05 Apr Renowned Chef Antonio Bachour Gives Back
April 5, 2022 — Chef Antonio Bachour is an internationally renowned and award-winning Pastry Chef who has traveled the world, leaving his mark. You may have noticed his gorgeous, artisan desserts – or the long line of fashionable patrons hoping to snag a table for brunch at his namesake restaurant in Coral Gables on a Sunday afternoon. But before becoming the successful worldly man he is today, he survived a deadly brush with cancer as a child, thanks to life-saving surgery and the support of his family—especially his mother—and Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC). Decades later, he honored his mother and helped provide other families with the same support by hosting a Mother’s Day fundraiser for the Ronald McDonald House during the entire month of May 2021.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
“My mother has always been my rock, especially during my illness, and the Ronald McDonald House was the support system that both my mother and I needed while I was going through surgery and recuperation,” said Antonio. “I hosted this fundraiser for the Ronald McDonald House at my flagship restaurants in Coral Gables and Doral during Mother’s Day in 2021 because my mother and I were so lucky to have had the opportunity to stay in a Ronald McDonald House, and I want to help give that same opportunity to other mothers and their ill children.”
A Warm Home During a Challenging Time
When Antonio was 15 years old, he was diagnosed with a malignant tumor on his pituitary gland in Puerto Rico, where he was born and raised. His doctors told his parents that he needed life-saving surgery from a type of specialized surgeon that can only be found on the mainland U.S. After an extensive search and being turned down by many surgeons who gave Antonio zero possibility of surviving, his parents found a surgeon that gave him a 10 percent chance of survival. The Bachour family decided to take the risk to save their son’s life.
Antonio’s surgeon worked out of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia—a long way from their island home—meaning the family would need to consider housing options. Not knowing exactly how long Antonio’s post-surgery recuperation would last, this could have been a costly hotel stay for his parents, but while booking the surgery, the hospital informed Antonio and his family about a special place they could stay for free: the Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House. Antonio and his mother stayed at the Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House before the surgery and during his month-long recovery after beating the odds.
“Having to travel for treatment is a challenging experience for any family that goes through what we did, but staying at a Ronald McDonald House with other families who are going through similar situations and the support from a caring and understanding staff really makes it an easier and more pleasant experience,” said Antonio. “A Ronald McDonald House is a warm and familial environment, very different from staying in a hotel. At the House, you not only receive affection and quality care but real tangible help. Their social workers helped my mom fill out paperwork because she didn’t speak English. It was a huge weight off her already burdened shoulders.”
Today, 30 years later, Antonio lives a healthy, full and prosperous life with his wife, Alejandra Sanchez, in their Brickell Key home and his mother, Sarah Bachour, in a house he bought her near his.
“When my dad passed away, I brought my mom from Puerto Rico and bought her a house right next to mine so I can have her close,” said Antonio. “She spent her life taking care of me and never left my side during my sickness. Now it was my turn to take care of her and give her all the love and support she gave me.”
Paying-It-Forward
Antonio isn’t new to philanthropy. Every year, he chooses a charity to fundraise for via his restaurants. In 2020, his restaurants fundraised for a breast cancer foundation. In 2021, he chose a charity that hit closer to home when it appeared almost like a sign.
RMHC of South Florida‘s Executive Director, Soraya Rivera-Moya, was dining at Bachour Bakery & Restaurant in Coral Gables with a friend when the friend introduced her to Chef Antonio. When he found out that she worked at the Ronald McDonald House, he told her his story and how much he loved and appreciated the charity.
“She mentioned she was looking to do a fundraiser for Mother’s Day, and by the end of our conversation, I had chosen the Ronald McDonald House as this year’s beneficiary to our annual fundraiser,” said Antonio. “I thought, ‘there is no better way to celebrate Mother’s Day than to fundraise for the charity that helped my mother and me all those years ago.'”
In honor of Antonio’s mother, as well as all mothers who need support from the Ronald McDonald House while caring for a sick child, Antonio donated 10% of all pastry and dessert sales from his two restaurants during the entire month of May 2021.
“What better present can you give a mother than a delicious pastry and the knowledge that she is helping other mothers receive care and support while they are tending to their ill child at a Ronald McDonald House,” said Antonio.
The money raised during Bachour’s Mother’s Day fundraiser was used to help provide a ‘home away from home’, hot meals and support to the families who stay at the Ronald McDonald in Miami while their children are receiving life-saving treatment at nearby pediatric hospitals, like the Ronald McDonald House in Philadelphia did for Antonio and his family.
“Working for RMHC, I see children fighting illness every day. It’s always inspiring to meet an individual who stayed in an RMHC house as a child, beat their illness and grew up to be a healthy and successful individual,” said Soraya Rivera-Moya. “But it’s an even bigger inspiration when they want to pay it forward. Thank you, Chef Antonio, for helping us give more children and families the opportunity you had!”