Seattle Chef Tamara Murphy Dies at 63

Celebrated Seattle chef, restaurateur, cookbook writer, tv persona, and 1994 F&W Finest New Chef Tamara Murphy died on Saturday at age 63. An announcement on the Fb web page of her restaurant, Terra Plata, introduced that Murphy suffered a extreme stroke on Wednesday whereas in Boise, Idaho, and she or he died peacefully after being stored on life help to donate her organs, in line with her needs. This was confirmed by her household to the Seattle Instances.

On Sunday, an official announcement was posted to Terra Plata’s web site:

“Tamara Murphy, a James Beard Award recipient and chief in Seattle’s culinary and small enterprise neighborhood, handed away Saturday night, surrounded by household and pals, after struggling a stroke. Considered one of Seattle’s most celebrated cooks, Tamara helmed a few of Seattle’s most cherished eating institutions over the previous a number of a long time, together with Campagne, Brasa, and Terra Plata, which she co-owned together with her life and enterprise associate, Linda Di Lello Morton.”

Murphy was named a 1994 Meals & Wine Finest New Chef for her work on the restaurant Campagne. The August 1994 profile that accompanied the accolade included a recipe for rabbit with fava beans and chanterelle mushrooms.

“Murphy by no means needed to be a chef; she solely labored in eating places to help herself,” Meals & Wine editors wrote. “However she could not resist the urge to strive her hand at cooking and located herself on the range. When she began at Campagne, the menu mirrored her desire for Provençal meals, with its easy however flavorful substances. Now Murphy relishes utilizing the bounty of the Pacific Northwest for dishes which can be ‘a bit extra rustic, however simply as rewarding and engaging.’”

Murphy received the 1995 James Beard Award for Finest Chef: Pacific Northwest and Hawaii, appeared on Iron Chef: America in 2005, and wrote the cookbook Tender: Easy Methods to Take pleasure in Consuming, Cooking, and Selecting Our Meals in 2010.

Her restaurant Terra Plata opened in 2010 and shortly turned a neighborhood establishment. Its self-described “earth to plate” method was rooted in shut relationships to farmers and a menu damaged down by “Land,” “Earth,” and “Sea.” In keeping with Edible Seattle, the signature dish at Terra Plata — nonetheless on the menu to today — is a roasted pig with Manila clams, chorizo, sofrito, scorching smoked paprika, bay-scented potato, and chicharron. Terra Plata was named one in every of Seattle’s most important eating places by the Seattle Instances in 2018 and by the New York Instances in 2024.

Murphy was recognized for her neighborhood service, activism, and mentorship. In 2005, in line with Seattle Met, Murphy based An Unbelievable Feast, an annual occasion and fundraiser that paired native farmers with cooks. Terra Plata’s Fb account shared a press release underscoring the significance of Murphy’s beliefs and intent to proceed the charitable work that she and her associate supported.

“Collectively, Tamara and Linda epitomized the spirit of hospitality and neighborhood service. They hosted fundraisers for small native farms, championed LGBTQ+ rights, and united the neighborhood in help of Democratic and LGBTQ+ elected leaders,” the assertion learn. “Their efforts earned them the Better Seattle Enterprise Affiliation’s Group Leaders of the Yr award in 2016. In 2020, they launched the Meals is Love Challenge, which offered over 38,000 meals to households going through meals insecurity through the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s this civic dedication and dedication to service that Linda will proceed to uphold in Tamara’s reminiscence.”