Today, the main culprits of our being full - cooks - celebrate their professional holiday. The day is known as the Day of Saint Lawrence - patron saint of cooks.
Saint Lawrence was the chief of the seven deacons (archdeacon) in Rome during the time of Emperor Valerian (3rd century), who persecuted the Christian church in order to appropriate its wealth. The Roman governor captured Pope Sixtus, exhorted him to sacrifice to the gods and renounce his faith, but he refused. When he was led to his death, the holy father ordered Lawrence to distribute the church property to the poor.
He distributed the money kept in the church to the poor and helpless and dedicated his last days to the service of God. The Roman governor ordered him to be captured and imprisoned and demanded that he hand over the hidden church treasures.
Lawrence gathered all the poor that the Church supported and declared: "Here are the treasures of the Christian Church". After that, he was tortured to death. On the date of his death - August 10, he was declared a saint by the Roman Church. This day is celebrated by the Catholic and Orthodox churches. Saint Lawrence is considered the patron and protector of chefs.
In Bulgaria, culinary gurus have officially celebrated the date since 2005. The number one chef in the world for 2012 is 42-year-old Spanish woman Elena Arzak, who runs the "Arzak" restaurant in San Sebastian (Basque Country). She was voted "the best female chef in the world" in April.