Few women become top chefs in New
York City. But Fatima Ali has done so. She is the assistant chef at Café
Centro. She may be the only non-American female chef at any of 70 top
New York restaurants. Ms. Ali grew up in Pakistan. She says her training
in America has taught her a lot about food.
FATIMA ALI: "There's so
many things that I have been exposed to in the U.S. that I may not have
been exposed to in Pakistan, like the plethora of ingredients that are
available here. But it's been really interesting, taking what I have
learned in America and then whenever I go back home to visit, and
cooking for my family and friends with the ingredients that I love from
there."
In July, Fatima Ali competed with other chefs on the Food
Network TV show "Chopped." She won the top prize of $10,000.
FATIMA ALI:
"The fact that I won, I suppose was such wonderful validation, for all,
like, the sacrifices that my family has made, that I have made, to put
myself through school, and to be away from home for so long. It felt
like it was all really worth it. And the biggest thing for me was to
inspire other young Pakistani girls to follow their dreams."
Jan
Hoffmann is the executive chef at Café Centro.
JAN HOFFMANN: "She has
great potential, and I give her another two to three years, and she
definitely will be a master chef."
Fatima Ali hopes to return to
Pakistan to create services where poor families enjoy low-cost, healthy
meals, and where young people can learn cooking and other job skills.
I'm Barbara Klein.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario