs them in how to set up an attractive buffet table. She gives a 12 to15-minute power point presentation, especially about the kosher laws of that time and what foods were available and how food was gathered and prepared.

"I have the help for authenticity from consultants Carol and Eric Meyers of the Duke Department of Religion," Zacki said. "They have been to Israel many times and they keep me kosher."

The $10 menu (she charges only for the food, not for her services) begins with new wine, sparkling grape juice and includes hummus with flat bread; bittergreen salad; pomegranate, with molasses dressing, vinegar and olive oil; cucumbers, scallions, herbs and honey with sesame sticks; roasted chicken, marinated in citrus juice, olive oil, and rosemary; roasted vegetables and seven grain kashi bread made mainly from wheat and barley. Prune newtons are served for dessert though they may be made with figs or apricots as well. The cake part is made of almond flour and honey.

"My lessons include insightful teachings about methods of food gathering and preparation, and I will discuss incorporating these ancient Mediterranean recipes into your daily life," she said.
A native of Hillsborough and a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, Zacki has sampled many world cuisines on location as a successful Ford model. Her passion for fresh regional food was rekindled as a food stylist for Martha Stewart and as owner of Zacki's BBQ in New York City before moving back to this area five years ago.

Zacki can be reached at (919)360-7744 or zackisculinary@aol.com.

Easter Weekend

Our Easter weekend began on Good Friday with a cooking class at the King's Park International Church just around the corner from me. It is so big, that I describe it as "the Dean Dome with a steeple." For the Youth Foundation, we had 64 people for another successful "An Ancient Mediterranean Meal: Foods from the Time of Jesus." Everyone seemed to enjoy the healthy, low- cal menu and recipes we shared.

On Sunday, I joined my dear Croatian friends, Zoro and Zivko for an outdoor celebration at their home with tasty European fare provided by their friends: carrot and beet salads, dark yellow deviled eggs from the Z family's 5 chickens, suckling pig, smoked sausages and lots of food with much garlic and scallion. Zora's delicious homemade bread is always a treat and labor of hospitality.

Zora's Fabulous Bread - a daily staple; The path to Bob's gardens; Amalie, our Easter girl tries the doggie door

Then, onto Hillsborough to sister Karen's for an early supper. Husband Bob had transformed their backyard into 10 mini gardens where Mali and Kikko (my pups) enjoyed running around with Chip, Karen and Bob's rescued lab. A new screened in porch gave us some relief to a very warm day. After an Easter egg hunt for our young guests, we drank presco, snacked on truffled cheese, an Easter ham, fresh beets with goat's cheese, fresh asparagus, and Karen's famous yeast rolls. We ended our feast with angel food cake with lemon curd, fresh fruit and port. It was just about a perfect day.

From Genesis House to Grey Stone Baptist Church: A Healthy Mediterranean Meal Cooking Class and presentation.

We recently held a cooking class in Durham's Genesis House kitchen. This is a home for 3 families in transition. Most of the enthusiastic participants were kids eager to learn. Though this was a different menu from the usual fast food fare, many stepped in to prepare a delicious supper. There was hardly a crumb left.


This Sunday, at Grey Stone Baptist Church, we briefly joined the stage with Dr. Allan Wangler of Duke. He was the keynote speaker, with his
3-D presentation of the Shroud of Turin; a topic of passion and controversy that he has devoted thousands of hours to research.



We again held a cooking class in the church's kitchen with an amazing group of volunteers, who smashed and mashed with out the aid of a food processor. They toted, decorated tables with palm fronds, served and cleaned up. After a brief talk about: An Ancient Mediterranean Meal; Foods at the time of Jesus, everyone seemed to enjoy this low cholesterol, low calorie diet...and the salad and veggies went first.
Here was our menu:
• Sparkling Grape Juice
• Hummus with Pita Bread
• Salad of Mixed Bitter Greens/Spinach with Dried Apricots and
Plums, Sesame Sticks and a Pomegranate Molasses Dressing
• Citron/Rosemary Chicken served with Seven Grains and Grilled
Vegetables (Onions/Leeks/Olives)
• Fresh Melons, Grapes and Apricot/Plum
Almond Bars

An Ancient Mediterranean Meal: Foods from the Time of Jesus

During this unique and enlightening presentation, you will learn about the food of Jesus' time. Caterer Zacki Murphy will prepare a meal inspired by what the people of this biblical time ate, including insightful teachings about methods of gathering food and preparation. Zacki will talk about incorporating these ancient Mediterranean recipes into your daily life to dining etiquette in the time of Christ.

Zacki has presented An Ancient Mediterranean Meal to groups of all sizes, including UNC Women's Basketball Coach Sylvia Hatchell's Bible Study Class and 100 guest leaders for Missions to the World.

Foods from the Time of Jesus is a great learning event for your group. Zacki's Catering Creations looks forward to bringing her teachings and cooking to you; whether it's for your church congregation, youth group, Bible study or other occasion.

To schedule a catering and presentation, please call Zacki Murphy at 919-360-7744.

A Jesus Feast and a visit from Mama Mary of South Africa

Being the caterer for today’s study at UNC's Women's Basketball Coach, Sylvia Hatchell's Bible Study, I presented a Jesus Feast; What Jesus and his disciples would have eaten 2000 years ago. In researching this, I realized that not only was this Mediterranean Feast organic, but very healthy with simple ingredients and preparation. Jesus did not have diet sodas with Asparatame or Splenda. There was no MSG. He drank a lot of wine and water. Much raw food was consumed such as apricots, grapes, dates, apricots, pomegranates, grapes, oranges to almonds, spinach, lettuces, parsley, lentils, radishes, scallions, sesame seeds. There were no tomatoes nor potatoes. Fish was a main staple and at times, if no fire, our Sashimi and Ceviche was probably “on the menu.” They did have olive oil, lemon, vinegar, salt, feta cheese, yoghurt. Fish would have also been cooked over wood, smoked, pickled. Lamb was a special source of protein as well as chicken. Jesus would not have been addicted to my Lexington style Pork BBQ as the 4 non-kosher Jewish backers of my NYC BBQ restaurant in the 90’s.

Here is what we served today for our Jesus Feast:

Sparkling Grape Juice
Spinach Salad with beets/oranges/scallions/radishes/pomegranate seeds with dressing of olive oil/lemon juice/scallions/sesame seeds/salt
Cucumber Salad with Yogurt/lemon juice/parsley/scallions
Lentil Salad with chick peas/celery, scallions, feta cheese and lemon olive dressing
Flat breads
Sesame and Chick Pea Dip in Artichokes
Assortment of Oranges/Dates/Grapes, Almonds

Sparkling grape juice; Assistant Currie and Judy Roberts

Zacki with Mama Mary