Beloved cookbook author, chef and inRegister food columnist Holly Clegg was diagnosed with stomach cancer on August 8, 2018, after having zero risk factors and only 10 days of symptoms. After a year-long battle with the disease, Clegg moved to hospice care in June of 2019 and died in November of that same year. But the energy that drove her passions still lives on through #TeamHolly and the upcoming Whisk Away Gastric Cancer fundraiser at the Renaissance Hotel this Thursday, April 28, where an evening of food from local chefs, drinks and live music will raise money for the Holly Clegg Gastric Cancer Research Fund.

Karen Stephens, a friend of Clegg, mentions that she always knew when Holly was in the hospital because all the nurses would be walking around holding cookbooks.

“Holly frequently said, ‘I am the happiest person in hospice,'” says Stephens.

Clegg’s infectious optimism and bright outlook on life inspired those who already knew her and those who were just learning her story. Even after receiving the news of late-stage stomach cancer, Clegg made it her mission to help others in the future, and her family continued that dream by creating The Holly Clegg Gastric Cancer Research Fund.

“She really hoped to be able to change the outcomes for others, despite not being able to do it for herself,” says Stephens. “The event is a way to raise money and awareness around stomach cancer.”

You can purchase tickets here, and find her cookbook Eating Well Through Cancer here.