This Saturday, on Father’s Day weekend, hundreds of apron-wearing black men from across the country will fire up their grills, toss seasoned meat and veggies onto an open flame and do what they do best: Cook and connect with family.

Black families from Miami to Los Angeles will participate in a unique 16-year tradition: Sampling heaping plates of delicious food prepared by black fathers, brothers, sons and uncles in the spirit of black family solidarity and charitable causes that benefit black Americans.

Real Men Cook for Charity mobilizes and spotlights hundreds of men in urban communities across the country who are willing to donate their time and resources to cook and serve samples of their favorite dishes on Father's Day.

Yvette and Kofi Moyo created Real Men Cook in 1990, and they say it has become the largest family celebration in the country, presented annually on Father's Day for the past 16 consecutive years.

Today, Real Men Cook is the leading urban Father's Day experience in America, according to the company’s website. Millions share the experience through interactive news programming and other media coverage that reached more than 136 million media audiences in 2002 and more than 200 million this year.

"We stuck with an idea that has transformed people’s lives," Yvette Moyo told BlackAmericaWeb.com. "We feed people, but at Real Men Cook, the spirit will also feed your soul."

Yvette is president and CEO of Resource Associates International, Ltd.. She is best known for creating two brands, MOBE and Real Men Cook. She is also co-founder of Real Men Charities, Inc., a non-profit organization committed to building healthier families and communities.

Under her marketing direction, the Real Men Cook Sweet Potato Pound Cake is now sold in 800 grocery stores in Chicago, Atlanta, Miami and Milwaukee. Moyo successfully negotiated a six-figure book deal for the 2005 hardcover book, Real Men Cook: Rites Rituals and Recipes for Living, released by Simon & Schuster. The paperback, with a foreword by Sen. Barack Obama, will be released as a Father’s Day 2006 gift item.

"I’ve seen some life-changing experiences," Kofi Moyo told BlackAmericaWeb.com.

He said one brother has reconnected with his wife and 17-year-old son after being estranged for years, and another brother, a former alcoholic, stays sober because of his affiliation with Real Men Cook. In addition, Moyo said, there are three generations of men from one black family who have participated in the Real Men Cook events for years.

"This is work," Kofi said. "Brothers pay about $500, they shop, and it takes time to prepare for the charity events. What keeps these brothers coming back? There’s no cussing, no fussing -- just brothers helping each other."

Yvette said over the years, black men have reported that they’ve become more involved with their families, children -- and reconnected with even their former spouses and girlfriends. And, she added, "Some Real Men actually petitioned to get custody of their children and have gotten it without a fight because mothers realized what was missing from their children’s lives was a male voice."

"Real Men tell us they have reflected more on their lives, the choices they have made, and how they have reconnected with women they have written off," Yvette said. "More Real Men say they are focused on what matters now, not what happened before."

And for women, she said, the Real Men Cook events remind black women there are good some brothers out here. "I’m so blown away for women because they’ve stopped saying ‘There’re not enough good men’ because they realize they passed up a lot of good men to get where they are now."

According to the website, every year, more than 1,000 real men volunteer as cooks to help raise money for charity, while more than 30,000 family members and individuals attend the events, sampling the dishes by these men.

The 11 event cities hosting Real Men Cook events are Atlanta, Chicago (since 1989), Dallas, Detroit, Houston (1st time in 2003), Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. The Moyos say the idea to add the recipes came after being informed that the site had been selected as one of the Top 100 African American web sites by EarthLink, which will lead to increased traffic.

Kofi thinks the idea is just what his audience desires.

"Real Men Cook's audience has grown into the millions based on the huge amount of media attention the event gets from major daily newspapers in the cities where it's held and from TV news items on Father's Day and the days leading up to the event," he said.

His own succulent catfish recipe can be accessed at the web site. Visitors can search for recipes on the site by searching for a dish or ingredient.

And this weekend, the cooking and fun begins.

In Philadelphia, for example, 60 Delaware Valley men will participate in the 2006 event, which will be held from 3 to 6 p.m. on Sunday, June 18th, at Penn's Landing Caterers, located at 1301 S. Columbus Boulevard (between Washington Avenue and Reed Street). A portion of the proceeds from the Philly event will benefit Communities in Schools of Philadelphia (CISP) and the Kappa Alpha Psi Foundation. CISP, which targets the population of disadvantaged, low-income, and/or underserved students, works in close partnership with the School District of Philadelphia to leverage community resources on behalf of students and their families.  

The Kofis say Real Men Cook is certainly about food, but more about relationships, lasting connections and experiences.

"I’ve given my life to create lasting experiences for the next generation of fathers and their children," Yvette said in an interview. "We love our men. And we want them to be everything they can be."