TV LEGEND

First Black Woman Chef to Join ‘America’s Test Kitchen’ Dies at 49

“She didn’t just test recipes; she changed what representation looked like in food media,” a close friend has said.

Boston chef and TV personality Elle Simone Scott, who in 2016 became the first black woman to feature on PBS’s America’s Test Kitchen, has died at the age of 49 after a prolonged fight with ovarian cancer. Before her television career, she shifted from social work to the food world in the wake of the 2008 recession, training at the Culinary Institute of New York and working behind the scenes at major networks. Alongside her on-screen work, she authored best-selling cookbooks, hosted The Walk-In podcast, and co-founded SheChef, a mentoring organization supporting women of color in professional kitchens. “At America’s Test Kitchen, Elle helped open doors that had long been closed—becoming one of the first Black women audiences saw in the test kitchen, and doing so with grace, authority, and joy,” fellow chef and close friend Carla Hall said in a statement. “Her voice mattered. Her work mattered. She mattered. Elle faced ovarian cancer with courage and honesty, using her platform to educate, advocate, and uplift even while fighting for her life.”