A High Stakes Breakfast

At the age of six, Chef Kelly English (Panta, Restaurant Iris, Magnolia House, and the Second Line) spent two months in an adult hospital recovering from a life-threatening fall.

Chef Kelly English pals around with a kid judge during Le Bonheur Children's Hospital's 2022 Competition Breakfast. The Competition Breakfast kicks off Le Bonheur's largest fundraising weekend of the year, culminating in the main event, Le Bon Appetit. 

Chef Kelly's experience eventually led to the development of the Le Bon Appetit fundraiser for Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, a 255-bed facility that serves as a primary teaching affiliate for University of Tennessee Health Science Center and one of the top facilities in the country for children in need of brain surgery.

Chef Kelly's story

As the longtime architect of Le Bon Appetit, Chef Kelly English isn't just an outsider looking in, he can also relate to the children he’s working so hard to support. 

When Chef Kelly was young, he was watching an airshow from the second story of his grandmother’s house when he fell from the window. The damage was very extensive, essentially breaking all of the bones on the left side of his body (wrist, femur, upper arm). There was even initial fears that he had also broken his neck. Fortunately his neck was not broken, but Chef Kelly still had to be put on traction and then in a full-body cast. He spent two months in the hospital, an adult facility that also treated children.

“The hospital was everything a hospital should be. It’s just that it was a hospital built for adults,” said Chef Kelly in a 2016 article in Le Bonheur’s Securing the Promise newsletter  titled Cooking for a Cause. “And hospitals can be big, scary places for kids. The environment is so sterile. It’s nothing like Le Bonheur.”

Chef Kelly’s hospital stay didn’t include the kind of resources you find at Le Bonheur, according to the article, such as child life specialists who use toys and play for distraction during procedures. Playful hallway lights didn’t illuminate when you passed by, and there weren’t kid-friendly, interactive works of art on every floor. There weren’t machines built just for kids, so that X-rays deliver less radiation to the body, and not every doctor or nurse had received the extra training designated for the specific care of children.

After two months in the hospital, Chef Kelly returned home, still in a full-body cast. He rehabbed quickly and relearned to walk in a couple of months. 

After graduating from high school, Chef Kelly was admitted to the University of Mississippi and went into pre-law. After getting a job as a waiter at a favorite catfish restaurant to help his way in college, Chef Kelly quickly learned that he wasn’t able to successfully carry a serving a tray since the injuries he had sustained from his fall had left him unable to fully bend his left wrist. So, instead of becoming a waiter, he was sent back to the kitchen to work as a cook. Chef Kelly moved up quickly through the kitchen ranks and soon became a restaurant manager. 

As his career took off, Chef Kelly looked for ways to give back to the community. He eventually met Le Bonheur CEO and President Meri Armour shortly after moving to Memphis, and once he toured the hospital, he found his charity of choice.

Le Bon Appetit

Le Bon Appétit is one of the most unique charitable events in the city; over the course of its five iterations, Le Bon Appetit has raised more than $3 million to help Le Bonheur Club (a philanthropic women’s organization that established Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital) fund specialized medical equipment, child-specific programming and technology. Chef Kelly invites guest chefs from around the country to showcase their signature dishes. However, Le Bon Appétit is more than a culinary event. The chefs take time to serve the families at Le Bonheur. As soon as the chefs arrive in Memphis, they visit the hospital and also hit the kitchen in Le Bonheur’s home-away-from-home for out-of-town families, FedExFamilyHouse, where they cook breakfast for families in a Chopped-style battle using fun, kid-friendly ingredients like candy bars and marshmallows. 

"We're having fun yes, but also helping to change the world," current Le Bonheur President Michael Wiggins says.

This year's guest chef competitors were: Russell Casey, Restaurant Iris (Memphis); Jimmy Gentry, Paradox Catering (Memphis); David Krog, Dory (Memphis); Drake Leonards, Eunice (Houston); Phillip Dewayne, Park + Cherry (Memphis); Ryan Lachaine, Riel Restaurant (Houston); and Peter Nguyen, Riel Restaurant (Houston).

Hosts Chef Kelly English and Food Network's Claire Robinson join participating Chefs and kid judges for a group photo during Le Bonheur Children's Hospital's 2022 Competition Breakfast. The Competition Breakfast kicks off Le Bonheur's largest fundraising weekend of the year, culminating in the main event, Le Bon Appetit. 

This year's chef breakfast took place earlier this month and featured Clare Robinson of the Food Network as this year's host. In addition to tastiest, the judges (patients from Le Bonheur Children's Hospital) also awarded chefs the following accolades: dirtiest kitchen, first to the table, most creative, best presentation, and most in need of improvement.  Here's a look at the high stakes chef breakfast!

"Don't go easy on then," Robinson informed the judges," they're supposed to be world class chefs."

All photos coueresy Le Bonheur Children's Hospital unless otherwise noted 

Host, Food Network's Claire Robinson, joins kid judges as they cheer on participating chefs during Le Bonheur Children's Hospital's 2022 Competition Breakfast. The Competition Breakfast kicks off Le Bonheur's largest fundraising weekend of the year, culminating in the main event, Le Bon Appetit. 

Kid judges cheer on Chef Drake Leonards during Le Bonheur Children's Hospital's 2022 Competition Breakfast. The Competition Breakfast kicks off Le Bonheur's largest fundraising weekend of the year, culminating in the main event, Le Bon Appetit. 

Cereal-crusted french toast being prepared during Le Bonheur Children's Hospital's 2022 Competition Breakfast. The Competition Breakfast kicks off Le Bonheur's largest fundraising weekend of the year, culminating in the main event.

Chef Phillip Dewayne begins to plate his team's entry for judging during Le Bonheur Children's Hospital's 2022 Competition Breakfast. The Competition Breakfast kicks off Le Bonheur's largest fundraising weekend of the year, culminating in the main event, Le Bon Appetit.

Chef Drake Leonards begins to plate his entry for judging during Le Bonheur Children's Hospital's 2022 Competition Breakfast. The Competition Breakfast kicks off Le Bonheur's largest fundraising weekend of the year, culminating in the main event, Le Bon Appetit. 

Chefs present their finished dishes to the judges. 

Photo courtesy Catersource staff

Photo courtesy Catersource staff

Photo courtesy Catersource staff

Photo courtesy Catersource staff

Photo courtesy Catersource staff

The discerning judges sample the chefs' creations. Photo courtesy LEO Events

One of the kid judges from Le Bonheur Children's Hospital's 2022 Competition Breakfast scoring the participating chefs' entries. The Competition Breakfast kicks off Le Bonheur's largest fundraising weekend of the year, culminating in the main event, Le Bon Appetit.