John Cal



Saturday Dinner, Hutchmoot ’22: Potluck

By John Cal

Editor’s Note: This year’s return to an in-person Hutchmoot gathering also allowed our favorite chef/writer John Cal to bless us with his thoughtful essays before each evening meal. What follows is his Saturday night pre-meal address from Hutchmoot ’22. Click here for his opening night essay and here is his Friday night essay.

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Friday Dinner, Hutchmoot ’22: Burgers

By John Cal

Editor’s Note: This year’s return to an in-person Hutchmoot gathering also allowed our favorite chef/writer John Cal to bless us with his thoughtful essays before each evening meal. What follows is his Friday night pre-meal address from Hutchmoot ’22. You can read his opening night essay here.

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Thursday Dinner, Hutchmoot ’22: Thom Kha

By John Cal

Editor’s Note: This year’s return to an in-person Hutchmoot gathering also allowed our favorite chef/writer John Cal to bless us with his thoughtful essays before each evening meal. What follows is his Thursday night pre-meal address from Hutchmoot ’22.

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The Lives Around Our Writing

By John Cal

It’s been months, maybe even a year or more since I’ve written anything of substance. I sit down at the computer and I stare at the screen. I’ll be at a coffee shop with my notebook, pen in hand, and stare at the page. I might scribble a sentence down, maybe two before shutting the cover and diverting my attention to my latte instead. My journaling is sporadic. A paragraph here and there over the last two or three years. 

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A Word from the Chef: Friday Dinner

By John Cal

In his chef’s address from Friday evening of Hutchmoot: Homebound 2021, John Cal weaves a childhood story about burritos into a reflection on the discomfort of not knowing and the gift of being carried by God.

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Hutchmoot 2019: Saturday Night Meal Introduction

By John Cal

[Editor’s note: What follows is a transcription of John Cal’s delightful introduction to Saturday night’s dinner from Hutchmoot 2019, originally given nine weeks ago.]

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Hutchmoot 2019: Friday Night Meal Introduction

By John Cal

[Editor’s note: What follows is a transcription of John Cal’s delightful introduction to Friday night’s dinner from Hutchmoot 2019, originally given eight weeks ago today.]

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Saturday Night Meal: Chinese Take-Out

By John Cal

[Editor’s note: This year at Hutchmoot, John Cal not only fed us with delicious food; he nourished us with beautiful stories, providing context for each meal and what it meant to him. What follows is the last of his speeches, given on Saturday, October 6th—you can read his first one by clicking here and his second one by clicking here. Enjoy.]

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Friday Night Meal: Chili

By John Cal

[Editor’s note: This year at Hutchmoot, John Cal not only fed us with delicious food; he nourished us with beautiful stories, providing context for each meal and what it meant to him. What follows is the second of his three speeches, given two weeks ago today—we posted his first one last week and will be posting the last one next week. Enjoy.]

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Saturday Dinner: A Taste of Reality

By John Cal

It was all Lanier Ivester’s fault. She was the one who had gotten me into this mess. She was the one to blame. Well, okay, fine, to be entirely truthful, my predicament could also be pinned on Sally Clarkson. Read More ›

Friday Dinner: Feasting the Sabbath

By John Cal

Let us pause in life’s pleasures and count its many tears, 
While we all sup sorrow with the poor;
There’s a song that will linger forever in our ears;
Oh, hard times come again no more. Read More ›

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