Twenty-four dedicated men stood, prepared and served their special dishes for the eighth annual Black Men Cooking celebration, a fundraiser held Feb. 16 by the Epsilon Eta Chapter of the Iota Phi Lambda Sorority, Inc., of Gloucester.

Supporting the chapter’s projects, these men served their dishes to all ticket-holders for the event held at the T.C. Walker Educational Center.

Among this large number of chefs, five of them were making their debut: George Farrow, Leslie Hearn, Ricky Pierce, Tyrone White and Justin Waters (not present, but his dish, Cheesy Ground Beef Pasta was there being served by Marcus Ridley).

Chef White, who lives and works in Mathews, said, “I like to eat so I cook. But I learned at an early age. I like to experiment with foods. I’m always trying to make my mom’s meat loaf but can’t fix it yet just as she does.” He cooked liver and onions with gravy.

Chef Pierce from Newport News is a Gloucester High School sports coach. He s...