Fuller Goldsmith, who emerged victorious on the Food Network’s “Chopped Junior” culinary competition in 2017, died Tuesday after a long battle with leukemia, his family said. He was 17.
Saturday would have been Goldsmith’s 18th birthday, WIAT reported.
“He got tired and was ready to go,” his father, Scott Goldsmith, told the television station.
Goldsmith also competed on Bravo’s “Top Chef Junior,” Variety reported.
The youth’s cooking ability took him from his family kitchen in Tuscaloosa to national recognition.
“We are devastated after hearing about the loss of our Top Chef Junior alum, Fuller Goldsmith,” Magical Elves, the production company for “Top Chef Junior,” wrote on Instagram. “He was an incredible chef and the strongest kid we’ve ever met.”
Goldsmith was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia when he was 4, AL.com reported. When he was 14, Goldsmith appeared as a contestant on “Chopped Junior,” eventually winning first place. He donated his $10,000 in winnings to the Division of Hematology and Pediatric Oncology at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, according to Variety.
In February, Goldsmith shared on his Instagram that his leukemia had returned.
“I will have 12 days of radiation and then more chemo to make sure it’s gone once and for all,” Goldsmith wrote. “Round 5- I’m ready to fight!”
“When I was sick, cooking was the only thing that got me up,” Goldsmith told Tuscaloosa Magazine in 2017. “If I was just laying down doing nothing, my feet and legs would hurt, but when I was moving around in the kitchen, I wouldn’t be hurting as much.”
“Top Chef Junior” host Vanessa Lachey commented on the Magical Elves post on Instagram.
“We all Loved Fuller so much! And will never forget his contagious smile, laugh and butter tricks,” Lachey wrote. “Sending so much Love to his family. We will never forget you, Fuller!”
Fuller attended Tuscaloosa Academy student and beat his cancer four times, AL.com reported.
“Our collective hearts are broken,” said Robert “Cal” Holt. Holt’s son, Justin Holt, owns and operates Southern Ale House in Tuscaloosa, where Goldsmith was a mainstay.
“The (Southern Ale House) family lost our much loved and respected Fuller Goldsmith today,” Cal Holt said on his Facebook page.
“Fuller fought the good fight all his life. From age 4 until the last few days of 17 years, Fuller fought a courageous fight against cancer,” Cal Holt wrote. “Fuller lived to create delicious dishes and became the little brother to big brother Brett Garner, our executive chef.”
Alan Barr, interim head of Tuscaloosa Academy, said Fuller always remained positive.
“He was just one of those people when they stepped in a room, he was a little brighter because he was in it,” Barr told WIAT.
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