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Chefs with big hearts dish up dollars for SickKids (24 photos)

Chefs with Hart, inspired by Hartley Bernier, a 10-year-old living with a rare and serious illness, has raised $60,000

An array of delectable dishes were served up with heart at the third annual Chefs with Hart fundraiser for Sick Kids Hospital yesterday at Newmarket's EventMrkt.

Chefs with Hart was inspired by Hartley Bernier, a 10-year-old living with a rare and serious illness called Intestinal Failure. Since his initial diagnosis, Hart has had more than 20 operations, spends 14 to 16 hours on an IV daily and must consume more than 4,000 calories to continue thriving.

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The event has its genesis in Hartley's love of cooking. Hart, who has been a Sick Kids ambassador since the age of 5, connected with Toronto's culinary community when he took part in a cooking segment on the now cancelled CBC show The Goods. The Buckley family got to know the Bernier family, owners of the Ground Burger Bar and EventMrkt, as regular customers. The rest, as they say, is history.

Along with parents Daniel and Ashley and brothers Hudson and Sully, Hart formed Chefs with Hart to promote and raise funds for Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto. To date, they have raised almost $60,000 for the GIFT program.

— With files from NewmarketToday staff