‘That was awesome’: A ‘Wish Kid’ cooks with her favorite celebrity chef

April is World Wish Month. WTOP has teamed up with Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic to spotlight the amazing kids and volunteers who help make their wishes come true.

Choosing a wish was not a piece of cake for 15-year-old Tabitha Hyun.

The Baltimore, Maryland, high school freshman, who has been fighting leukemia, admits it was “kind of hard to figure out what I wanted to do for my wish.”

During a Make-A-Wish open house at WTOP, Hyun’s father said his daughter was not exaggerating.

“It took a long time to kind of center in on what wish she wanted to do. I wouldn’t have minded if she said, ‘I’d like to meet Lamar Jackson,’” Dan Hyun said, laughing.

When Tabitha finally made up her mind, she chose with her heart — and her stomach.

“My wish was to meet chef Esther Choi in New York,” she said. “She seemed really cool, and I thought it would be a great wish.”

The pick impressed Tabitha’s family, who traveled with her to the Big Apple.

“It was an incredible experience for the whole family, reminding us that even in the hardest times, good comes out of it,” Dan said.

Thanks to Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic, Tabitha got to step into the kitchen at Mŏkbar and make dumplings alongside Choi, who famously toppled Bobby Flay on “Iron Chef.”

“I thought she was really cool because she cooked Korean food, and I really like Korean food,” Tabitha said.

Dan said Choi went above and beyond for his daughter.

“Her and her team went all out. They had a special chef’s coat for Tabitha to autograph,” he said. “So many different presents, along with the actual experience.”

Choi’s team researched Tabitha and discovered she is a huge Harry Potter fan, so they surprised her with treats fitting for a Hufflepuff.

“She’s incredibly busy, so even getting it on a calendar was not a small thing,” Dan said. “For us to know the sacrifice she made to carve out that time on behalf of our daughter.”

Even with all the gifts and the experience of cooking, Tabitha said her favorite part was meeting Choi.

“I was kind of nervous, but she was a really nice person. Like, I loved being there,” she said. “That was awesome.”

As thrilled as his daughter was, Dan was just as grateful to Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic.

“They recognize the difficulty families are going through,” he said. “And it’s not trying to minimize those things but recognizing how some of these experiences can frame hope.”

If you would like to help kids like Tabitha live their dreams, visit DMVWishes.org.

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