Cooking Fundraiser to Benefit Child Abuse Victims: Watch Village Video

Mokena resident Tom Grotovsky said will be preparing beef tenderloin bits a poivre before launching into a sea of cooking terms, the most identifiable of which was "demi-glace."

"As you can see, he doesn't mess around," Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow said, chuckling.

Grotovsky and about 60 other men will be preparing their top dishes for Men Who Cook, a yearly fundraiser for the Will County Children's Advocacy Center. The group conducts child-sensitive interviews during investigations of sexual or severe physical abuse of Will County children.

The cooks donate their time and food.

"All of us know we have to do this because it's the right thing to do," Grotovsky said.

The event will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. March 24 at the , 10850 187th Street, Mokena.

You can buy tickets at the Men Who Cook website.

"It's probably the most noble thing you can do, go to Men Who Cook," Glasgow told the Monday night.

Watch video of Glasgow's and Grotovsky's presentation to the Mokena Village Board.

Glasgow founded the Children's Advocacy Center in 1995 to prosecute child predators more effectively.

Children are interviewed in a comfortable atmosphere by a trained forensic interviewer trained to draw out a truthful statement without putting words in the child's mouth, "because that's death to a case," Glasgow said.

The advocacy center allows for more effective prosecution while sparing the children the additional trauma of having to testify in court, he said.

"Prior to 1995, the poor child would be interviewed by three or four different people with no real training in child psychology. By the time we would get the police reports in, we would have four different statements. That's what happens when you interview a child if you don't know what you're doing."

About 500 people attended last year's event, the first at the Pipe Fitters Training Center. Attendees mill about, trying different dishes from different cooks and always end up meeting new people over conversations about the eats, Grotovsky said.

Past years featured food as gourmet as pheasant and goose.

"And there's always a wise guy who brings macaroni and cheese," Glasgow said, chuckling.

Buy tickets for the March 24 event at the Men Who Cook website.