by Sylvia Benavidez
Men Who Cook brought 41 cooks to the serving table and a unique variety of flavors including crowd favorites like macaroni and cheese. Citizens to Beautify Albion sponsored the event at the First Baptist Church in Albion on Sunday, Feb. 9. They had 250 people enjoying the men’s dishes, choosing everything from Thai peanut Brussels sprouts, to spaghetti, to egg rolls. Ben Wade and Coach Parker served up a variety of musical sounds with jazz being most prevalent.
One of the owners of Galazio Restaurant, Sean Hare explained why he participated again this year. “I am here because I want to have some fun and I love helping this group. A lot of the (CBA) members are regular customers at the restaurant.” He values that Men Who Cook brings people from all different parts of the community to sample different kinds of foods. “It gives a good picture of the town and allows people to not only experiment but to create some of their favorite recipes themselves to share with other people,” he added.
Men from churches came out to participate too. St. Paul’s Lutheran Church participated alongside St. John’s Fr. Richard Altine.
More than food causes Fr. Altine to participate in Men Who Cook. “To help bring about beautification for our lovely city and to bring about better cooperation with all the peoples of our community. That we can really work on increasing the love, community, and care and respect for one another,” he said. His dish was meatloaf which he cooked for three hours.
Doug Hoffman, Albion, came to support the cause and enjoy his lunch. “It’s good food and (to see) everybody, the fellowship, and see everybody outside talk and have a good time,” he said.
Citizens to Beautify Albion President Juanita Solis-Kidder likes hearing how everyone has a good time. Each year recruiting enough men to cook become increasingly difficult. She lost a few men but gained eight new volunteers. “Every year it’s a few less but they are amazing bringing more than what we anticipate. It’s amazing what they do and how they generous they are.” She said. She also appreciated a couple of Albion College sororities that came out to help as well as individuals and the CBA members that make the event possible.
Public officials came out to support CBA including Mayor Victoria Garcia Snyder, Councilman Jim Stuart, and Deputy Chief Jason Kern.
CBA member Stacy Frost and her husband CJ who is on city council, have called Albion home and supported the non-profit for two years.
While working the ticket table, Frost explained her continued participation. “I still love gardening and I still love any opportunities to unify the area around me. I think it’s wonderful we’re gathering kind of new members too. It snowballs. It’s just a lot of fun and remains a lot of fun.”
Photos by Sylvia Benavidez
