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OTTUMWA, IOWA -- The great hall at Ottumwa’s Bridge View Center was packed Saturday for the annual, “25 men who can cook” fundraiser.

The program is organized by the Ottumwa Symphony.

The fundraiser allows for the symphony to raise money, but also showcase some of the great cooks throughout Ottumwa.

“We were surprised last year; we worked on 125 (participants) last year, that was our goal number and we had 300. So this year, we are thinking that we are going to have a few more,” said Maggie Morrissey, President of the Ottumwa Symphony Board. “We appreciate our chefs so much. We just really want to thank them for doing this. We do not reimburse them for supplies. This is all donation on their part and they have really gotten into the showmanship aspect of it.”

All of the money raised from the event will go toward paying the symphony’s musicians, as well as purchasing sheet music and equipment.