Tickets available now for 12th Men Who Cook food sampling event

Lisa Morel Las said she always scales back on meals the day of the annual Men Who Cook event to make room for all the delicious food that night.

“I get to the 10th or 12th table and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh. I can’t eat another bite,’ ” said Las, executive director for the Will County Children’s Advocacy Center.

After taking a two-year break during the COVID-19 pandemic, Men Who Cook is back. The annual fundraiser for the Will County Children’s Advocacy Center will be held 6 to 9 p.m. Oct. 22 at the JJC Weitendorf Agricultural Education Center, 17840 W. Laraway Road in Joliet.

Thirty professional and amateur cooks will prepare and serve 800 small portions each of “really delicious food” paying for ingredients out of their own wallets, Las said.

Attendees may eat as much as they wish, two ounces at a time, from any of the four categories: appetizer, side dish, entrée and dessert.

This year’s menu items include rib eye steak sliders, bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with chorizo, meatballs, White Castle in a Cup, ceviche, BLT dip, three varieties of homemade ice cream, Mississippi po’ boy, chicken and waffles, pulled pork, smoked pulled pork sliders, chili verde, Greek pork tenderloin with homemade pita bread and tzatziki, egg rolls, duck carnitas, shrimp etouffee, buffalo macaroni and cheese; cheesy crawfish, shrimp, and spinach dip; and sausage, chicken, and pork jambalaya with creamy white beans.

“You can go back as many times as you want, as long as the food is still available,” Las said. “Or let’s say you found one dish you love the most. You can go back multiple times and get that. It’s a really good deal.”

The menu is the widest variety of food choices one is likely to see in one venue in Will County. But these chefs all have one thing in common.

“They want to help support us,” Las said.

Will County State’s Attorney James W. Glasgow established the Will County Children’s Advocacy Center in 1995.

“We are the only provider of front line sexual abuse and severe physical abuse and investigation in Will County,” Las said. “So every single case of severe physical abuse and sexual abuse, sexual exploitation and violent crimes all comes through the Will County Children’s Advocacy Center.”

Las said Men Who Cook is the center’s only fundraiser. Proceeds help fund the gap between the federal and state grants and the cost of the center’s programs, she said.

The grants cover about 75% of the cost, Las said. Fortunately, the Will County Children’s Advocacy Center does receive funding from United Way and Will County, in addition to funds raised through Men Who Cook, Las said.

“You never want to turn anybody away that’s experienced abuse,” Las said.

Las said the number of people the center served actually dropped 25% during the pandemic because kids were home due to COVID-19 restrictions. Unfortunately, the majority of abusers of children are family members, she said. Now that children are in school and are reporting abuse, cases have risen 30%, Las said.

Last year, the Will County Children’s Advocacy Center served 700 children (and non-offending family members) who “endured physical and sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, child pornography, neglect, and exposure to violence, according to the center’s website.

The center’s average client is a girl, ages 10 to 11, who was “sexually abused by someone she knows and trusts,” the center’s website said.

So the community’s support of the Men Who Cook Fundraiser helps the center provide forensic interviews, advocacy services, trauma-informed therapy, medical exams, pet therapy and child pornography exploitation victim services, its website said.

The Men Who Cook event has grown over the years. When the first Men Who Cook was held March 21, 2009, amateur chefs brought 100 bite-sized portions, according to a 2009 Herald-News story.

[ Owner of Joliet insurance agency is first-time participant in Men Who Cook ]

In addition to individuals, the following organizations are also participating: Demo 2 Reno LLC, MARBA, Silver Cross Hospital, Plainfield Moose Will County Clerk’s office, Filipino Fusion, Farmers Insurance CITGO Lemont Refinery, West End Tool and Die / All American Recycling. Will County Sheriff Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 94 and the following police departments: Channahon, Crest Hill, Joliet, Lockport, Shorewood.

Men Who Cook also includes a cash bar, raffles, kid’s activities, live music by the Jib Brothers and public judging of the food.

Tickets are $40 each and $75 for two. Kids ages 6 to 12 are $10. Kids under 5 are free. Limited tickets available at the door.

For tickets and more information, visit menwhocook.info.