CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio — A good meal brings joy to the soul. When paired with laughter and good company, you have a recipe for hope.
At least that’s the lesson learned from The Joe Baab Culinary Fights Cancer Foundation.
The organization provides free cooking lessons to cancer patients, survivors and their families... People like Jane Riley.
“I have stage 4 breast cancer,” Riley shares. “I can’t be brought down by the cancer.”
Riley’s words are like fire to the organization’s mission.
“We had to find a way to make a positive out of a negative and that's the foundation,” says executive director and co-founder Emily Fisher.
The inspiration comes from Fisher’s brother, Joe, who was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2018 at the age of 36.
“COVID hit and we found out that my brother's cancer was terminal,” Fisher shares. “He's like, 'Man, who would of thought I have cancer and COVID. I was given one year to live, and I can't even go out and enjoy it.'”
The family began to have home dinner parties. Their meals incorporated recommended foods and ingredients for cancer treatment.
“We just wanted to create memories and enjoy that time together,” Fisher says.
Before Baab passed away in August of 2021, the siblings had laid the foundation for the organization that would bear his name.
“He was a big piece of this,” Fisher explains. “It meant a lot to him because he wanted to continue helping other people even beyond passing away.”
Their goal was to educate, connect and empower cancer patients and their families through cooking classes and shared meals. It’s a mission Riley appreciates.
“As a patient you need time away from all the medical stuff and this gives you a retreat away from your own thoughts.”
Because cancer patients can experience a loss of appetite or a change in the way food tastes to them due to treatment, the foundation has a registered dietitian on hand to work with chefs on developing meals, and to answer questions from participants.
“Healthy looks different on every single person going throughout treatment,” says the foundation’s Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Emily Tewksbury. “Whether you’re in treatment or you’re in remission, it’s so important to remember that healthy is different on you compared to the person next to you, so to never compare and to always try to do what’s best for your body individually.”
At the November class held at The Sleepy Rooster Restaurant, Chef Craig Fitzgerald taught participants how to make butternut squash bisque, kale and brussels sprout salad and roasted pork lion. The meal was completed with whipped yams and finished with gingerbread and ice cream for dessert.
The night embodying the legacy of Joe Baab.
“It's bringing people together. It's connecting with others. It's enjoying a meal, creating memories, and just creating a sense of community,” Fisher says.
The Joe Baab Culinary Fights Cancer Foundations offers classes taught by local professional chefs at their own restaurants once a month. Lessons and meals are free to participants and available on a first come, first serve basis.
Click here to register for the next cooking course or to donate to the foundation.
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Editor's note: Video in the player above was originally published in an unrelated article on Oct. 27, 2022.