It’s time for celebrity chefs to return to the kitchen for the 16th annual 50 Men Who Can Cook fundraiser hosted by the College Station ISD Foundation.
From soups and chilis to appetizers and desserts, Bryan/College Station community members are invited to come hungry to take part in sampling over 60 dishes all prepared by local celebrity guests from College Station ISD and the surrounding community.
Beginning his 50 Men Who Can Cook celebrity chef appearances long ago, Jack Adams, A&M Consolidated High School Class of 1972, says he was invited to the first-ever event by a friend. Upon purchasing a ticket, he immediately asked for help to get him connected for the following year to participate in the event.
“In the beginning, it was stuff I knew how to cook, and stuff I liked. I think the very first year, maybe the first two years that I did it, I made cowboy bean soup — and it’s just a single guys simple meal to make,” Jack says. “I’ve bounced around from regular meals that you might eat for lunch or dinner to making desserts. I even made a breakfast casserole one time.
“One year, this was the biggest deal I ever made — I smoked a couple of turkeys and I also made enough mashed potatoes and dressing to go with it. I literally made what would be like, a Thanksgiving dinner and that was a lot of work but was a lot of fun.”
Being a newer celebrity chef, Kevin Bradford, a special education teacher at River Bend Elementary School says he first began his journey with the event in 2019 as one of only two men at his campus.
“When Riverbend first opened, I was one of two men on campus so we were sent to represent our school,” Kevin says. “Coach Don Weir had participated before when he was at College Hills Elementary but I was completely a newbie. We recently added another teacher, Bryan Hall, to our team who got to help out for the first time last year.”
Though the event is only a few hours, both Jack and Kevin say that the prep for the event starts months earlier when they are beginning to plan what dishes they will serve.
“Coach and I have morning duty together and we typically talk through our recipe and what we are going to do,” Kevin says. “On the day of the event, we both take the day off to prepare our dish and get it ready to serve in time for all the people to pour in.”
Another aspect of the event for many chefs is the booth decorating contest, Kevin says. Many of the chefs will pair their decor with special themes that they will incorporate into their foods including mascots, movies and current trends.
“We like to bring in our school mascot, which is a bear, to make our dishes representative of our campus with fun puns and recipes.” Kevin says.
Whether you’re an event newbie or seasoned veteran, Jack says the most important thing an attendee can do is show up hungry ready to sample some delicious food.
“Come hungry and show up early,” Jack says. “It’s going to be one of the most fun events that you’ll attend all year and the money goes to a worthwhile cause — it’s going back into the education system.”
Community members are encouraged to help support the efforts of the College Station ISD Foundation like teacher grants and student scholarships by purchasing tickets or sponsorships to the event and partaking in special experiences during the event like the silent auction, raffle drawing and mystery grab bags.
“Coming to the 50 Men Who Can Cook event gives the community an opportunity to see what College Station ISD is all about since most of the campuses have a team,” Kevin says. Not only are they getting to support an amazing cause but also they are getting to meet and interact briefly with the people who are educating their children.”
The 16th annual 50 Men Who Can Cook event will be held at the Brazos County Expo Center on Friday, February 2 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.. To purchase tickets, individuals should contact participating chefs, the College Station ISD Education Foundation at (979) 694-5615 or visit givetokids.csisd.org.
A huge thank you to our 50 Men Who Can Cook Top Chef Sponsor: St. Joseph Health; and our Executive Chef Sponsors: Amarillo National Bank, Brazos Spine, Caldwell Country, Conlee-Garrett Moving & Storage, Culpepper Realty, H-E-B and Van Stavern Small Animal Hospital. We appreciate your support!
