She’s on fire! She’s made TIME’s Next 100, won a James Beard award for her first book, and was recognized by the Michelin guide – all in 2025! Chef Ashleigh Shanti shines most when she cooks and shares her love of Affrilachian cooking and fish.
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
SPEAKING OPTIONS
Cooking Demonstrations or Team-Building (Ideal for Juneteenth) ▾
If you’d like to do something more interactive and really wake up those taste buds, Chef Ashleigh is available for either a large-scale cooking demo/talk or smaller hands-on team-building through food. What better way to celebrate a month of Black excellence?! 🙂
Affrilachian Cooking ▾
Affrilachian CookingIn this moderated conversation, Chef Ashleigh shares stories of the food of the Appalachian mountains, sharing how it differs from “Southern” food.
“…The best damn fish sandwich of my life” (referring to Good, Hot, Fish) – Gail Simmons, Food writer and Cookbook author
More coming soon!
ABOUT ASHLEIGH SHANTI
Ashleigh Shanti is the James Beard award winning author of Our South: Black Food Through My Lens (2025) and Chef-Owner of Good Hot Fish in Asheville, NC. Born in St. Mary’s, GA and raised in Virginia Beach, VA, Ashleigh’s heritage has roots across the Southeast. She graduated from culinary school at Baltimore International College in 2013 and went on to stage at Minibar in Washington, D.C., and act as culinary assistant for Vivian Howard before becoming Chef de Cuisine at John Fleer’s Benne on Eagle in Asheville, North Carolina. She won a James Beard award for her first book “Our South: Black Food Through My Lens” in 2025. She was also a top five “cheftestant” on season 19 of Bravo’s Top Chef and was the winner of Restaurant Wars. Wrapping up a phenomenal 2025, Chef Ashleigh’s restaurant, Good Hot Fish, was recognized by The Michelin Guide and she was name a TIME100 by TIME magazine.
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is the James Beard award winning author of Our South: Black Food Through My Lens (2025) and Chef-Owner of Good Hot Fish in Asheville, NC. Born in St. Mary’s, GA and raised in Virginia Beach, VA, Ashleigh’s heritage has roots across the Southeast. She graduated from culinary school at Baltimore International College in 2013 and went on to stage at Minibar in Washington, D.C., and act as culinary assistant for Vivian Howard before becoming Chef de Cuisine at John Fleer’s Benne on Eagle in Asheville, North Carolina. She won a James Beard award for her first book “Our South: Black Food Through My Lens” in 2025. She was also a top five “cheftestant” on season 19 of Bravo’s Top Chef and was the winner of Restaurant Wars. Wrapping up a phenomenal 2025, Chef Ashleigh’s restaurant, Good Hot Fish, was recognized by The Michelin Guide and she was name a TIME100 by TIME magazine.