"Hello there. My name's Abby Furco. Welcome to my kitchen. Come on in, let's start cooking."
First up was Ritzy Chicken Bites, aka chicken cubes coated in Ritz Cracker crumbs.
Then, green beans sauteed in butter and, finally, her signature carrot cake.
The chicken and carrot cake were what she missed the most when she couldn't eat and was battling the effects of leukemia.
"Last summer when I wasn't doing well, I wanted the house to smell like chicken chunks and carrot cake," Abby told about a dozen people Monday at Studio Center in Virginia Beach.
The 10-year-old from Virginia Beach, who was once given 48 hours to live, is in remission for a second time. She still hasn't got all her energy back, but wasn't going to miss her TV cooking debut.
This was her time under a sea of lights in a kitchen made specifically for her.
It didn't matter that the half-hour show will only be seen by family. It was the start of living a dream – one that now includes a full scholarship from Culinary Institute of Virginia, which is worth about $32,000, president Andy Gladstein said.
All this came about after the studio connected with Abby's mom, Patty, after hearing about her daughter's cancer survival story and love for cooking on a local TV station. From there, officials at the Culinary Institute decided to present her with the scholarship Monday.
"It has been a dream of mine for a few years to become a chef, and now to confirm that dream will be accomplished is a lot," Abby said, tears in her eyes.
The gesture gave Chris Wilson, the production company's marketing director, goosebumps.
"With someone that's in Abby's condition, you just never know. This might be something that she'll live for."
When she was 4, Abby was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia, Patty said. Abby beat it after three years of treatment, only to relapse less than a year into remission.
In 2015, after beating cancer a second time, a bone marrow transplant left Abby with a host of side effects, including graft-versus-host disease, which is when the donated marrow cells attack the donor's body. She struggled for more than a year during that treatment.
By last summer, Abby had complete organ failure. Doctors said she was out of options, and her family brought her home.
"They said she had about 48 hours to live," Patty said. "Here she is today, a year later."
While in the hospital recovering after her transplant, Abby watched hours and hours of the Food Network, Patty said. Even when she couldn't eat solid food.
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"She likes the technical part. She liked listening to people talk about food, she liked watching the food be made."
When her family brought her home last summer, they kept Food Network on, even though Abby was mostly sedated. If they changed the channel, she'd know it, Patty said.
"Her eyes would open, and she would start moaning. I'm not kidding. None of us could watch the Olympics because, at that point, you're going to give the kid everything she wants."
That included the cooking show.
On the set, which had the words "Abby's Kitchen" painted in the background, Abby went over each scene with the director and delivered her lines flawlessly during multiple takes.
"Thank you for joining me today," she said. "I hope we can cook together sometime soon. Byeeee!"
"That was sassy," Patty said. "That's the sassy Abby I know."
Every so often, she asked how Abby was feeling, making sure she wasn't lightheaded or needed a minute to sit down. Because her endurance isn't great, Abby usually cooks at home with her mom's help.
"A year ago she was in hospice," Patty said. "Each day more that we have with Abby is amazing. We are grateful and so blessed to have her with us."
Source: "She had about 48 hours to live": 10-year-old cancer survivor in Virginia Beach gets full culinary scholarship
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