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

Pakistani-American Pakistani Americans ( ur, ) are Americans who originate from Pakistan. The term may also refer to people who also hold a dual Pakistani and U.S. citizenship. Educational attainment level and household income are much higher in the Pakistani-Am ...

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 on March 8, 2006. The show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges. The contestants are judged by a panel of professional chef ...

'', 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 award ...

s for her writing.

Early life

Fatima Ali was born and raised in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, dividing her time between

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

and

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

. She was educated at the

Karachi Grammar School Karachi Grammar School ( ur, ) 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 ...

. Ali was the daughter of educator Farazeh Durrani and lawyer

Ashtar Ausaf Ali Ashtar Ausaf Ali (born 19 June 1956) is a Pakistani lawyer who twice served as the Attorney General for Pakistan from 2016 to 2018, and in 2022. In his first term, he co-drafted the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan, Twenty ...

, the

Attorney General for Pakistan The Attorney-General for Pakistan is the chief law officer and legal advisor of the Government of Pakistan, Government of Pakistan and enjoys rights of audience before Parliament of Pakistan, Parliament. The Attorney-General, who serves as Pakistan ...

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 Culinary arts are the cuisine arts of food preparation, cooking and presentation of food, usually in the form of meals. People working in this field – especially in establishments such as restaurants – are commonly called chefs or ...

, 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 or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. 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 joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (which holds a 69% ownership stake of the network) and Nexstar Media Group ...

. 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 the Flagship#Retailing, flagship of Macy's department store, as well as the Macy's, Inc. corporate headquarters, on Herald Square in Manhattan, New York City. The buildi ...

, 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 Ewing sarcoma is a type of cancer that forms in bone or soft tissue. Symptoms may include swelling and pain at the site of the tumor, fever, and a bone fracture. The most common areas where it begins are the legs, pelvis, and chest wall. In about ...

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 the borough of Manhattan in New York City, founded in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital. MSKCC is one of 52 National Cancer Institute– ...

in January 2018. After undergoing

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherap ...

, 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. The small coastal residential community of mostly single-family homes is also notable as a resort destination, and the home of the golf course ...

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 i ...

'' 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 residential city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It was incorporated on April 25, 1913. At the 2010 census the population was 13,147. The city is one of the wealthiest places in the nation in terms of househol ...

, 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 Top Chef contestants American chefs American women chefs Culinary Institute of America alumni James Beard Foundation Award winners Businesspeople from Lahore Karachi Grammar School alumni Deaths from cancer in California 21st-century American women writers 21st-century Pakistani women writers