New York Post
Upper East Side high school freshman Joshua Small is cooking up hope.
Small, a French-American student at the Lycée Français de New York, regaled 60 diners as the acting executive chef of East Harlem’s Tastings NYC Saturday, a “Youth to Youth” dinner to raise money for the sick children at the Ronald McDonald House-New York.
“I’m proud to be a kid helping other kids,” the self-taught chef, who’s only taken one training course at Lower Manhattan’s Institute of Culinary Education, told The Post.
For $150, ticketed attendees of the three-course fête were welcomed to cocktail hour hors d’oeuvres of gougères, or French cheese puffs, as well as Japanese chicken meatballs and 14-year-old Small’s signature gazpacho shots.
Appetizers, ramp arancini atop an arugula salad with a dollop of micro lentils, preceded Small’s pièce de résistance entree — duck confit, served with a butternut squash purée and grilled fiddlehead ferns.
As a sweet finish, the French-American Gen Alpha treated banqueters to Basque cheesecake paired with kumquats. The choice bites were accompanied by alcoholic and non-boozy beverages designed by the wunderkind.
His friend Alexander Morris, also 14, oversaw the waitstaff and guest experience as front-of-house manager, at the event at his mom’s restaurant.
The teenage twosome garnered over $6,500 in alms to benefit kids battling cancer.
Small says pouring his passion onto each plate fed his soul.
“Having cancer is very hard, very tough. It takes a big toll on the kids and the parents,” the cook said.
“If I were the kid or the parents of [a sick] kid, I’d really appreciate support from organizations like the Ronald McDonald House.”
Caitlin Conklin, Director of Volunteers and Communications for the charity’s branch on East 73rd Street, says they’re grateful for his toothsome generosity.
“It’s incredibly special to witness young people like Joshua channel their passions into initiatives that not only support families [in need],” she tells The Post, “but also encourages local community members to give back.”
Conklin adds that the funds raised by Small and Morris’ event will be allocated toward providing temporary housing, wellness services, transportation to and from treatment, education and family-fun activities for pediatric cancer patients.
For Small’s work, Conklin says his “amazing cooking initiatives” have gone a long way towards making a difference in local little lives.
The prodigy’s fire for the culinary arts was first ignited at age 8 after watching parents Olivia and Ben make magic in the kitchen.
At age 10, during the pandemic, the tot turned to YouTube for cooking “how-to’s,” and began regularly preparing breakfasts, lunches and dinners for his family.
He became involved with the Ronald McDonald House through a collaboration with Upper East Side cafe, Chez Les Frenchies, when he was just 12.
At the time, proprietors of the brasserie, which is adjacent to his private school, caught wind of the then-tween’s affinity for whipping up fine fare. It was a thinly veiled secret judging from the homemade lamb shanks over couscous and banana pudding meringue pies featured on his Instagram.
After the café received a letter from a neighborhood Ronald McDonald House family, praising its croissants — their ailing kid’s favorite snack — owners invited Small to create special dishes to be sold for donation monies towards the mission.
Weeklong sales of his lasagnas, curries and soups amassed over $2,100 in contributions.
And owing to the monetary success of his Youth to Youth gala Saturday, Small plans to continue doing good through food.
“In this case, people bought tickets for a good meal,” the teen caterer said. “But it’s not just about eating — it’s about helping.”
He hopes members of his generation and beyond use their gifts to reach others, too.
“Anyone can support a cause while doing something that they love,” added Small. “Even if what you love is eating.”
This was originally published on The New York Post
