Joshua Small at age 14 has seen cooking as an art form since he started exploring the kitchen at just 6 years old.
As he organized a fundraiser and he now sees cooking as a way to show that “even kids can help” tackle huge issues like childhood cancer.
Small and his former classmate Alexander Morris fed 60 hungry and giving diners a three-course meal to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House, which supports families of children undergoing medical treatment.
“What really connects me and the patient at the Ronald McDonald House is that we are both kids. This shows that not only adults can help – kids can help each other,” Small said.
Small prepared two dinner services at 5:30 and 8:00 p.m. with an original tasting menu. Morris held down the front of the house and handle much of the event planning. Small's menu ncluded arancini as an appetizer, duck confit with butternut squash puree and radicchio as a main, and basque cheesecake to finish, he said.
Small is no stranger to the culinary industry. While he had an early start to his cooking career, he really honed his craft during COVID, eventually opening up a catering business in the Catskills and selling cold soups to local markets during the summers.