Brother Aelred Senna: A Years-Long Collaboration
Brother Aelred Senna
The Monk Behind the Recipes and The Story Feast Gathering at St. John's Abbey
When I sat down to write Elysian Kitchens, the cookbook that inspired the Story Feast Collective, I knew I wanted to include Saint John's Abbey. It was a place I'd grown up visiting, a place that held deep meaning for my family, and a place where food played in integral role, just like I’d witnessed at so many monasteries in other parts of the world.
What I didn't know was that including Saint John's would lead to a collaboration, and a friendship, that would span years and eventually culminate in our inaugural Story Feast gathering.
Meeting Brother Aelred
I first met Brother Aelred Senna in 2018. I'd come to Saint John's to interview monks for the book, and Brother Aelred was the obvious choice for the kitchen. He's the monastery's resident cook and baker, making breads, cookies, desserts for special occasions, and even wedding cakes for couples married in the Abbey Church.
But Brother Aelred isn't just skilled. He's thoughtful about what cooking means: the way a meal can bring a community together, the way a recipe can carry memory across generations, the way feeding people is itself a form of prayer.
We spent hours talking. He cooked recipe after recipe. And he shared stories, about teaching himself to cook as a kid in Texas using the Betty Crocker Cookbook, about his years as a teacher in New Mexico, about the winding path that brought him to Saint John's after nearly two decades away from religious life.
"The Holy Spirit came snooping around," he told me, "and I told her she needed to go away and mind her own business."
She didn't.
The Recipes
Several of Brother Aelred's recipes appear in Elysian Kitchens, including his charred tomatillo salsa, a recipe rooted in his years teaching in New Mexico. He makes a big batch every year when the tomatillos and chiles come into season in the monastic garden, canning most of it as "a welcome reminder of summer during the unrelenting Minnesota winter."
The salsa is served alongside Honey-Glazed Turkey Tinga, a dish introduced to the monks by Brother Pedro Alvarez, a young monk from Mexico. The tinga reflects its journey: Mexican in origin, adapted to Minnesota with local wild turkey donated by hunters and honey from the monastery's own hives.
"Take it slowly," Brother Pedro advises. "Let the house fill with the smoky aroma. It will bring everyone to the table."
Brother Aelred on the grounds of St. John’s Abbey on the day of the Story Feast gathering when fall was in all its Minnesota glory
From Book to Table
After Elysian Kitchens was published in November 2024, an idea that had been quietly forming finally took shape: What if I brought the book to life? What if I gathered people at monasteries and other unique, often hidden places around the world, and created the kind of gatherings the book celebrates?
Brother Aelred was instrumental in making it happen at St. John’s. He helped coordinate with the abbey and connected me with the chefs for our inaugural event, Mateo and Erin Mackbee of Krewe and Flour & Flower Bakery. He advised on the flow of the evening, and embodied the Benedictine hospitality that defines Saint John's.
On November 1, 2025, 180 guests gathered in the Great Hall for our inaugural Story Feast. It was everything we'd hoped… and everything the book had been building toward.
Listen & Learn More
In November 2024, The Splendid Table featured Elysian Kitchens and Saint John's Abbey. You can hear me discuss the book, Brother Aelred, and Minnesota in the interview below.
Listen to the Splendid Table episode →
Read more about Brother Aelred in The Central Minnesota Catholic →
Get the Turkey Tinga and Charred Tomatillo Salsa recipe from Elysian Kitchens →
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