For Father's Day, 'Real Men Cook' hard at work for a good cause
CHICAGO (CBS) -- It's said dads get to do what they want on Father's Day, perhaps even waited on hand and foot.
But on Chicago's South Side, on every Father's Day, lots of dads are hard at work for an important cause.
For three decades, the men behind grills have helped alter the image of Father's Day in Chicago and across the country.
"It was about couch potatoes and men getting wallets and ties, but now, we kind of made Father's Day like Thanksgiving, Christmas, Memorial Day," said organizer Yvette Moyo.
Real Men Cook is a celebration of fathers and father figures. Delectable food and service organized by the mother-son duo of Yvette Moyo and Rael Jackson
"You'll hear people say, 'Oh, the brothers at the grill, real men cook," said Moyo.
There's an underlying message here that's very important.
"Our men, particularly urban, Black men are sometimes only associated with a bad story," Moyo said. "Where as those men who are at their homes every day at the kitchen table helping kids with homework or outside straightening up the neighborhood or straightening up men in the neighborhood don't get the spotlight. So we want people to know the men we know."
Hundreds will see these men on Sunday at the Quarry on East 75th Street, enjoying food for every taste, including vegan meals. There are about three dozen dishes to try in all.
This annual event is a big draw, but the Real Men Cook non-profit works year-around to feed and support the community.
"During the pandemic, we were able to give away a million pounds of groceries to families in the community, and this year alone we gave 17,000 free meals to the community," said Jackson. He said it is about building "the relationship so that people know that we care, that men care."
It's a mission that's spread across the country. Groups in other cities are now showing real men do indeed cook.
"Imitation is the greatest form of flattery," said Jackson. "We're definitely flattered as long as the message is getting out there with men doing well; we want to spread that message fast and as far as possible."
The Real Men Cook event is Sunday afternoon, at the Quarry, 2423 East 75th St.
Tickets are $25 dollars for adults, $10 for children. The ticket covers all that delicious food.
