Pastor and Celebrity Chef Collaborate on 'Winning the Food Fight'

By Emma Koonse, Christian Post Reporter Tuesday, January 03, 2012

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has teamed up with Pastor Steve Willis to change one of the nation's "unhealthiest" cities in the U.S. into one of the healthiest.

Oliver's television mini-series, "Food Revolution," visited Huntington, West Virginia, where Pastor Willis had began praying for a spiritual and physical change to occur in the town long before the chef arrived.

Named "the most unhealthiest city" by the Center for Disease Control, Oliver and Willis began a Health Revolution in the town. Their effort has paid off, compelling the Pastor to pen a book designed to help readers develop a healthier attitude toward food.

Willis offers an inside look at the divine encounter with Oliver in his book, Winning the Food Fight: Victory in the Physical and Spiritual Battle for Good Food and a Healthy Lifestyle.

Also, the book includes the stories of real people in Huntington who changed their lives for the better after combining spiritual wellness with physical health.

"We can only serve God when we are healthy and eating the foods that He designed," Willis wrote. The book inspires readers to embark on a God-honoring transformation with Willis' practical and Biblical health plan.

"God wants us to have life now, good life now," Willis said, in a past sermon, available on the official website for Winning the Food Fight.

"I am sick and tired of watching people die, I have got to address this," Willis added about Huntington's battle against obesity.

In a past television interview with a local news station, Willis explained, "If we are not loving God with all our strength if we are not taking care of our bodies than we cannot do the second part of the commandment which is love your neighbor as yourself."

The Pastor at First Baptist Kenova Church also incorporates recipes by Oliver, who is known as "The Naked Chef" because of his opposition to processed foods.

Winning the Food FIght hit stores Monday and is available on Amazon.com, as well as Barnes & Noble and Christian Book Distributors.

Oliver continues to improve unhealthy diets and poor cooking habits in the U.K. as well as the U.S. by using his food-focused television show and cookbooks.