History-making TV chef from ‘America’s Test Kitchen’ in Boston dies at 49
A chef who appeared on the Boston-based PBS show " America's Test Kitchen " has died. She was 49.
Elle Simone Scott died from ovarian cancer, according to her friend and chef, Carla Hall, who announced Scott's death on Wednesday via Facebook .
Scott joined the PBS program in 2016 and was the first Black woman to be a regular member of the show, according to WBUR .
"She didn't just test recipes; she changed what representation looked like in food media," Hall wrote on Facebook. "Her voice mattered. Her work mattered. She mattered."
Born in Detroit in 1976, Scott became interested in food at a young age. However, it wasn't until she lost her home and job as a social worker during the 2008 recession that she began working in the culinary industry.
"The thought occurred to me, if I have to do something for the next 25 years of my life, it better be something I love," Scott told WBUR in a 2019 interview. "The only thing I could think of was cooking. It was the one thing that brought me peace and joy."
Scott worked in a cruise ship kitchen before moving to New York City in 2009 and studying at the Culinary Institute of New York.
She then interned at Food Network and later produced work for several outlets, including Bravo and the Cooking Channel , WBUR wrote.
In 2016, Scott was diagnosed with ovarian cancer shortly after moving to Massachusetts to begin working on "America's Test Kitchen," Daily Mai l reported. Her diagnosis inspired the chef to educate and advocate the public on the disease.
"Having cancer, or just having a terminal disease in general, really makes you think about your life and how you want to live it for whatever time you have left," Scott told WBUR. "I promised the Creator that if I survived cancer, I would utilize the rest of my life to make a change and be impactful."
Scott also launched the program SheChef , a for-profit social enterprise to connect and empower women of color working in the culinary field, the Boston Globe wrote.
"I think creating positive kitchen cultures is the solution. I don't want to spend a whole bunch of time talking about these problems that aren't my problems. It's not my job to undo racism. I didn't create it," Scott told the Globe. "It's my job to create a positive, affirmed culture of women who can navigate."
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