SEATTLE — A Seattle-based James Beard award-winning chef passed away last weekend, a restaurant spokesperson said Sunday.
Tamara Murphy, a chef and co-owner of Terra Plata, passed away Saturday surrounded by family and friends after suffering a stroke, the spokesperson confirmed.
Murphy led popular Seattle restaurants over the past decades, including Campagne, Brasa and Terra Plata, which she co-owned with her life and business partner, Linda Di Lello Morton. The pair won the Greater Seattle Business Association Community Leaders of the Year award in 2016. Four years later, Murphy and Morton launched the Food is Love project, which helped provide over 38,000 meals to families during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A spokesperson for the restaurant said Murphy hosted fundraisers for small local farms, championed LGBTQ+ rights, and united the community in support of Democratic and LGBTQ+ elected leaders.
“Together, Tamara and Linda epitomized the spirit of hospitality and community service," the restaurant spokesperson said in a statement. "It is this civic commitment and dedication to service that Linda will continue to uphold in Tamara’s memory."
A celebration of life for Murphy will be announced later, the spokesperson said.