Every once in a while, there are these chefs, where it’s as if they've been hand picked by some sort of celestial chef “being”, that says, “Hey young chef, I know exactly the type of work you’re going to do“, and whether or not you subscribe to divine intervention, one thing we know, when a chef hits at the right time, with the right product and with the right mix of authenticity, storytelling and purpose, that chef can light the world on fire. And today, we we get to hear from one of those chefs in Ashleigh Shanti, who possesses an intrinsic desire to pick up the torch of her ancestors to insure her family's roots, history and recipes are not lost to the sands of time, but rather rediscovered and celebrated.

Here’s what else was talked about:

• Growing up in coastal Carolina and working in seafood shacks
• How nostalgia helped drive her career
• Working with Vivian Howard and learning about eastern North Carolina
• How a display at the Shenandoah National Park made her realize that Appalachian blacks were underrepresented
• How Benne On Eagle really changed her as a chef and as a leader
• Chef John Fleer’s impact on Ashleigh and many other chefs
• The responsibility that she has for keeping her family’s food history preserved 
• Black foodways are kept orly over the years, which makes them more vulnerable to being lost forever
• What kind of discoveries she’s had while writing her new cookbook
• Why owning the story of her food is so important to her
• Her new restaurant, Good Hot Fish, opening soon
• What a fish camp is and why it’s such a major part of who she is
• A Guyanese word that had a major impact on her 
• Why chefs are naturally advocates

A huge shout out to our sponsors, Maxwell McKenney and Singer Equipment, for their unwavering support, which allows us to be able to bring these conversations to you. Check out their websites for all the amazing equipment they can supply your restaurant with to make your team more efficient and successful.

Welcome to our newest sponsor, Meez, which is one of the most powerful tools you can have as a cook and chef that allows you to have a free repository for all of your recipes, techniques and methods so that you never lose them. Besides that, it does way more, so check them out and make sure you use the discount code that you’ll here in the podcast to upload 25 free recipes to the platform.

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Email Eli with any comments, concerns, criticisms, guest requests or any other ideas or thoughts you might have about the show. [email protected]