Gordon Ramsay ties ‘MasterChef’ apron on local teen
15-year-old from Troy met celebrity chef as part of his special wish.
A 15-year-old food fanatic earned an apron from one of the world’s best-known chefs and he didn’t even have to turn on a flame to get it.
LaVante Williams, a 15-yearold Troy resident diagnosed with a fast-growing brain tumor in November, recently met “Hell’s Kitchen” and “MasterChef ” host/ judge and celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay with the help of A Special Wish Foundation Dayton Chapter.
The shows air on FOX.
“It meant everything. He had so much fun,” said Stephanie Williams, LaVante’s mom. “It means the world that he got to achieve some of his goals.”
LaVante, a Troy High School student, can burn in the kitchen, especially when it comes to breakfast food: eggs, waffles … the whole works, his mom said.
“He’s always loved to cook since he was little,” his mother said. “He likes to create his own stuff.”
LaVante has considered a career in culinary arts, his mom said.
During the trip in late June, Ramsay gave LaVante an apron with his name on it similar to the ones given to contestants on “MasterChef.”
“As you know, a TV personality is different from a real personality,” said Stephanie, who often watches Ramsay’s shows with LaVante.
Not only did LaVante spend about 30 minutes talking to the TV personality known to call contestants “donkey” or worse, but he was there for a taping of “MasterChef Junior,” one of his favorite shows.
He also visited the Pacific Ocean with Ramsay’s help.
The trip came just three days after LaVante returned from a family vacation to Florida, where they visited Walt Disney World and the Atlantic Ocean.
“He had never been to the beach at all. We thought it would be pretty cool for him to see (a beach on) both sides,” his mom said. “A lot of people don’t get to do that.”
Tyler Gregory, the wish manager for the nonprofit that grants wishes for children who have been diagnosed with a life-threatening disorder, said the wish had to come together quickly due to LaVante’s condition and on the advice of Dr. Lionel M.L. Chow of Dayton Children’s, where LaVante has received care.
The California trip for LaVante came together with the help of A Special Wish board member Jimmy Grilli, a Dayton-based member of the Sinclair Broadcasting Group, Gregory said.
The Dayton chapter grants about 50 wishes a year. About 60 percent are requests for Disney vacations.
Gregory said families are often steered away from celebrity wishes.
“You might get a handshake and a hello — or you get what Gordon did, which was above and beyond,” Gregory said. “When you ask for a trip to the beach, you get a day on a beach.”
Gregory said Ramsay’s team called to find out what LaVante likes before their meeting in late June so the TV star and teen could have a better conversation.
Stephanie was in the hospital being treated for kidney stones when A Special Wish received word that Ramsay had granted LaVante’s wish.
“They said he’s here until Sunday and then he is leaving the country,” she recalled. “We had to get him there quickly.”
LaVante went to Los Angeles with his grandmother, Keely Quillen, and brother, Malachi Williams. Stephanie said it was amazing to see LaVante, a lover of reading and writing, get his wish granted.
“He just loves everybody,” Stephanie said. “Family comes first. He is always trying to make everyone smile.”
She said LaVante is feeling tired and weak a lot these days. But during his trips he shined.
“He really got to see a lot of things that he had (on his list),” Stephanie said. “It is really good for him to have had those experiences while he can enjoy them.”