People who Cook and all-inclusive private Carnival parties have become two major money-making events in our country. I could have said "fund-raisers" but then I am not too certain what percentage of the money raised, from especially the Carnival do's, goes to charity.
Early in June two groups hosted cook-fests where it is the norm for mainly the male of the species to show off their culinary talents by producing mouthwatering meals for a stated number of persons. The cost of the tickets which fall somewhere between $100 and $150 includes four main meal chits entitling each guest to select creatively- named dishes from any of the cooks, followed by dessert, while the organisers provide green salads, rice, macaroni and/or potato salad.
On Saturday June 2, the Port of Spain Central Lions Club, the first to have introduced the concept somewhere in the early 80's hosted "Lions Who Cook" at the Cultural Centre and did include women cooks. While the very next Saturday, the Women's Organisation For The Underprivileged (WOUP) which lays claim to the title of "The Original Men Who Cook" which started without the word "Original" in 1988 with twenty-four cooks on the Percy's lawn in Valsayn, hosted its do at the poolside of the Hilton Trinidad & Conference Centre, with more than one hundred cooks.
The lions did not start off as a fundraiser, says chairman of the June function, Lion Terry Inniss. "The first one was really a way of showing our appreciation for people who kept buying tickets from us, so members cooked a meal, not just one dish, and we invited individuals to share with us."
On the other hand, Men Who Cook has always the major fundraiser for the 17 women of WOUP, who genuinely believe that they were first with the concept when a former member, Myrna Chapman, went on holiday to the United States, saw an event called "Celebrity Cooks" where people of note cooked and brought the idea back to her group. The lions, however, can now also lay claim to hosting the first all- inclusive cook-fest as the ticket cost of last month's function included food, drink, and music.
Today, there are many spin-offs, none of which has detracted from either the large number of men who eagerly look forward to cooking each year for WOUP, or the large crowd who annually find themselves on a waiting list for tickets if they did not book early.
Some of the latest "cooks" are the librarians "Cook For Books", " Great Chefs of Rotary", "Saints Who Cook" the name used by both All Saints Anglican Church and St Mary's College, the "Chefs Royale" of Queen's Royal College, Harvard Club's "Men Who Can't Cook", and even "Youth Can Cook Too" hosted by the All Saints Youth Group last year and incidentally takes place at the Marli Street Church Hall on July 14, 2001, at the very low price of $40.00.
No matter how many cook-fests are added, they are all well attended as the average Trini loves good food, drink, music and a good lime, not to mention that it must be a good feeling to be enjoying yourself and at the same time helping the less fortunate.