A ITALIAN-AMERICAN restaurant owner was the inspiration behind a religious altar created in Elgin. Parishioners brought a wide array of food to Greyfriars Convent last week to lay it on the St Joseph altar. The food was then donated to various good causes around the area, such as the Moray Foodbank.

The tradition of dedicating food to St Joseph, who was the human father of Jesus, hails from Sicily. And this is where Irene DiPietro comes into the story. Irene runs Irene's Cuisine, which is something of an institution in her home city of New Orleans. The sprightly 71-year-old moved to the USA during her teens but, in deference to her Sicilian heritage, she famously builds a St Joseph altar inside her restaurant every year.

Read more

Source: http://www.northern-scot.co.uk/