Feasting, fellowship with Men Who Cook

It was hard to tell if the fellowship or the food was the bigger draw Sunday at Metropolitan United Methodist Church’s annual Men Who Cook fundraiser.

Several hundred members of the congregation turned out for the buffetline meal that featured a selection of more than 25 different meats, sides and desserts made by the men of the parish.

The event is held each October in conjunction with the anniversary of the church, which is marking its 150th year at 700 Broad St.

For $10, attendees got a to-go container that could be piled high with favorites ranging from ham and barbecue chicken to macaroni and cheese, turnip greens, corn on the cob and peach cobbler.

But most opted to find seats in the dining hall and spend time with friends.

It’s a double tradition for Virginia Cole. Her husband, Humphrey Cole, donned a chef’s hat to serve up black beans with rice while she wore a hot pink ribbon to signify Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

“I do this every October,” she said. “I lost a daughter to breast cancer. Now I make ribbons and give them out, and talk to people to raise awareness.”

Over in the corner, Kylee Hutchins, 6, played a clapping game with Kalyse Powell, 7, while she waited for her nana Thelma Johnson to come back with a plate. Meanwhile, youth coordinator Bobbie Jean Daniel kept a watchful eye on her older charges in the serving line and the Rev. Harvey Palmer helped greet newcomers at the door.

Vanessa Buchanan, at a table with a full plate, was trying to decide what she liked best. To the people in line who asked, she recommended everything.

“I’ve got curry chicken — we have someone from Jamaica who makes that — and there’s salmon,” Buchanan said. “There’s jambalaya rice … so we have food from different cultures, and of course I have my soul food. And did I say salmon?”

The salmon is a specialty of Allen Shropshire, who brought the Men Who Cook concept to Metropolitan UMC when he moved to Rome from New Jersey about 20 years ago.

The fundraiser started off small but now typically brings in about $2,000 to $3,000 each year.

ABOVE: Allen Shropshire (from left) readies a scoop of sweet potatoes during a break in the buffet line as Humphrey Cole and John Ware serve up other sides Sunday at Metropolitan UMC’s annual Men Who Cook fundraiser.

LEFT: Vanessa Buchanan (seated, right) makes her recommendations to people in line.

Photos by Diane Wagner, Rome News-Tribune BELOW: Six-year-old Kylee Hutchins (right) shares a plate with her nana Thelma Johnson.

Photos by Diane Wagner, Rome News-Tribune BELOW: John Ware (left) dishes up a helping of jambalaya and rice for Rosemary Shropshire.

ABOVE: William Guy Welch (center, left) looks ahead in the buffet line to the selection of homemade meats and side dishes available at the annual Men Who Cook program Sunday following services at Metropolitan United Methodist Church.