Real Men Cook® will feature a delicious bounty of food when it hosts the Real Men Cook Father’s Day Celebration on Sunday, June 16 from 3-6 P.M. at the Quarry Event Center, 2423 E. 75th Street. Now in its 35th year, Real Men Cook features MEN cooking and serving while celebrating their special day. All of the tasty offerings will be available for eager palates of those attending the celebration. The food offerings include traditional fare and exotic selections from the West Indies, Caribbean and Africa. There will also be vegan dishes, specialty desserts, and items from the “family secret-recipe vaults.” Several chefs with New Orleans roots promise to delight with their gumbo and red beans and rice.
In keeping with its commitment to serve healthy foods, some of the tasty offerings include salads, greens, fruits and vegetables. All of these will be at the ACTUVATIONS of long-time sponsor UChicago Medicine, which will have doctors and other hospital staff preparing an array of foods that promote health and wellness.
The event is presented by Real Men Charities, the non-profit organization that umbrellas Real Men Cook. Proceeds from the event will go to Real Men Charities, art of living programming which leveraged the performance arts, visual and literary while “positively changing the way the world views Black men in relationship to their families and the communities.” The overall mission of Real Men Cook is to showcase Black fathers on Father’s Day serving their families and guests. It serves as a loving, fun, destination for a meaningful Father’s Day outing, which has become an annual tradition.
Real Men Cook is the hallmark, annual event that attracts fathers and father figures who give up a Father’s Day of pampering to cook, grill and bake for the community. This much-anticipated celebration attracts high-profile leaders and endorsers like comedians Roy Woods, Jr. and Damon Williams and past attendees from Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. and sons to then State Senator and future president Barack Obama and Chicago’s eventual Police Superintendent Larry Snelling as well as “everyday citizens” who come every year. First-time attendees find the event thrilling and vow to come back as the love, spirit and vibe make them faithful supporters.
Veteran chefs, weekend cooks, restauranters and those who tout their unique recipe will spread out throughout the Quarry.
Grillers will spread out in the back patio to prepare smoked and grilled dishes.
Because of growing demand for the event, Real Men Cook will have an extended campus thanks to Greater Metropolitan United Church, which is located at 2430 E. 75th Street, a short block away. This site will offer a free Children’s Pavilion with refreshments, a Heath Zone, a Community Baby Shower and fatherhood photos of men and children.
Guests move from station to station where they sample their favorite dishes.
“We are delighted with the vast array of food offerings that will satisfy every conceivable taste bud,” said Rael Jackson, President and Program Manager. He praised the extra free component of “healthy activities for children and parents to enjoy together.”
Added Co-Founder and Real Men Charities’ Executive Director, Yvette Moyo, “For us, Father’s Day is highly important. Over the years Real Men Cook has elevated the importance of fathers, and allowed the space for love and storytelling, shattering the negatives. Cooking is the hook we use to come together but eating takes a back seat to the feeling of pride and gratitude for men who are fathers, stepfathers, father figures, coaches and others who serve as an anchor, model and strong force in having our children grow up loving, sharing family stories past and present, and contributing.”
Jackson and Moyo invite the community to purchase tickets to the all-you-can sample event. Advance online tickets are recommended and are $25 for adults and $10 for children.
Tickets can be purchased at https://realmencharitiesinc.org/events/35th-anniversary-real-men-cook-fathers-day/
Sponsors are UChicago Medicine with Real Docs Cook and BMO, focusing on South Shore homeownership. Both support the event’s mission to promote health, personal and community engagement. A host of other esteemed organizations supporting Real Men Cook are CHAMPS Male Mentoring, Lawrence Hall, WBEZ, Chicago Defender’s Men of Excellence, Black United Fund of Illinois, Black Culture Week, the Chicago Independent Bulletin, BronzeComm, the U I Cancer Center, The Quarry Event Center, South Side Drive Magazine, Greater *Metropolitan United Church, South Shore United Methodist Church and Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church, to name a few.
For more information on Real Men Cook visit www.realmencharitiesinc.org.
