Cooking for a Cause

In the 2005 book Real Men Cook: Rites, Rituals, and Recipesfor Living, author Karega Kofi Moyo writes, "Increasingly,African-American men in particular are often portrayed as criminals, drugaddicts, absentee fathers and jailbirds. Seldom are they depicted as defenders,providers, helpmates and companions. This picture is flawed. It fails torecognize the millions of everyday men who strive constantly to make their world,and the world at large, a better place.”

To celebrate the men whoare often overlooked, Moyo and his wife, Yvette Jackson Moyo, founded Real MenCook in 1990, an annual food-tasting event held on Father’s Day during whichmen volunteer to cook for and serve their communities. The Moyos’ charity hashad an extraordinary influence on our country’s African-American community,including here in Milwaukee.

In the mid-’90s RubenHopkins was serving as vice president for the 100 Black Men of Greater Milwaukee,an organization devoted to enhancing educational and economic opportunities forAfrican Americans.

“Promoting positiveblack images is a staple of that organization,” Hopkins explains. “We werelooking for an event we could make our own to use every year to raise funds… Weknew they had Real Men Cook down in Chicago, so we decided to do our own thingand call it Men Who Cook.”

Now in its 11th year,Men Who Cook, which two years ago merged with another event, Dads Who Cook,invites men from all backgrounds to participate in the friendly competition bycooking up the dish they love to brag about. If they wish, contestants cancompete in all four categories: appetizer, main course, meat dish and dessert.For the Men Who Cook/Dads Who Cook challenge, which begins Saturday, Aug. 7, at11 a.m. at the Parklawn YMCA, competitors bring 250 1-ounce servings of theirdish for sampling. For a mere $1 per sample, anyone can be a judge. Scores aredetermined by taste and presentation. Contestants will go home with a signaturehat and apron, and, if they win, one of three grills, among other prizes.

Running concurrentlywith the Men Who Cook/Dads Who Cook competition will be a basketballtournament, as well as a Double Dutch jump-rope competition.

The Wisconsin Black Chamberof Commerce, the organization sponsoring the event, is donating proceeds fromthe competition to the Milwaukee Fatherhood Collaborative, a network ofcommunity organizations working collectively to help males become betterfathers, and the Parklawn YMCA Strong Kids Campaign, an effort to make the Y’s programs and servicesavailable to everyone in the community, regardless of age, economiccircumstance or ability.

For more information, visitwww.menwhocookwi.com.