Taste of Black Milwaukee logo
For a belly full of deliciousness from many of Milwaukee’s African American-owned restaurants and catering companies, one could make a day of traveling throughout the city and make multiple stops.
A more convenient way to go about that mission, however, would be to attend the first-ever Taste of Black Milwaukee. The event takes place from 2 to 7:30 p.m. on Saturday June 17 at Destiny Youth Plaza (7220 N. 76th St.). “It will soon rival events like A Taste of Chicago,” declares Prinses Hemphill, publicist for Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce, the organizer of the event, as well as the Men Who Cook competition occurring on the same day, in the same place, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Men Who Cook logo
Men Who Cook, Hemphill says, is an “annual event designed to celebrate Father's Day weekend and acknowledge men making a difference in the community.”
Samples of the fare on offer may be had for $1 each. Attendees arriving with an especially hearty appetite and adventurous tastebuds may purchase a $20 wristband allowing them to sample the wares of every participating business. Doubling the price allows one to not only dine on the Men Who Cook offerings, but judge those contestants’ dishes, too. “Prizes include grills and other chef/kitchen related products,” Hemphill says of what prize-winning Men Who Cook will receive.
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Among the businesses offering dishes participating in Taste of Black Milwaukee are Coffee Makes You Black, Sky Box, Yum Yum's Chicken & Fish, O'Taste and Sea, AJ’s Crunch & Munch, and Bless the Food. And though Father’s Day is often associated dads barbecuing for their broods, Men Who Cook will feature a gastronomical gamut ranging from red beans & rice and catfish fingers to salmon & risotto and—yes!—barbecued ribs with numerous desserts as well.
Taste of Black Milwaukee and Men Who Cook act as fundraisers for both My Father’s House, a non-profit organized to help parents better interact with their children, and Camp Xhongo Peace. Of the latter’s rural Wisconsin retreats for urban men and boys, Hemphill shares, “They established a closer rapport between the generations and expose inner-city males to a wider world view through the wonders of nature.”
To make Taste of Black Milwaukee and Men Who Cook experiences for participants' ears and eyes as well as their tongues and noses, comedian D-Rock will host an open mic with singing, rapping and spoken word entertainment.
