Fatima Ali


Fatima Ali was a Pakistani-American executive chef, restaurateur and television personality. She came to notice for her successful appearances on reality cooking shows Chopped and Top Chef, and for winning the James Beard Foundation Award for her essay on living with sarcoma.

Early life

Fatima Ali was born and raised in Pakistan, dividing her time between Karachi and Lahore. She was educated at the Karachi Grammar School. Fatima Ali was the daughter of lawyer Ashtar Ausaf Ali, the former Attorney General for Pakistan, and educator Farezeh Durrani. 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, graduating in 2011.

Career

Fatima Ali began her culinary career as a junior sous chef at Café Centro in New York City. In 2012, she won an episode of Chopped on the Food Network. She continued her career in New York City, becoming the youngest executive sous chef at Stella 34 Trattoria at Macy's Herald Square, and then the executive sous chef at La Fonda del Sol.
In 2017, Fatima Ali was a contestant on Top Chef: Colorado. Although she finished in seventh place, she was voted the fan favorite.
In April 2019 she won a James Beard Award of Excellence.

Illness and death

After competing on Top Chef, Fatima Ali was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma and underwent surgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in January 2018. After undergoing chemotherapy, she was initially declared cancer-free, and in April 2018, she cooked in public at the Pebble Beach Food and Wine Festival. However, in October 2018, in a personal essay published by Bon Appétit, Fatima Ali reported that her cancer had returned and become terminal. She died at her family's home in San Marino, California on January 25, 2019, at the age of 29.
Family and friends laid her to rest in Lahore on February 1, 2019. In April 2019, Fatima Ali was posthumously awarded a James Beard Foundation Award for her essay.