Chef Fatima “Fati” Ali connected deeply with the culinary community earlier this month with her Bon Appetit essay where she shared the news that her cancer had retuned and been deemed terminal. The Top Chef Season 15 fan favorite wrote with stunning honesty and eloquence about her diagnosis, prognosis, and plans for the coming months—everything from a bucket-list global eating tour to making amends with people in her life. Though they’d never met, Andrew reached out to invite Fati on the pod, and she graciously accepted and the two sat down for a conversation about Fati’s life and career and how she’s coping with the challenge before her, as well as the incredible outpouring she’s received from the cook/chef population worldwide, and the lessons she’s gleaned from the past year. Here's a thought: If you like what you hear, please tell your chef-fascinated friends, subscribe to Andrew Talks to Chefs (it's free) on iTunes or Stitcher, follow us on your favorite social media platforms @ChefPodcast, and/or rate or review us on Apple's podcast store. Thanks for listening!
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:
Andrew is a writer by trade. If you'd like to support him, there's no better way than by purchasing his most recent book, The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One Plate of Food (October 2023), about all the key people (in the restaurant, on farms, in delivery trucks, etc.) whose stories and work come together in a single restaurant dish.
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Please also follow Andrew's real-time journal of the travel, research, writing, and production of/for his next book The Opening (working title), which will track four restaurants in different parts of the U.S. from inception to launch.
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