The story behind Cup Board Pro is an emotional one, and is told by three siblings on this week’s episode of Shark Tank.
The trio, from Long Island, New York, pitch the mess-free and sturdy cutting board on behalf of their hero NYC firefighter father, who invented it.
They explain to the sharks that his big dream was to come on the show and present the product, but that he passed away from cancer before he had the chance.
Their dad, Keith Young, was one of the many heroic firefighters who helped out on September 11, 2001, when two planes flew into the World Trade Center in New York City.
Fourteen years later, in 2015, he was diagnosed with synovial soft sarcoma, which he got due to the exposure at the World Trade Center. He was forced to retire from the fire department in New York and died at the age of 53 in March 2018.
However, Young had a passion for cooking, and he made appearances on Food Network series Chopped and The Rachel Ray Show. He even won a cooking episode of Throwdown With Bobby Flay.
After inventing the Cup Board Pro he arranged to get them created in China, and to give back he hired people with Down’s Syndrome to store, package, and ship the boards.
The Cup Board Pro is a wooden board. It’s easy to use, safe in the kitchen, and time efficient. The cutting board has a cup that you attached to the board, making it easy to swipe all of the unusable scraps into for easy disposal.
The board is dishwasher safe and can easily be stored. Since the board is made with bamboo, it resists bacteria, meaning you can slice everything from fruits to meats. Plus, it won’t damage your knives.
Cup Board Pro is available from Firehouse Chef KY (Keith Young) and on Amazon. The board retails for about $40.00 at the moment but is listed with an original price of $50.00.
Shark Tank airs on Sundays at 9/8c on ABC.