Seven-year-old Jack Witherspoon isn't old enough to use a knife -- but that didn't stop the leukemia patient from cooking up a storm, raising thousands for a children's cancer center.
From the appetizers, featuring mushrooms stuffed with spinach and a three-cheese blend, spinach ravioli filled with pecorino cheese, sherry, and wild mushrooms, to main courses like tender rib-eye steak with a side of fluffy garlic mashed potatoes, and roast chicken with herbes de Provence, the four-course meal served at HT Grill in Rodondo Beach, California, several weeks ago was the sort of delectable dinner that any connoisseur of fine cuisine would go wild for.
But the man behind this scrumptious menu isn’t Thomas Keller, Gordon Ramsey, or any of the other culinary luminaries you might expect. In fact, the chef, Jack Witherspoon, hasn’t spent a whole lot of time in the kitchen. He can’t even handle a sharp knife or cook over an open flame.
But so what? He’s only seven years old.
Jack has been fighting leukemia since the age of two. Last year, when the disease came back, he spent weeks at a time in the hospital – where he discovered his unlikely new passion. Every day, in between chemotherapy sessions, he spent hours watching the Food Network on the hospital’s TV, carefully studying Bobby Flay’s grilling techniques and Emeril’s spicy sauces.
When he returned home, he pursued his new passion with a vengeance, helping his family prepare their nightly meals. As a special treat, his mother would take him out to upscale restaurants around the area, where he could taste some of the region’s finest dishes.
Now, Jack is using his budding cooking skills for a great cause: The special four-course dinner he planned out was a $75-a-head fundraiser for the Jonathan Jaques Children’s Cancer Center, where Jack received treatment. Though the Grill’s owner, Paul Hennessey, prepared many of the courses, Jack was on hand to help out all night long.
“This kid’s got a lot of talent. He’s pretty much making everything on the menu. He definitely has a knack for it,” Hennessey told The Los Angeles Times.
Thanks to Jack’s creative culinary skills, the restaurant raised thousands of dollars to support the children’s cancer center. As for the boy himself, he’s gotten a firsthand glimpse of his intended career – running his very own restaurant. But it still might be a little while before his parents let him torch a creme brulée.