Who are the kings of the kitchen? These men are...

Such a sight to see. 

On Saturday afternoon, the cavernous kitchen of the Norfolk Masonic Temple buzzed with aproned men who cook. 

There were men shaping salmon cakes, men frying bacon-wrapped scallops, men seasoning vats of mulligatawny soup, men flipping crab cakes, men washing pots, and men worrying that their dishes would not be finished in time for the annual Men Who Cook: The Tidewater Edition foodie fundraiser. 

The men, about two dozen teams of two, had put a lot of thought into their dishes, and some had been chopping, rolling, stuffing and stirring all night long to raise money for Primeplus Norfolk Senior Center and to raise their reps as cooks by winning a prize.

At 4 p.m., two hours till showtime, two men leaned on a car in the temple parking lot. One was Portsmouth firefighter Tim Bullock, the defending champion, who won the 2010 top award with his classic crab cakes. The other man was his sous chef and fellow Portsmouth firefighter Derek Creekmore, a self-described "fat man trapped in a skinny body."

This year's game plan: crab cakes with a coconut tweak. Not to brag or anything, but Bullock figured he had a pretty good shot at a repeat.

During the hours he and Creekmore spent rolling 300 crab cakes in panko crumbs and coconut, Bullock had scoped out the competition. When pressed, he pointed to the men manning the flattop grill as strong competitors.

The dish they were making, Scallops Sunset, was a man-sized appetizer: a chicken tender wrapped in bacon and stuffed with a scallop. (Please pass a knife and fork.)

David Hasey and his sous chef, Sam Winfrey, both Norfolk Naval Station firefighters, had spent most of the previous night rolling and stuffing the apps.

"Cramping in the neck and back," Winfrey said. "Oh, it was good fun."

Now all that was left to do was fry all 350 bundles, somehow keep them warm and plate them up pretty for the crowd.

With less than an hour to go, the kitchen backed up with men waiting for a spot on the 10-burner stove, which was covered with steaming stockpots of stew, soup and an Italian dish called Pasta Amatriciana.

Two older gentlemen wearing crisp, white shirts, bow ties, Mardi Gras necklaces and spotless white aprons worried that the rice for their Fabulous Shrimp Etouffee wouldn't be done on time.

Meanwhile, in the dining room, the crowd steadily built as other men set up their stations along a serving line. Norfolk City Councilman Andy Protogyrou needed more space for the dish he and fellow councilman Tommy Smigiel cooked up. The solution?

"Invoke eminent domain," Protogyrou said, eyeing the tablecloth-covered real estate next door.

Soon the members of the crowd - who paid $40 each to dine - moved through the serving line and sampled shrimp and grits, crab cakes, blueberry shortcake, brisket, corn chowder, lentil-sausage soup and shepherd's pie. The event raised $25,000, about $10,000 more than last year.

An all-woman panel of judges headed by honorary chairwoman Rowena Fullinwider, founder of Rowena's Inc., critiqued the food. Patrons also voted on winners.

The 2011 champion and winner of the Tantalizing Taste Bud Award was the Strawberry Amaretto Pastries prepared by Richard Calderon and Richard Rivera of Bonaventure Realty Group.

It turns out the defending champs had shrewdly sized up their competition. The People's Choice went to Hasey and Winfrey for their Scallops Sunset.

Lorraine Eaton, (757) 446-2697, lorraine.eaton@pilotonline.com