A terminally ill 32-year-old man whose closest friends and family organised a Michelin Star styled seven course meal for him to enjoy at LOROS has said “his journey is complete now”. Trained chef Pete Huckle, who is currently a patient at the Hospice, designed a seven-course tasting menu, which he appropriately named ‘Life’s Compl-EAT’, along with his former boss, James Bambury ahead of the evening.
The idea came on Friday night and by Tuesday evening, Pete and 15 of his closest family and friends, were tucking into the meal, set in the Day Therapy room at LOROS, all dressed in onesies, as per his request.
“Without putting a title on it, this was most likely my last supper,” said Pete, of Church Langton, in Market Harborough.
“I feel like life’s complete now; my journey is complete.
“I have to admit, there were times that I got a bit teary-eyed. It was a genuinely beautiful evening, it was perfect.”
Pete was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2014 and following a bone marrow transplant, he suffered from graft-versus-host disease, which meant the donor cells were attacking his body tissue. Since then, his lungs have started to fail and now he has around 20 per cent of his lungs capacity left, which means he is permanently needing oxygen support.
“A lot of people have these misconceptions surrounding Hospices, that they’re all doom and gloom and all about death,” added Pete, who has been an Inpatient at LOROS since July, although has accessed a number of different services prior to that, including Day Therapy, Home Visiting and Counselling.
“Actually though, for me, LOROS has been all about making the best of every situation.” The meal on Tuesday started with a selection of canapés, followed by a duck liver starter, a lemon sorbet, a fish and meat course, before ending with Eton Mess and a cheeseboard.
“It was great fun creating the menu and nice to dip my toe back into my career,” added Pete, who had originally hoped to eat out at a Michelin Star restaurant but was too poorly. “We came across some hurdles but in the end, everything was perfect.”
James, who says Pete has become part of his family over the years, organised the evening after asking him what was left on his bucket list.
“I’m not just Pete’s boss but he’s one of my best friends,” said James, owner of The Bull, in Broughton Astley.
“When I found out he wanted to eat at a Michelin Star restaurant, I wanted to make it possible and as they say, if you can’t get Mohammed to the mountain, then we would bring the mountain to Mohammed.”
With Pete’s health deteriorating, James had limited time to spare and within a few days, had organised a chef to cook, waiters to serve and a whole table dressing to replicate one that you would find in a fine-dining restaurant.
“Even though it was an emotional evening, the night was all about making memories for Pete,” added James.
“It was absolutely incredible.”
