'I suspected there was something wrong with him': London, Ont. chef shares brother’s story to support HIV/AIDS fundraiser

A London top chef is sharing a story of personal loss to support those living with HIV/AIDS.

Bryan Lavery decided to speak to encourage Londoners to support A Taste for Life. The fundraiser for the Regional HIV/AIDS Connection takes place on April 17.

Since the height of the epidemic in the 1980s, AIDS has claimed the lives of many close to Bryan.

“I’ve lost an ex-partner and three of my best friends,” he shared with CTV News London.

But Bryan's heaviest personal loss from the virus was still to come.

In 1993, he began to worry about the health of his brother Gary. The pair were immeasurably close.

“I suspected there was something wrong with him. I had taken him to Spain, and we were on holiday, and, he slept through that entire vacation,” he recalled.

A year later, Gary was diagnosed with HIV.

Gary Lavery is seen in Spain in 1993. (Source: Submitted)

“I probably went into a bit of shock,” he recalled.

At the time, Bryan and Gary had become friends with Emanuela Frongia. Thirty years on, Bryan works with her at Blackfriars Bistro in London.

The bond between the pair has strengthened since Gary’s passing 20 years ago.

In late March 2004, it was Emanuela who had to tell Bryan that Gary had little time left.

“When that phone call came in, that was tough,” he recalled. “She told me that my brother had less than 24 hours to live, and he feared we would not come to see him.”

Bryan did make it to his brother’s bedside. There, he said goodbye to Gary’s spirit but not his legacy.

“I like to keep my brother's name out there and his memory alive because he contributed a lot in his life,” he said.

Bryan (left) and Gary Lavery (right) are seen in an undated photo. (Source: Submitted)

And because he did, Bryan has made it his mission to give back. He has hosted two sittings for A Taste for Life since its inception 21 years ago.

For many of those years, he did it in memory of the friends he lost, but he found it painful to speak of Gary.

This year, it will be different.

“Maybe naming a dish after my brother would be a great idea,” he said.

Bryan explained the dish will match Gary’s free-spirited personality, and creating it will offer him a chance to remember a brother he shared so much in common with.

“Yes, that brings a lot of comfort for sure. We would like to fill the restaurant up for A Taste for Life for him, for sure,” he said.