Who’s cooking at the Conclave? – Chef Walter Potenza

The secret culinary history of the Cardinals, and who cooks for them

Friends:

Are there no rooms for cardinals, given the most crowded Conclave ever? “It will be a great opportunity to build community,” they answer in the Holy chambers, with a joke, to a journalist’s question about the rooms available in the Casa Santa Marta. The hotel structure where Pope Francis decided to live in 2013 had already been chosen for some time as the only one in Vatican City where cardinals can sleep during the Conclave.

The relevant point is the numbers not only for the outcome of the voting, but also for the rooms. Francis has created 108 cardinals, adding the 22 Benedict XVI indicated and the five John Paul II designated. In the Casa Santa Marta, which is managed by the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul, there are a maximum of 106 suites and 28 single rooms. The sum of the rooms would bring 134 beds, but the reality is different.

I am sure they will devise a plan. The feature today is about their food.

Meanwhile, in the shadow of St. Peter’s Basilica, where incense mingles with the aroma of roasting meats and simmering sauces, the cardinals of Rome have dined like kings while preaching humility. Their tables have been a battleground between devotion and decadence for centuries—a narrative encompassing sustenance, power, politics, and occasional scandal. This contrast between their public displays of piety and private indulgences is a central theme in their culinary history.

It began in the austere halls of medieval monasteries, where cardinals were expected to eat as modestly as the monks they oversaw—simple baked bread, legumes, and fish on fasting days. But as the Church’s coffers swelled, so did its princes’ appetites. The increasing wealth of the Catholic Church, particularly by the 12th century, led to whispers of cardinals who discreetly indulged in spiced wines and tender game behind closed doors while publicly extolling the virtues of temperance. With a reformer’s fury, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux condemned them as “gluttons in purple,” their robes straining over feasting and expanded bellies.

Then came the Renaissance, which marked an explosion of culinary sin. Cardinals, many of them scions of Italy’s wealthiest families, turned their palaces into theaters of gastronomic spectacle. At the table of Cardinal Raffaele Riario, diners gasped as roasted peacocks were paraded in, their feathers reattached to dazzle guests. Banquets hosted by the Borgias—Pope Alexander VI and his son, Cardinal Cesare—were infamous for their excess: suckling pigs basted in honey, doves stuffed with raisins and pine nuts, and rivers of wine from the finest surrounding vineyards.

Some whispered that the Borgias’ feasts were as dangerous as their politics, with rumors of poisoned dishes served to inconvenient guests.

The Renaissance significantly shaped the Cardinals’ culinary history, an intriguing topic that fascinates historians and food enthusiasts. Despite several attempts at papal reform, many efforts failed. For example, Pope Pius V, a strict Dominican, tried to enforce stringent fasting rules. However, the cardinals moved their lavish meals to private chambers, bypassing the enforced ruling.

One story tells of a cardinal who, when denied meat during Lent, had his chef prepare an elaborate “fish” banquet—only for the pope to discover the “fish” was sculpted from veal.

The Baroque era brought refinement and hypocrisy. Cardinals sipped chocolate, a luxury from the New World while debating whether it violated fast rules (Pope Clement VIII, after tasting it, declared, “This drink is so delicious, it would be a sin to let only heretics enjoy it!”). Coffee, too, faced clerical suspicion until the same pope jokingly baptized it to quell conservative outrage. Meanwhile, in Vatican kitchens, chefs perfected dishes like maccheroni alla chitarra from my native Abruzzo, and carciofi alla Romana, blending peasant traditions with aristocratic flair.

Yet, not all feasts ended in celebration. The 18th-century Cardinal Coscia, a gourmand with a taste for truffles and Champagne, was later imprisoned for embezzling Church funds—his extravagant dinners were cited as proof of his corruption. In the 20th century, Pope John XXIII, known for his wit, once teased a cardinal about his girth, saying, “Your Eminence, perhaps less pasta and more prayer?”

Recently, our beloved Pope Francis urged simplicity, but old habits linger. Behind Vatican walls, cardinals still savor saltimbocca alla Romana and delicate purple artichokes fried to golden perfection with drizzles of lemon juice. The tension persists: Should God’s shepherds dine like emperors? This reflection on the tension between the Cardinals’ past and present dining habits invites contemplation and adds depth to their culinary history.

You probably are wondering what cardinals eat in this upcoming Conclave?. While the future of the Church is being decided, the table must also follow particular rules. The Conclave, a gathering of cardinals to elect a new pope, is a crucial event in the Catholic Church. While waiting to enter the Conclave (scheduled for May 7), cardinals still have the opportunity to make a few “slips.” And so in recent days, many of them, especially foreigners, have been seen in historic Roman trattorias to devote themselves to Carbonara, a true “cult” of Roman cuisine, and other succulent delicacies. However, when they retire to deliberate, they will have to live an isolated life, and everything will change.

First, they are faced with a diet similar to the one followed by Pope Bergoglio. A light breakfast of tea, coffee, and artisanal jam will be provided, while for lunch, they can eat pasta, risotti, white meat, fish, and bread. Even vegetables and fruit are strictly picked in the ultra-rich Vatican gardens. Those who love eating will stock up well because dinner will be much quicker and simpler. If the conclave retreat continues on Sunday, a baked fruit dessert and a glass of wine will likely arrive on their table, the maximum allowed in terms of alcohol.

Who cooks for the Cardinals in the Conclave?

When entering the Conclave, the cardinals are strictly forbidden from contacting the outside world. The first rule is no smartphones, tablets, or similar devices. The same goes for waiters and cooks, who can only leave when authorized and under the strict surveillance of the Vatican’s colorful Swiss guards. Cameras were even installed in the kitchens in the last conclaves to avoid any risk.

The cooks and catering staff will be lay people who already work in St. Peter’s or, in any case, completely trusted, unlike in the past, when monks and nuns went to the kitchen. Anyone part of the kitchen and table service brigade will sign a confidentiality document in which they swear to secrecy of everything they see and will not be able to speak to the cardinals except for what is strictly necessary related to the service they are performing.

Wine is allowed only in moderate quantities, such as white wine from the nearby Castelli Romani. In contrast, red wine should be the expensive Tuscan Sassicaia, and spirits are prohibited.

This so-called sober cuisine reflects the concentration and seriousness required by the moment while maintaining an essential element of Italian identity: the care of the table, even on the most solemn days. But who are the nuns who assist and cook for the cardinals during the Conclave? The names are top secret, but some are the nuns who usually manage Santa Marta, namely the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul. However, as has been the case in the past, it is not excluded that other nuns from different continents or other religious orders support the staff.

My day with the Holy Father in Rome (Read)

In some cases, the cardinals in the Conclave are cared for by the Poor Clares of Rimini or the Benedictine nuns of Sant’Anna di Bastia Umbria. In addition to the kitchen, their role is to maintain the order and cleanliness of the common areas. During the Conclave, a temporary Abbess is responsible for managing the nuns. She is the one who indicates who can participate in the Conclave with service roles.

They have often experienced nuns who are not young and cannot “lead into temptation.”

Among those who take the oath are also two doctors and four nurses, two maintenance workers, two drivers of the minibus that transfers the cardinals from Santa Marta residence to the Sistine Chapel, and personnel from the Vatican Gendarmerie who monitor for external interference and control cardinals and staff if someone violates the cloister.

In this case, arrest and detention in the only three cells designated for preventive arrests is foreseen (the Vatican is the only state in the world not to have prisons) until the end of the Conclave and pending trial. Also admitted, on an extraordinary basis, are some prelates who act as masters of ceremonies and support for the cardinals themselves. There would also be a monsignor (but the issue is debated and has never been confirmed) who, under the direct control of Cardinal Camerlengo (Cardinal Kevin Farrell), can secretly enter and exit the Conclave in case of need to maintain relations and contacts with the outside world.

There are stories about cardinals inviting other members to their rooms at the Santa Marta Hotel and engaging in playing cards, some prayers, and emptying the frigo bar (prohibited), only to discover that the consumption appeared on their bill. Others changed their clothes into everyday priest attire to deter restaurant owners from overcharging the wine portion of their dinner.

As you can see, they are not much different from us mortal sinners. When are they in Rome? They do as Romans do—Carbonara, amatriciana, roasted lamb, gricia, artichokes, and maritozzi. The Conclave can be a long process, and so are the dinners.

Puglia Food + Wine Tour with Chef Walter / October 6 – 13, 2025

https://flavorsandknowledge.com/puglia-salento-tour

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Chef Walter is featured HERE every Sunday with his regular Ask Chef Walter column!

Meet Chef Walter! There is a constant, recognizable thread in the career of Walter Potenza to elevate the level of Italian culinary culture in the United States. Besides his unquestionable culinary talent and winning business perspective, Chef Walter has been a relentless educator with passion and knowledge who defeats stereotypes. His life, career, and values are a model, an example to follow by any chef of Italian gastronomy working outside Italy.  

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