“Seeing my family sit down and eat something I’ve made is one of the best feelings in the world!” Joseph Charney tells PEOPLE

NEED TO KNOW

• After Joseph Charney’s mother was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer and could no longer cook, he began making dinner for his family each night

• The 17-year-old from Georgia later started sharing his meals online under the name “Chef Joey,” with one video amassing over 6 million views

• He now tells PEOPLE that what started as a way to help his family became a purpose that changed his life

Joseph Charney was in fifth grade when his parents gathered him and his siblings in the kitchen to share life-changing news: his mother, Jennifer, had been diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer.

A year later, in 2017, the family celebrated after she was declared cancer-free, only to face another devastating blow in 2019 when the cancer returned as stage 4.

Despite years of treatment, Charney’s mother remained determined to care for her family for as long as she could. However, as her health declined, everyday responsibilities became harder for her to perform. As a result, the now 17-year-old began cooking dinner for his family each night as a way to take something off his mom’s shoulders through an unimaginable season, and, in the process, he discovered an unexpected calling.

“For me, cooking was my out,” Charney tells PEOPLE exclusively. “While I did learn to cook so I could take over for my mom, I also learned to cook because it became a newfound passion for me.”

@chefjoeycharney

Cooking dinner for my family: Instant Pot beef Stew #dinner #DinnerIdeas #beef #recipe #food

♬ original sound – Chef Joey Charney

Although Charney’s mother continued doing everything she could to maintain a sense of normalcy throughout her treatments, there were moments that made the reality of her illness impossible to ignore.

Charney still vividly remembers coming home one day to find an ambulance outside, since his mother was having difficulty breathing. Two more ambulance visits followed later that year, each one bringing uncertainty and fear for the entire family.

As the cancer progressed, everyday life required more adjustments. By 2024, Charney’s mother could no longer climb the stairs to reach her bedroom, prompting the family to reorganize the house so she could live on the first floor. Family friends stepped in to help move furniture and prepare the rooms, making what could have been an overwhelming task much easier.

Not long afterward, Charney’s mother was admitted to the hospital for what was expected to be an overnight stay. Instead, she remained there for several days before being transferred to a rehabilitation facility, where she learned how to navigate life from a wheelchair after losing the ability to walk.

When she returned home, a medical bed was installed in the living room so she could remain at the center of family life. “She wanted the bed in the living room so she could still be around everybody, which I think speaks a lot about how important family is to her,” Charney says.

With Charney’s mother no longer able to manage many of the household responsibilities she had always handled, every member of the family found a way to contribute.

While a meal train organized by friends helped provide dinners during the first month after she returned home from the hospital, the family gradually settled into a new routine where everyone took on a role that kept the household running.

“Considering the circumstances, everyone adapted really well and found their niche,” Charney admits. “I cooked dinners, my younger sisters rotated who washed the dishes every night, my older siblings were at college and were our drivers, and my dad stayed working.”

Although cooking dinner every night eventually became second nature, Charney’s interest in the kitchen had actually started years earlier through baking.

“Previously, I loved to bake and would bake as much as I could. I baked lots of desserts to take into school and share with my classmates because it always felt good to share something I put so much effort into,” he explains. “However, when my mom lost her ability to walk, and we had been receiving dinners from some very generous individuals for about a month via a meal train, is when I really honed in on my previously sparked desire to cook. I knew we couldn’t rely on other people to take care of our family anymore.”

Starting from scratch, however, wasn’t easy. Charney had little experience planning meals, grocery shopping or preparing balanced dinners, but even while facing her own health challenges, his mother continued teaching him from home.

“With my mom’s help, I learned how to create a meal plan for the week and assign a dinner to each day,” he shares. “She taught me to add variety and look up inspirations for what sides pair well with the different main courses. Through a lot of trial and error, I learned a system that worked well for me and my family.”

Before long, Charney decided to start recording the dinners he prepared and sharing the videos online. But what began as a way to document his progress quickly turned into something much bigger than he ever imagined.

Viewers connected with both his cooking and the story behind it, helping transform the teenager into the content creator now known as “Chef Joey.”

“I didn’t expect it to really go anywhere, but it blew up overnight!” Charney says. “I was overwhelmed by the amount of support, and that was a huge encouragement to continue cooking.”

@chefjoeycharney

Making Christmas dinner for my family as a 17 year old aspiring chef #christmas #dinner #dinnerideas #recipe #chicken

♬ original sound – Chef Joey Charney

Still, despite his growing audience, Charney’s priorities at home have remained the same. Dinner is still the one meal that consistently brings most of the family together after everyone has spent the day following different schedules, making it an important part of their daily routine.

“Everybody wakes up at different times and has different eating patterns, so breakfasts and lunches are eaten at all different times throughout the day for everyone, and everyone makes their own,” Charney explains. “But I make sure to cook dinner because most everybody is hungry by then, and a hot, home-cooked meal is always a great way to end the day.”

His menu often features dependable family favorites, such as beef tacos, chicken tacos, spaghetti and meatballs, and pork tenderloin with green beans and rolls.

“These are all super quick and easy dinners that I can make when I’m low on energy or I don’t know what else to make,” he says. “We have pizza every Friday, which we have been doing for as long as I can remember, so Fridays are my day off.”

Beyond learning how to follow recipes, Charney has also gained confidence in techniques that allow him to cook more intuitively and creatively, even developing some of his own recipes along the way.

“I have learned how to curl my fingers and hold my knife when cutting, how to season different foods on my own without a recipe, how to create simple meals by combining processes from lots of different recipes, how long to cook food so I don’t overcook it, and so much more!” he shares.

Yet, as his videos continue reaching larger audiences across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, his biggest supporters remain the people sitting around the dinner table every evening.

“All of my family has been extremely supportive of me taking on this role,” Charney emphasizes. “Everyone is very encouraging! In the beginning, they teased me, playfully, by mocking my ‘My name is Joey…’ intro to my videos, but I believe everyone is truly very proud of how far I’ve come.”

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Looking ahead, Charney says he plans to study both business and culinary arts and eventually work in a restaurant to better understand the industry.

“Cooking at home has brought a newfound joy into my life, and that is creating food that I know people enjoy, while still being able to express my creativity through experimenting with food,” he shares.

Until then, the high school senior hopes his family’s story reminds other teenagers facing a parent’s serious illness that even in the darkest moments, it is possible to find purpose, healing and hope.

“It’s really important to create a space for yourself, while still maintaining a healthy relationship with those around you so you don’t spiral,” Charney tells PEOPLE. “There are countless sanctuaries out there for you to choose from; you just have to choose one.”

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