Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority’s 2012 Men Who
Cook:
Generational Cuisine
Cook:
Generational Cuisine
By Jonathan Gramling
Sam Thomas, retired from Oscar Mayer as an in-house caterer, has been
around a few good cooks in his lifetime. Thomas grew up in Atlanta. Georgia.
“My aunt raised my brother and me,” Thomas said. “She did a lot of
homemade cooking in the kitchen. I stayed in there, between licking the
bowls and the spoons and having first dibs on everything. Overall, I just got
the hang of what she did as far as cooking goes. And I wasn’t afraid of the
kitchen. I wasn’t afraid to get in there and try this and try that. Maybe I burned
something up here and there and I tried again. That’s how I got my start. And I
worked in various restaurants most of my life. During my early teens, I
worked in all-night restaurants in Atlanta and did all kinds of jobs. At that
time, the whole staff in the kitchen and the wait staff were all African
American, so it was a cozy thing and I felt real relaxed doing it. Plus I made a
few dollars also.”
Thomas’ knack for cooking up some good cuisine has rubbed off on his son,
Howard Muhammad and Howard’s son Jamil for all three have made their
Sam Thomas (c) with his son Howard Muhammad and
grandson Jamil Muhammad will be a part of the
comaraderie and competition of Men Who Cook on
February 4th.
grandson Jamil Muhammad will be a part of the
comaraderie and competition of Men Who Cook on
February 4th.
mark as award winners in the Alpha Kappa Alpha’s Men Who Cook competition, being held this year on February 4 at the Fitchburg
Community Center.
As he was growing up, Howard got his inspiration from his father, but some of the practical lessons from his mother.
“My mother worked during the day and I would get home from school before she would get home,” Howard said. “Oftentimes, she would
call from work and give me instructions in terms of what to cook for dinner. I would try to follow those instructions as much as possible.
And then she would taste the food and would make comments on what I could improve upon. I would take that advice and the more I
began to make different types of dishes and the more comments that she would make, my cooking improved from there. As I grew up and
eventually got married, the food I prepared for my family was very enjoyable to them.”
And Howard has made sure that the culinary talent has continued on to Jamil’s generation.
“Jamil follows my recipe,” Howard said about Jamil’s award-winning chocolate chip cookies. “I did like my mother did with me, which is
give him instructions and then he follows them.”
All three generations have learned a thing or two that have led them to be successful cooks. Sam Thomas won first place last year with
his barbeque chicken. For him, patience is a key ingredient.
“You have to be patient,” Thomas stressed. “Even if you make a mistake, you have to be patient on the next try. I’m into healthy cooking
also. I do believe in that. That is what I express to people when they want me to do catering jobs for them. I am a healthy food cooker. The
seasoning is the next thing. You have to get your seasoning just right. And the time you cook your food, you have to let it cook slow and
deliberately and through and through. That’s it.”
Jamil knows that they key for his chocolate chip cookies is their appearance and how they feel.
“They will look very moist and soft, almost tender,” Jamil said. “They are roundish. I don’t like to make square cookies, which might
make it appear misshapen. The chocolate chips and everything are together. People want their cookies soft to where they can bite it and
taste it. Once people bite into them, you want them to feel as if the cookie is calling their name and they need another one. You can’t just
eat one of my cookies. They are so addictive. Your mouth just waters from them.”
When he cooks, Howard pays attention to how his cuisine will impact people’s five senses. Great taste is not enough.
“Most definitely presentation is important, especially in baking,” Howard said. “The appearance of texture when it comes to baking is
very important because if something looks crumbly or it won’t hold together well or it looks hard in terms of cookies or cakes, it doesn’t
look good. When you are serving, it’s also important to let people know that you are presenting your cuisine in a way that it is very
sanitary and in a way that is appetizing. For example, when I lay out my farina bread, I like it to be sliced in a particular way to where it
just looks appetizing. And with the soup, I put a lot of different types of seasoning in it. But there is a certain type of seasoning that I will
use just to add a little color to it as well. The appearance of color as well as the aroma are important and play into a dish being very
appealing to the eye and to the nose and eventually to the taste buds.”
While all three generations like to win at Men Who Cook and enjoy it when people make favorable comments about the food that they
have prepared, the camaraderie of the cooks is equally important to them.
“I’m proud of my kids and grandkids,” Sam said. “I’m so glad they got involved in this. They are doing something with males and meeting
other people. After a couple of years of me doing it myself with all of the praise, it makes you feel pretty good. I wish all of my boys were
cooks. I think all of them want to be. They’ll get there. Next time, we might have a whole crew there. What really impresses me about it
these days is the younger guys who are involved and the camaraderie and the competition is fierce. That makes it kind of nice. There is a
lot of pride in winning.”
And what Howard likes about Men Who Cook is the fact that it highlights men as every day cooks.
“I think this event helps to promote this idea that men should be in the kitchen as well cooking, not just as professionals, but also for
their homes and families,” Howard said. “My wife and I often talk about who is the better cook between us. And my wife is a very good
cook. But she appreciates the fact that I’m a pretty good cook also. We can trade off. She has her specialties as well as I do. Putting them
together, we can pass on both of our expertise to our children. That’s the idea.”
When reflecting on the impact of Men Who Cook, Sam was especially pleased with the positive impact that it has had for his grandson.
“His peers recognize him as a man who cooks,” Sam emphasized. “He goes to school and they see him in the magazines. And they look
at him a little differently. He’s a little more mature than they think he is. I enjoy that satisfaction for him.”
And when people come to Men Who Cook, they will leave satisfied, body and soul.
Community Center.
As he was growing up, Howard got his inspiration from his father, but some of the practical lessons from his mother.
“My mother worked during the day and I would get home from school before she would get home,” Howard said. “Oftentimes, she would
call from work and give me instructions in terms of what to cook for dinner. I would try to follow those instructions as much as possible.
And then she would taste the food and would make comments on what I could improve upon. I would take that advice and the more I
began to make different types of dishes and the more comments that she would make, my cooking improved from there. As I grew up and
eventually got married, the food I prepared for my family was very enjoyable to them.”
And Howard has made sure that the culinary talent has continued on to Jamil’s generation.
“Jamil follows my recipe,” Howard said about Jamil’s award-winning chocolate chip cookies. “I did like my mother did with me, which is
give him instructions and then he follows them.”
All three generations have learned a thing or two that have led them to be successful cooks. Sam Thomas won first place last year with
his barbeque chicken. For him, patience is a key ingredient.
“You have to be patient,” Thomas stressed. “Even if you make a mistake, you have to be patient on the next try. I’m into healthy cooking
also. I do believe in that. That is what I express to people when they want me to do catering jobs for them. I am a healthy food cooker. The
seasoning is the next thing. You have to get your seasoning just right. And the time you cook your food, you have to let it cook slow and
deliberately and through and through. That’s it.”
Jamil knows that they key for his chocolate chip cookies is their appearance and how they feel.
“They will look very moist and soft, almost tender,” Jamil said. “They are roundish. I don’t like to make square cookies, which might
make it appear misshapen. The chocolate chips and everything are together. People want their cookies soft to where they can bite it and
taste it. Once people bite into them, you want them to feel as if the cookie is calling their name and they need another one. You can’t just
eat one of my cookies. They are so addictive. Your mouth just waters from them.”
When he cooks, Howard pays attention to how his cuisine will impact people’s five senses. Great taste is not enough.
“Most definitely presentation is important, especially in baking,” Howard said. “The appearance of texture when it comes to baking is
very important because if something looks crumbly or it won’t hold together well or it looks hard in terms of cookies or cakes, it doesn’t
look good. When you are serving, it’s also important to let people know that you are presenting your cuisine in a way that it is very
sanitary and in a way that is appetizing. For example, when I lay out my farina bread, I like it to be sliced in a particular way to where it
just looks appetizing. And with the soup, I put a lot of different types of seasoning in it. But there is a certain type of seasoning that I will
use just to add a little color to it as well. The appearance of color as well as the aroma are important and play into a dish being very
appealing to the eye and to the nose and eventually to the taste buds.”
While all three generations like to win at Men Who Cook and enjoy it when people make favorable comments about the food that they
have prepared, the camaraderie of the cooks is equally important to them.
“I’m proud of my kids and grandkids,” Sam said. “I’m so glad they got involved in this. They are doing something with males and meeting
other people. After a couple of years of me doing it myself with all of the praise, it makes you feel pretty good. I wish all of my boys were
cooks. I think all of them want to be. They’ll get there. Next time, we might have a whole crew there. What really impresses me about it
these days is the younger guys who are involved and the camaraderie and the competition is fierce. That makes it kind of nice. There is a
lot of pride in winning.”
And what Howard likes about Men Who Cook is the fact that it highlights men as every day cooks.
“I think this event helps to promote this idea that men should be in the kitchen as well cooking, not just as professionals, but also for
their homes and families,” Howard said. “My wife and I often talk about who is the better cook between us. And my wife is a very good
cook. But she appreciates the fact that I’m a pretty good cook also. We can trade off. She has her specialties as well as I do. Putting them
together, we can pass on both of our expertise to our children. That’s the idea.”
When reflecting on the impact of Men Who Cook, Sam was especially pleased with the positive impact that it has had for his grandson.
“His peers recognize him as a man who cooks,” Sam emphasized. “He goes to school and they see him in the magazines. And they look
at him a little differently. He’s a little more mature than they think he is. I enjoy that satisfaction for him.”
And when people come to Men Who Cook, they will leave satisfied, body and soul.
