Thermador recently had the honor of partnering with Make-A-Wish^® Orange County and the Inland Empire to grant 6-year-old Amina Ihmud’s wish of being a chef. Amina, a native of Ontario, Calif., was diagnosed with Leukemia in March of 2013 and has faced a tough battle over the last year. On May 29, Amina and her family traveled to our Experience & Design Center in Irvine, Calif., for an unforgettable evening where she transformed into a chef for the night, cooking up a meal in the Thermador kitchen theater. The entire space was decorated with special banners and posters, and was full of friends and volunteers to celebrate the opening of “Amina’s Café.”

Upon arrival, Amina was greeted with her very own chef coat and other culinary-inspired gifts. Amina’s face lit up with excitement and anticipation as she put on her authentic chef uniform, while her family had the pleasure of watching Amina transform into “Chef Amina” and begin cooking a custom menu inspired by her favorite foods.

After some serious cooking, Amina shared her delectable culinary creations with enthusiastic patrons of the hottest one-night-only restaurant in town, “Amina’s Café.” Anxiously awaiting the young chef’s dishes were her family, friends and a few  other guests. Audible “mmmm’s!” and “yum’s!” were heard escaping the mouths of Amina’s patrons, which only made the young chef’s smile grow larger. Later in the evening, a line wrapped around the ‘restaurant’ as the area’s newest celebrity chef gleefully signed her cookbook and posed for photos with her guests.

In addition to seeing the joy Amina and her family experienced, we were especially proud when John Iacoviello, senior vice president of sales and marketing, presented Make-A-Wish with a check for $10,000. This donation was made possible by BSH and the many generous employees who were touched by Amina’s story and chose to contribute to this wonderful charity. It was humbling and touching to see this young girl’s wish come true, and to know that Thermador helped bring an evening of joy to Amina and her family.

For nearly 100 years, Thermador has been making the American kitchen more beautiful, more efficient, and more luxurious, with innovative appliances engineered and designed to appeal to the most discriminating culinary enthusiast. Thermador is passionate not just about sharing the excitement around the culinary experience, but also about being a responsible community member and finding ways to give back to those in the area, including helping make a young cook’s dream come true!