Renowned Chef Provides Career Support to Non-Verbal Boy

An 11-year-old autistic boy journeyed over 120 miles to deliver a batch of his homemade pies to Michelin-starred chef Tommy Banks, after the chef had 2,500 of his own pies stolen by thieves. A refrigerated vehicle, containing pies intended for sale at York Christmas Market, was stolen on December 1st near Ripon. It was later discovered damaged, with the pastries inside also affected. Aspiring chef Joshie Harris, who is non-verbal, baked replacement pies and traveled with his father from their home in Peterborough to York over the weekend to personally hand them over. Mr. Banks stated he felt “lucky” to have spent time with Joshie and has offered to assist with the boy’s future career. Following their meeting, Joshie’s father, Dan Harris, described Mr. Banks as “a wonderful guy who was incredibly supportive.” Mr. Harris mentioned that Mr. Banks provided Joshie with a cookery lesson at his pie stall in the market and also proposed work experience for him when he is older. “When Joshie gets to 16 years old he’s going to take him into his restaurants and help him with some training and education on cooking, and that’s huge for us,” he said. Mr. Banks also posted on social media, asking other chefs if Joshie could visit their kitchens to learn about the industry. Mr. Harris expressed his astonishment at the “generosity and kindness” extended to his family, adding that Mr. Banks’ offer to help his son was “very important in terms of the life Joshie will have when his parents are gone.” He characterized his son as “a fantastic chef” and described the support from Mr. Banks as “thrilling.” Mr. Harris also noted another “exciting” development that emerged as a result of his son’s baking efforts. Joshie utilizes technology daily, employing an iPad—referred to as a “talker”—equipped with advanced software for communication purposes. Mr. Harris explained that access to these devices was challenging and many families were unfamiliar with the software. However, the publicity generated by Joshie’s pies led to the donation of 100 “talkers.” He further stated: “Now I’ve got a big task of going round the UK trying to drop off these talkers, hopefully before Christmas, because I know the power of communication for these children is the difference in the quality of their life.”