Pakistani chef conferred with James Bread Award posthumously

In a first, Pakistani-American chef Fatima Ali has been posthumously awarded with James Beard Award for the second time.

Ali passed away in 2019 after a prolonged battle with cancer. She was known for her "fun personality and excellent cooking" of food.

Stars of the culinary world gathered in Chicago, United States, where Ali was honoured with the second James Beard Award, on Saturday.

“Even in her death, she lives. Her achievements are well documented, and her latest book will outlive all of us,” said her father in a statement.

The popular chef was the daughter of Ashtar Ausaf Ali, former Attorney General for Pakistan. 

“While we mourn her loss, we need to celebrate her life and her achievements,” he added.

She was well known for her regular appearances on reality cooking shows including Chopped and Top Chef. Ali previously won a James Beard Foundation Award for her essay on living with sarcoma.

On her deathbed, the late chef authored a book titled Savor, A Chef's Hunger for More which was published after her death. The book gained recognition after a short time.

Ali moved to New York at the age of 18, rose to fame on Bravo's Top Chef where she came in seventh on season 15, but won the Fan Favorite title when the season ended early last year. 

The late cookbook author won the award for her essay "I’m a Chef with Terminal Cancer. This Is What I’m Doing with the Time I Have Left" written in October 2018 for Bon Appetite magazine.

Ali was diagnosed with cancer at the end of 2017 with Ewing's sarcoma, a type of bone and soft tissue cancer. She went through chemotherapy and surgery to remove a tumour and surrounding cells in her left shoulder in January 2018, however, her health deteriorated later eventually ending with her demise in 2019.