Head coach Ryan Odom cooking at the Richmond Coaches' Cook Off. Photo by Anthony Duong

Bersabeh Kemaw, Staff Writer

Alexis Washington, Contributing Writer 

Richmond held its annual coaches cook-off in support of Commonwealth Autism at Main Line Brewery on Friday, Sept. 15.

Main Line Brewery hosted the event for the first time, according to Gary McDowell, one of the owners of the brewery. 

“This is the first year we’ve done it and I actually thought it was really cool,” McDowell said. “We know a lot of the chefs and restaurant owners.”    

Main Line Brewery and Commonwealth Autism worked together to prepare for this event, according to McDowell.

“We met with them, probably for six months off and on to get all this arranged as they laid on the entire property,” McDowell said. 

There were local restaurants in attendance, as well as sponsors such as Sentara, NBC 12, RVA financial, Hunton Andrews Kurth and Performance Foodservice, according to Commonwealth Autism.

There were a variety of food options available for guests to try, such as shrimp and grits, jambalaya, gumbo and boudin. They also had cornbread, ice cream sandwiches and cookies as sides and desserts.

The coaches in attendance were VCU basketball head coach Ryan Odom, Virginia Union University head coach Tierra Terry, University of Richmond head coach Chris Mooney and Virginia State University head coach Nadine Domond, according to Commonwealth Autism.

VCU brought their school spirit to cheer on Odom as he made his first appearance in the cook-off, with cheerleaders and Rodney the Ram.

Odom said he was excited to participate in this competition and help a great cause.

“It was great meeting all the chefs,” Odom said. “It was very competitive and fun at the same time. Everyone loves food.”

Odom is looking forward to being back on the east coast and continuing to build on the elite basketball tradition here in Richmond, he said. 

“The first priority is helping these guys [men’s basketball players] achieve their goals and continuing to strengthen the connection to the city,” Odom said.

Odom assisted chef Michelle Williams in making shrimp and grits for the cook-off.

“Michelle Williams is an amazing chef and was a great teacher today,” Odom said. “So you can call me the sous-chef.” 

The coaches had 30 minutes to prepare a dish in hopes of being crowned the best chef in Richmond.

VCU’s shrimp and grits was a runner up to VSU’s boudin, cooked by coach Domond and chef Brittanny Anderson.

The Richmond community came out in support of the event and cause.

There was live music, beer and a live testimony from a family whose child is on the spectrum, after the winners were announced.

Commonwealth Autism is a nonprofit organization that was created to assist families with members that are on the spectrum, according to the nonprofit’s president and CEO Tyler Hart.

“Commonwealth Autism provides support services for families that are experiencing autism,” Hart said. “If you have a child that needs to be diagnosed, we can help you find an assessment clinic that doesn’t have a really long wait list.”  

Commonwealth Autism celebrated their 10 year anniversary this year, according to Hart.

“It started before the pandemic,” Hart said. “It was always done for Positive Vibe Cafe, but after they closed because of COVID, we hired the person who was the executive director after COVID to come and work with us.”

Fundraisers, like the annual coaches cook-off, help Commonwealth Autism expand their organization, according to Hart. 

“It costs money to run these types of programs and we really appreciate you purchasing tickets and coming out tonight,” Hart said.

Commonwealth Autism purchased Good Foods Groceries to train and help provide jobs for people on the spectrum, Hart said.

“We’re planning on investing in a workforce program where we can train students aging out of the highschools,” Hart said. “To help them get job and life skills and ultimately get long term employment that is sustainable.”



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