Fatima Ali facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Fatima Ali
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | August 8, 1989 |
| Died | January 25, 2019 (aged 29) San Marino, California, U.S.
|
| Nationality | Pakistani |
| Occupation | Chef, restaurateur, television personality |
| Known for | Chef Executive at Stella 24 Tratoria and La Fonda Del Sol Winner of episode of TV series Chopped Top Chef (season 15) (TV cooking show) |
| Family | Ashtar Ausaf Ali (father) |
Fatima Ali (born August 8, 1989 – died January 25, 2019) was a talented chef from Pakistan and America. She was known for being on popular TV cooking shows like Chopped and Top Chef. Fatima also won a special award, the James Beard Foundation Award, for an essay she wrote about her journey with cancer.
Contents
Growing Up and Learning to Cook
Fatima Ali grew up in Pakistan, spending time in both Karachi and Lahore. She went to school at the Karachi Grammar School. Her mother, Farazeh Durrani, was an educator. Her father, Ashtar Ausaf Ali, was a lawyer who served as the top legal advisor for Pakistan.
Fatima learned to cook from her father, her grandmother, and the family's cook, Qadir. When she was 18, she moved to America. She went to the famous Culinary Institute of America to study cooking. She finished her studies there in 2011.
Fatima's Cooking Career
Fatima Ali started her cooking career in New York City. She worked as a junior sous chef at a restaurant called Café Centro. A sous chef is like a second-in-command in the kitchen.
In 2012, Fatima appeared on the TV show Chopped on the Food Network. She won her episode, which was a big achievement! After that, she became the youngest executive sous chef at Stella 34 Trattoria. This restaurant was inside Macy's Herald Square, a very famous department store. Later, she became the executive sous chef at La Fonda del Sol.
Competing on Top Chef
In 2017, Fatima Ali joined the TV show Top Chef: Colorado. This show is a competition where chefs try to win by cooking amazing dishes. Even though she finished in seventh place, she was voted the "fan favorite" by viewers. This showed how much people loved her and her cooking.
Her Battle with Illness
After being on Top Chef, Fatima Ali found out she had a type of cancer called Ewing's sarcoma. In January 2018, she had surgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. She then went through chemotherapy, which is a treatment for cancer.
At first, doctors said she was cancer-free. In April 2018, she even cooked at a big event called the Pebble Beach Food and Wine Festival. However, in October 2018, Fatima wrote an essay for Bon Appétit magazine. In it, she shared the sad news that her cancer had come back and was very serious.
Fatima Ali passed away at her family's home in San Marino, California, on January 25, 2019. She was only 29 years old. She was buried in Lahore, Pakistan, on February 1, 2019.
Awards and Legacy
In April 2019, after her death, Fatima Ali received a special honor. She was given a James Beard Foundation Award for the essay she wrote about her illness. This award is one of the highest honors for chefs and food writers.
Her book, called Savor, was published in 2022. It shares her story and her love for food.
