Fatima Ali (August 8, 1989 – January 25, 2019) was a

Pakistani-American Pakistani Americans () are citizens of the United States who have full or partial ancestry from Pakistan, or more simply, Pakistanis in America. They can be from different ethnic groups in Pakistan like Punjabis, Punjabi or Muhajir people, Muhaj ...

executive chef, restaurateur and television personality. She was known for her successful appearances on reality cooking shows ''Chopped'' and ''

Top Chef ''Top Chef'' is an American reality competition television series which premiered on Bravo in March 2006. The show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges. The contestants are judged by a panel of professional chefs ...

'', and for posthumously winning two

James Beard Foundation Award The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media awar ...

s for her writing.

Early life

Fatima Ali was born and raised in

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, dividing her time between

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

and

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

. She was educated at the

Karachi Grammar School Karachi Grammar School is an independent, English-medium school located in 3 different campuses across Karachi. The main and oldest campus is located in Saddar, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. It is a highly selective, coeducational day school (formerl ...

. Ali was the daughter of educator Farazeh Durrani and lawyer Ashtar Ausaf Ali, the

Attorney General for Pakistan Attorney-General for Pakistan is the chief law officer and legal advisor of the Government of Pakistan and enjoys rights of audience before Parliament. The Attorney-General, who serves as Pakistan's public prosecutor, is recommended by the Prime M ...

from 2016 to 2018 and again from May 2022. She learned to cook from her father, her grandmother, and her family's cook, Qadir. She immigrated to America at age 18 to attend the

Culinary Institute of America The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) is a private culinary school with its main campus in Hyde Park, New York, and branch campuses in St. Helena and Napa, California; San Antonio, Texas; and Singapore. The college, which was the first to ...

, graduating in 2011.

Career

Ali began her culinary career as a junior sous chef at Café Centro in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. In 2012, she won an episode of ''Chopped'' ( Season 12, episode 2, "A Guts Reaction") on the

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery, who manages and operates it as a division of the Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. Networks Group. The channel airs both televi ...

. She continued her career in New York City, becoming the youngest executive sous chef at Stella 34 Trattoria at

Macy's Herald Square Macy's Herald Square (originally named the R. H. Macy and Company Store) is a department store building on West 34th Street (Manhattan), 34th Street at Herald Square in New York City, New York (state), New York, United States. It was designed b ...

, and then the executive sous chef at La Fonda del Sol. In 2017, Ali was a contestant on ''Top Chef: Colorado''. Although she finished in seventh place, she was voted the fan favorite.

Illness and death

After competing on ''Top Chef'', Ali was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma and underwent surgery at

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK or MSKCC) is a cancer treatment and research institution in Manhattan in New York City. MSKCC is one of 72 National Cancer Institute– designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers. Its main campus is ...

in January 2018. After undergoing

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...

, she was initially declared cancer-free, and in April 2018, she cooked in public at the

Pebble Beach Pebble Beach is an unincorporated community on the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey County, California, United States. The small coastal residential community of mostly single-family homes is also notable as a resort destination, and the home of ...

Food and Wine Festival. However, in October 2018, in a personal essay published by ''

Bon Appétit ''Bon Appétit'' is a monthly American food and entertaining magazine, that typically contains recipes, entertaining ideas, restaurant recommendations, and wine reviews. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered at the One World Trade Center ...

'' titled ''I’m a Chef with Terminal Cancer. This Is What I’m Doing with the Time I Have Left'', Ali reported that her cancer had returned and become terminal. She died at her family's home in

San Marino, California San Marino is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It was incorporated on April 25, 1913. At the 2020 United States census the population was 12,513, a decline from the 2010 United States census. History Origin of name Th ...

, on January 25, 2019, at the age of 29. She was buried in

in February 2019. In April 2019, Ali was posthumously awarded a James Beard Foundation Award for her essay. Her memoir, ''Savor: A Chef's Hunger for More'', published in October 2022 and co-authored with Tarajia Morrell, received a James Beard Foundation Award in June 2023.

References

External links

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Bravo TV: Fatima Ali
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Fatima 1989 births 2019 deaths Pakistani chefs Pakistani emigrants to the United States American chefs American women chefs Culinary Institute of America alumni James Beard Foundation Award winners Businesspeople from Lahore Karachi Grammar School alumni Deaths from bone cancer in California 21st-century American women writers 21st-century Pakistani women writers Pakistani women chefs