PRINCE WISE AND HIS SIGNATURE DISH AT THE FAIRMONT PITTSBURGH, PRINCE’S CRAB CAKE SANDWICH & FRIES. | PHOTO COURTESY OF FAIRMONT PITTSBURGH

UPDATE: The restaurant sold 583 crab cake sandwiches and presented Make-A-Wish Greater Pennsylvania and West Virginia with a check for $1,259.

PHOTO COURTESY OF FAIRMONT PITTSBURGH

Chef Fernando Canales doesn’t typically let people dance through his kitchen at the Fairmont Pittsburgh, but he made an exception for a Prince.

Prince Wise, a 9-year-old heart transplant recipient, wanted to create a signature dish alongside a professional. It was an order Make-A-Wish was happy to place.

Last week, the budding chef visited fl.2, the restaurant inside the Downtown luxury hotel, and spent four hours working (and dancing) alongside Canales to perfect Prince’s Crab Cake Sandwich & Fries. The meal is available on fl.2’s lunch, brunch and dinner menus through Dec. 21, with 10% of all sales going to Make-A-Wish Greater Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

IT WAS PRINCE’S IDEA TO PUT AVOCADO ON THE CRAB CAKE SANDWICH. | PHOTO COURTESY OF FAIRMONT PITTSBURGH

As someone who once lived beside the Original Crabcake Factory in Ocean City, Maryland, and regularly ate her weight in deep-fried crustaceans, I can attest that Prince’s crabby patty is quite a catch.

CHEF FERNANDO CANALES AND PRINCE WISE | PHOTO COURTESY OF FAIRMONT PITTSBURGH

Canales, the father of two young children, was impressed by Prince’s refined palate and his suggestion to put avocado on the sandwich. From ingredient-gathering to plating, he believes his pint-sized counterpart is destined for culinary greatness.

It figures that the kitchen is the heart of Prince’s home.

“We are always in the kitchen with the music going,” says Chantell Hardin, Prince’s mom. “He loves to eat. His favorite foods are crab legs, chicken and sushi.”

Her son was born a healthy child, but two years ago, he got violently ill and was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition in which the heart becomes enlarged and cannot pump blood effectively.

Prince was unconscious for two months and had to relearn how to walk and talk. Now, after a trip to Disney World, he’s back in school with a new heart and a new lease on life.

In fiscal year 2024, the local Make-A-Wish chapter received 856 referrals and was able to grant 500 wishes. The average cost of a wish is $5,000, an amount that can send a family of four to an Orlando theme park for a week. Half of all requests involve Mickey Mouse.

“Prince’s actual wish was to visit the Orlando theme parks, which he did in October 2024,” says Stephanie Pugliese, director of development for the local Make-A-Wish chapter. “But we had learned while planning his wish that he loved to cook. So, when this opportunity to create a menu item for Fairmont Pittsburgh came our way, we invited Prince to assist with this. We knew he would appreciate the time spent in the kitchen with Chef and learn what it is like being a chef.”

This isn’t the Fairmont’s first time playing genie to sick kids.

Last year, during Highmark Light Up Night, the hotel set up a hot chocolate-and-cookie stand in the lobby and raised $700 for the organization. The sweet spot will return for the 2024 holiday festivities, which take place on Nov. 23.

In keeping with the spirit of the season, the Fairmont partnered with Make-A-Wish in December 2023 to help a teenager deliver hot chocolate and cinnamon rolls to the cardiology ward at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Earlier this year, a young cancer patient held a high-tea masquerade party in the hotel’s ballroom.

The Fairmont is a fitting place for Prince’s culinary creation to reign supreme.