Chef Amir Thompson of Fuzeion Catering is usually serving up big flavors at mansion and yacht parties for celebrity clients like P-Diddy and local NBA players, but all that changed when historic flooding happened in South Florida in April 2023. Now, the chef is looking to rebuild and recover from damages brought to his home and industrial kitchen.
The storms brought a complete nightmare for his kitchen, furniture and tools, leaving them totally underwater. It’s not only Chef Amir’s home, but it’s also been the home base of his catering business for the past three years.
Chef Amir gave his reaction to seeing the rising flood waters, “I'm like, this is not happening. This is crazy. I have, you know, I have equipment. I have a catering company, but I still have a lot of equipment here at my home. And all this stuff is like, it's going to be destroyed.”
Within a few hours, his fears came true. Amir witnessed his backyard flooding, destroying the crops he planted for fresh vegetables and herbs that came in handy for his catering business.
Get South Florida local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC South Florida newsletters.
“Water is in my face and just keeps coming in. So, I'm trying to move certain things up and, you know, to save certain things. But we got to get out of here because I don't know when, how, when the rain is going to stop”, said Amir Thompson.
The rain did not stop for hours, giving him only moments to escape.
“We barely made it out like the skin of our teeth. We barely made it out,” Recalls Amir.
Local
Fortunately, Mr. Thompson made it out of the home but left behind everything that was important to him and his business. All his personal and professional belongings ended up under three feet of water, destroying everything he had worked hard for. This includes Thompson’s industrial sized kitchen located in his backyard, that could normally feed up to 800 people. The damages for his equipment are over $30,000 but insurance is only covering around $10,000.
Thompson says he remained cool, calm and collected, but what hurt the celebrity chef most was having to turn down his clients.
He said, “I couldn't cook for them because it was literally the next day they asked me, Are you available Wednesday, available Friday? I'm like, I'm homeless. I'm homeless right now.”
Chef Amir Thompson wants to get back to doing what he loves, providing delicious culinary creations and experiences for people. He is looking to rebuild and asks support from the community. The celebrity chef opened a GoFundMe page for his recovery efforts titled “Chef Amir’s Fuzeion Catering Flood Recovery” with a $150,000 goal. Donations have already started pouring in.
You can find more information about Fuzeion Catering by clicking here and more about Chef Amir by clicking here.
