Cincinnati-based grilled cheese and tomato soup chain Tom & Chee has unveiled a special, limited-time melt to honor the life and memory of a young fan and help in the fight against cancer.
From now until Tuesday, Nov. 14, diners can try “The Golden Cheese Touch” at all Greater Cincinnati Tom & Chee restaurants. The sandwich features a combination of a 100% American beef hamburger patty, cheddar cheese, sauteed onions, mac and cheese and barbecue sauce on a hearty, parmesan-crusted white bread. Proceeds from each melt will benefit The Cure Starts Now, a nonprofit dedicated to eliminating cancer.
The Golden Cheese Touch was created by Andrew and Kimberly Slaymaker in honor of their daughter, Payton Slaymaker, who was being treated for diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), a highly aggressive form of brain cancer, at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and loved Tom & Chee. Payton was diagnosed with DIPG in 2019 at the age of 8 and passed away when she was 10. Her parents won the opportunity to craft their own Tom & Chee melt at The Cure Starts Now’s Once in a Lifetime Gala earlier this year.
“Payton loved grilled cheese, and it just so happened that we were driving around in Cincinnati when we spotted a Tom & Chee delivery van passing by. We discovered a location, and we even have a few pictures of her enjoying all the cheesy goodness there,” Kimberly said in a press release. “Payton had wisdom beyond her years and made my job as a mother easier because of her poise. I am incredibly proud of the child she was during her short time here on earth. We are thrilled and confident that Payton would be amazed to know she inspired a sandwich for people to enjoy, benefiting The Cure Starts Now.”
The sandwich was named in reference to Payton’s favorite book series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid. In the book, there’s a game called the “Cheese Touch,” where if someone touches a piece of cheese on the basketball court, they contract the Cheese Touch and can only get rid of it by touching someone else.
While the Cheese Touch is seen as a negative thing in the books, the Slaymakers say they chose the name because they wanted to touch others with positivity and spread the joy that the book series brought to Payton and as a tribute to the lives their daughter touched.
Find a Tom & Chee location here.
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This article appears in Oct 18-31, 2023.
