Baltimore restaurant owner drives 6 hours to Vermont to cook for a customer with lung cancer who wanted to eat her favorite dish before she died
Earlier this month, Brandon Jones, 37, wrote an email to Steve Chu, 30, a co-owner of two Ekiben restaurants in Baltimore, explaining that his mother-in-law had terminal cancer but had joked that the last thing she’d like to eat on her death bed was Ekiben’s tempura broccoli.
Brandon merely asked if Steve would be willing to share the recipe so that he and his wife Rina Jones, 38, could prepare it for her when they went to visit.
But Steve shocked them by going above and beyond, insisting that he, his business partner, and an employee would make the long drive themselves to prepare the beloved dish for Rina’s mother so that she could enjoy it fresh.
In a viral Facebook post, Brandon explained what prompted his request.
‘My mother-in-law lives in Vermont and would visit my wife and her sister [in Baltimore] throughout the years,’ he wrote.
‘Whenever she was in town, Ekiben’s tempura broccoli was something that she always needed to have. She’s always joked that when she’s on her death bed, that if there’s anything in the world, she wants tempura broccoli from Ekiben.
‘Unfortunately, this story took a turn for the worst when she was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer late December.
‘She has been undergoing treatment and it has greatly reduced her quality of life.’
He and Rina had been planning to drive up to Vermont from where they live in Baltimore to say their goodbyes this month, but realized that even if they brought the tempura broccoli, it wouldn’t taste the same after a long car ride.
So on March 11, Brandon, sent an email to the restaurant asking if they’d be willing to share the recipe so they could make it.
That’s when the owner replied with incredible generosity.
‘Thanks for reaching out,’ he wrote. ‘We’d like to meet you in Vermont and make it fresh for you… You tell us the date, time and location and we’ll be there.’
Steve, his business partner Ephrem Abebe, and employee Joe Anonuevo hit the road the very next day, spending the night at an Airbnb and picking up the ingredients they needed before stopping by Rina’s mother’s condo.
There, they grilled up food on a hot plate in the back of their pickup truck. They didn’t just make Rina’s mother’s beloved broccoli dish — they also cooked up tofu with peanut sauce and steamed rice to complete the meal.
They then delivered the food to Rina’s mother’s door, giving her quite a surprise.
‘As soon as she opened the door, she recognized the aroma immediately,’ Brandon told the Washington Post. ‘It smelled amazing.’
Rina added: ‘My mom kept saying, “I don’t understand — you drove all the way up here to cook for me?” She was so happy and touched to have that broccoli. She couldn’t believe it.
Steve, who wouldn’t accept payment for the food, said it was ‘a huge honor to be able to help fulfill the family’s wishes.’
‘This is about her, not us. There was a lot of good, positive energy in doing this,’ he said.
He also said he recognized Rina’s mother as a customer who always had nice things to say about the food.
‘She’s a lovely lady, who has showered us with love at our restaurant for years,’ he said. ‘It was a powerful experience, and I’m happy that we could make it happen.’
Rina praised the ‘incredible act of kindness,’ admitting that both she and her mother later cried over the generosity.
‘They made so much food that she had it again the next day for lunch. It’s something we’ll never forget — I’ll carry that positive memory with me, always.’