Ashleigh Shanti

Ashleigh Shanti is a chef and author offering a unique culinary voice rooted in Black Appalachian foodways. Ashleigh earned her marketing degree from Hampton University and culinary arts degree in Baltimore while working under the Foreman Wolf Group in 2013. In 2019, during her tenure at Benne on Eagle in Asheville, NC, Shanti was named one of 16 Black Chefs Changing Food in America by The New York Times and was named one of Eater’s Young Guns the same year. In 2020, Ashleigh was a finalist for the James Beard Rising Star Chef of the Year. Ashleigh competed on Top Chef Season 19 in 2022 and was again named a 2025 James Beard semifinalist for Best Chef: Southeast. Her newly opened restaurant was named one of Eater’s Best New Restaurants in America and America’s Greatest Places by New York Times. Currently, Ashleigh is owner and operator of Good Hot Fish, a quick-service fish fry concept in Asheville, NC.