Fuller Goldsmith, Former ‘Chopped Junior’ Champion, Dies at 17 – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
Fuller Goldsmith knew the path of his life long before he started school. While waiting hours for chemotherapy treatments at Children’s of Alabama Hospital, the Tuscaloosa native got bored watching Disney Channel and cartoons and instead turned to Food Network shows, paving his way.
The young chef won the “Chopped Junior” competition, took part in “Top Chef Jr.” and met the hero Guy Fieri and other celebrities. He has been written about in People, Entertainment Weekly, and other publications. Still, Fuller felt most comfortable in a kitchen.
“I knew I wanted to cook for the rest of my life before I went (on TV),” he said in a 2017 interview with The Tuscaloosa News during his run on the show “Top Chef Jr.”
“I just like to cook. As simple as that.”
Despite battling acute lymphoblastic leukemia three times since he was three, Fuller succumbed to the disease on Tuesday, days before his 18th birthday.
It was found that Fuller had a different tumor late last winter and had undergone radiation and chemotherapy, but did not respond as he had in the past.
“We knew what the result would be, but we definitely didn’t think it would be yesterday,” said his father Scott Goldsmith on Wednesday. “Monday he was up and walking around building Legos and watching all the soccer games. He had a fever yesterday morning and was having trouble breathing.
“He was ready to go. He slept peacefully, without pain, without a fight, lay down in his bed and went to heaven. “
Family friend Cal Holt posted on Tuesday about Fuller’s death. His son Justin Holt owns and operates the Southern Ale House, where Goldsmith worked as the assistant to Chef Brett Garner:
The contribution read in part: “We will miss his presence, his smile, his laughter, his banter with Brett and his courage in fighting the pain of a terrible illness. He will be missed but will be remembered forever. His mind will remain in SAH for the remainder of the time. To his family our love and compassion with a big thank you for sharing Fuller with all of us. He made us all better people. “
As a student at Tuscaloosa Academy, when health permitted, Fuller continued to watch countless cooking shows, delve into books, and search for heads to engage with the greatest passion of his life. Fuller cooked like grandmothers, said Scott Goldsmith, not writing anything down, but drinking and tasting and measuring to his own taste.
“He loved to cook for people, but he didn’t really care to eat his things,” said his father. “But he enjoyed seeing how his food makes people happy.
“There were many times he made this food and then he said, ‘I’m not going to eat this; Go to Taco Casa and get me something, ‘”Goldsmith said with a laugh.
Over the past few months, the goldsmiths have traveled as much and often as possible, including a trip to Disney World, where the EPCOT chef greets them and prepares a special dessert for the family: a cake that looks like a chef’s coat, with Fuller’s name on it enrolled.
“Everywhere we went,” said his father, “restaurants and Legos, that’s all he wanted.”
Fuller had built with the plastic bricks as a kid waiting for treatments, but in recent years he had put them aside. After Cancer returned, he began building elaborate Lego castles, villages, cars and trucks again.
“He was able to put something together in no time,” says Carrie Bregar, who met him through a mutual interest in the Southern Foodways Alliance, of which Fuller was the youngest member.
“He wasn’t a man of many words, but he delivered a message,” she said. “You just wanted to help and support him, support his craft.”
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