Ashleigh Shanti
Ashleigh Shanti | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1991 North Carolina, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Chef, sommelier |
| Known for | Black Appalachian cuisine, chef de cuisine at Benne on Eagle |
Ashleigh Shanti (born around 1991) is an American chef and sommelier who specializes in African American culinary traditions, with a particular emphasis on Black Appalachian cuisine. Between 2018 and 2020, she held the position of chef de cuisine at Benne on Eagle located in Asheville, North Carolina. Shanti is acclaimed for her efforts in redefining Southern culinary heritage and has since moved on to establish her own restaurant ventures.
Early life and education
Originally from North Carolina, Shanti took a gap year in Nairobi, Kenya. She completed her undergraduate studies at Hampton University and subsequently obtained her sommelier certification following culinary training in Baltimore, Maryland.
Career
Shanti began her professional journey working as a cook and organizing culinary events in Virginia Beach, Virginia. She later joined Cindy Wolf’s teams at Charleston and Cinghiale in Baltimore. Additionally, she gained experience bartending and catering in El Paso, Texas. For over two years, Shanti served as a culinary assistant to Vivian Howard, aiding Howard’s projects on A Chef's Life and making appearances on the program Somewhere South.
After parting ways with Howard, Shanti traveled extensively across the United States, drawing creative inspiration from visits such as to The Grey and attending a conference in Denmark centered on reclaiming African heritage. She also worked at minibar, the José Andrés restaurant based in Washington, D.C. A camping experience in Shenandoah National Park deepened her connection to Appalachian roots and motivated her pursuit of Black Appalachian cuisine.
In October 2018, Shanti connected with John Fleer of Rhubarb; sharing mutual culinary visions, Fleer appointed her chef de cuisine to craft the menu for Benne on Eagle, situated within Asheville’s Foundry Hotel. The establishment launched operations in December 2018.
In 2019, The New York Times recognized Shanti among "16 Black Chefs Changing Food in America," while Eater included her in their "Young Guns" list. Bon Appetit featured Benne on Eagle as one of the Best New Restaurants. Furthermore, she was named a semi-finalist for the 2020 James Beard Award "Rising Star Chef of the Year."
Shanti appeared as a contestant on season nineteen of Top Chef, titled Top Chef: Houston, which aired in 2022. Her new restaurant concept, Good Hot Fish, described as a contemporary fish camp, was planned to open in South Asheville in January 2023. In that same year, she acted as a judge for the National Gingerbread House Competition.
Cuisine
Shanti’s culinary style emphasizes Black Appalachian, Southern, and soul food traditions by merging contemporary adaptations of historic Black American recipes with influences from West African, Japanese, European, and American cuisines.
Among her notable dishes are black-eyed pea and sesame hummus; okonomiyaki inspired by her mother’s salmon and cabbage fritters; buttermilk cornbread soup based on her grandmother’s formula; collard greens salad featuring fried plantain and sumac; farro-vegetable hash accented with chermoula; cornmeal pancakes accompanied by strawberry compote; and benne-seed biscuits served alongside local country ham and hollandaise sauce.
Personal life
In her leisure time, Shanti enjoys creating rap music and composing her own rap lyrics.
External links
- Articles with short description
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- 1990s births
- American sommeliers
- People from Asheville, North Carolina
- Chefs from North Carolina
- Hampton University alumni
- American women chefs
- LGBTQ chefs
- LGBTQ people from North Carolina
- Living people
- 21st-century African-American people
- 21st-century African-American women