Ellen DeGeneres surprises Top Chef's Fatima Ali with $50k gift

 

Pakistani-American Top Chef contestant Fatima Ali’s dreams of travelling the world and eating food came true when she made an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres show on Friday.

Ali, who moved to New York at the age of 18, was diagnosed with cancer last month, shared her story on the show.

Ali, 29 who was voted “fan favorite” during the last season of Top Chef revealed that doctors had told her she had only one year to live. She had been diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer, in 2017.

The chef shared she was initially told she was cancer-free after undergoing chemotherapy and surgery. However, she learned in September that cancer had spread.

When asked what her bucket list for the coming year included, Ali shared that it mostly involved food and travel.

“I have so many restaurants I want to go to around Europe,” she said. “Go to Italy. Go to France. Go to Spain. Go to South Africa ... go on a safari. So many things I want to do.”

She continued, "I'm so looking forward to this next year because I'm surrounded with so much positivity," Ali said. "I'm so lucky to have friends and family like I do."

"We all should be living like that, because none of us know what tomorrow is," DeGeneres said.

At the end of the interview, DeGeneres surprised Ali with a check for $50,000 from Shutterfly to help ensure that she experiences everything she wants.

 

"It's amazing," Ali said and thanked her.

Ali's co-stars on Top Chef have set up a GoFundMe page to support her travels and final wishes with any funds that she does not use will be donated to the Sarcoma Foundation of America.