Northport Chef Selling “Comfort Soup” as Fundraiser in Honor of Fuller Goldsmith

A Northport chef is using her skills to raise money in honor of Fuller Goldsmith, the 17-year-old nationally recognized Tuscaloosa chef who died earlier this month after a lifelong battle with cancer.

The fundraiser operates under Cleaver & Clove, an up-and-coming private chef service by Northport-based Chef Alison Hudnall. The business consists of four main pillars: chef-inspired boutique catering, artisanal charcuterie, both virtual and in-person culinary classes and the comfort soup, the proceeds from which go towards philanthropic donations.

Goldsmith passed away on October 5, after he having beaten cancer four times.

Hudnall said she and Chef Fuller traveled in similar circles due to their shared passion for culinary creation and food sport. She regularly serves as a food sport judge on various circuits and Chef Fuller was a fierce and talented competitor. She was a fan of his work and greatly admired his resilience

After he passed, she wanted to honor his memory by using food to help fund research to end childhood cancer. All proceeds from the comfort soup purchases will go towards Alabama Centers for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children's Hospital, the same place all proceeds from Fuller's Fund go to.

"Food has always been a strong source of memories for me," Hudnall said. "Every time I eat potato soup, I'm right back in my grandmother's kitchen as a little girl, remembering just how she made it. This comfort soup fundraiser is something I feel a lot of people will respond to in the same way, especially if they know it's in honor of Fuller."

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Hudnall told The Thread she made the decision to donate separately to the hospital as opposed to contributing directly to Fuller's Fund so that she could honor the donation under Fuller's name and in the name of her two-year-old niece, Blakely Elizabeth Johnson, who is currently fighting cancer in the form of a 15cm Germ Cell tumor.

"I wasn’t formally acquainted with Chef Fuller personally, but I as a cancer survivor myself am touched by his story and his long battle against the disease," Hudnall said. "My niece just completed her second round of chemo at Children’s. That's something very personal to me and I want to honor that."

Although her official business still has some time in the oven before it's ready, Hudnall said she hopes jumpstarting things with this act of philanthropy will set a tone going forward. In the future, she said there will also be other opportunities to support community efforts with this fundraiser, with plans to use the comfort soup proceeds to support local schools and organizations.

"Whether it's with certain recipes, comfort foods or with a seasonal special, I plan to keep this philanthropic touch as a key pillar of the business," Hudnall said.

She said at first, she was considering rotating the organization or charity that would receive each year's proceeds, she ultimately decided to make Children's of Alabama her permanent choice.

"I want to allow for that flexibility, but it's hard not to support a cause that has touched our family so closely," she said. "It's a whole different ballgame when it's children battling cancer. No 17-year-old should ever have to go through that."

To learn more about Cleaver & Clove before its official launch, and to learn how to contribute to the comfort soup philanthropy project, visit the website here.