Manley Thanks ELC Pop-Up Catering for Generous Donation to Back to School Fair

JOLIET, Ill. – State Rep. Natalie Manley, D-Joliet, knows well the important role of food bringing family and community together. When Mercedes Brown offered to donate food from his family-run pop up catering company to the recent Back to School Fair, Manley was grateful.

“It was incredibly generous to donate and serve hundreds of students all those hotdogs, burgers and chips,” Manley said. “Many kids raved about the food tasting delicious, and it was exactly what they wanted.”

Brown, who lives in Bolingbrook, named the company ELC after his grandmother, Eva Lee Cooking.

“My grandmother’s household was the place to be,” Brown said. “She made everything from scratch.”

Brown recalled precious memories of how his grandmother’s food brought people together. His favorite dishes were her lasagna, pound cake and egg custard pie.

On ELC’s “cooking from the soul” menu is comfort food, he said, including ribs, rib tips, jerk chicken, catfish, made-from-scratch lemonade, and ox tails that cook for over four hours.

“I think we make some of the best pulled pork you’re ever going to eat,” Brown said.

Standing outside an ELC’s tent at any given festival are people praising ELC’s food, licking their fingers with a smile on their faces.

“It is the best pulled pork I’ve ever had,” one person said. “You can definitely tell this food is made with love.”

ELC is a pop up that is found at local festivals, like the Bolingbrook Joy Fest and Naperville Jaycees Last Fling. The cooking is a family affair, with his wife, Carlisa Brown, and mother, Arnetta “Miss Cookie” Brown, along with his children all pitching in.

“I just want to give back,” Mercedes Brown said about donating to the school fair. “We are blessed to be able to do it.”

The fair was held at Joliet West High School.

For more information about ELC, email elc6033@gmail.com, or on Instagram “elcchicago.”

Pictured: Representative Manley speaks with Mercedes Brown of ELC, a pop up cooking company, at the Back to School Fair. ELC donated hot dogs, burgers and chips to the students.