Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashleigh Wright.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Ashleigh. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I like to think baking has always been in my blood in one way or another. My grandmother on my father’s side and my grandfather on my mother’s side were both phenomenal bakers/cooks. My best childhood memories have always been gathered around a table cooking with my aunts or just chatting around the dinner table reminiscing with the family.
I was born in a small town outside of Philadelphia on the New Jersey side which was heavily influenced around the Italian and Amish culture. We moved around a lot in my younger years and from New Jersey we ended up in Northern New Hampshire until middle school. My father’s job finally took us to Southern California when I was 14. I was raised by my dad whom was a Narcotics task force officer and my mother whom was a nurse and Vietnam Veteran. I have 5 brothers and was raised in a very normal middle class family until my parents’ divorce when I was 16. Having grown up as a decently quiet book nerd, I did a lot of reading as an outlet to escape reality. I would study anything and everything I could to distract myself from reality of my life crumbling around me. My mother and I were even homeless for 6 months and lived at a shelter. I kept that a secret for a very long time from my peers. At 16, being homeless would not provide popularity points and I was already holding onto the ones I had with everything I could.
In 9th grade, I was assigned with a teacher whom at the time had no idea, how much she would shape my future. Her name is Carol Ledbetter and she was my AVID teacher, a class designed to prepare high school students for college. The class was fun and interactive but it wasn’t until 11th grade when we started to tour colleges that I really decided to think about my future. My senior thesis project was on the effect of drugs on young minds as my high school wasn’t in the best area of town. Drugs were everywhere and easily available. I thought I wanted to be just like my dad so I thought about a career in Criminal Justice. I was accepted to 32 colleges and ended up settling on Cal State San Marcos for Criminal Justice.
Throughout high school, my afterschool job was with a local Grocery store. That’s where my passion for baking really came to light. I was working in the bakery to put myself through college. A job I thought I would hate, turned into my saving grace in the end. I dropped out of my Criminal Justice program and enrolled in Culinary School. I lived 2.5 hours away from culinary school in Pasadena, Ca. I worked 40 hours a week during the graveyard shift, drove 5 hours a day 5 days a week to get to culinary school and was able to complete my associates program just shy of 2 years. From there, I was offered a job at a 5 star/5 Diamond property in Boston. I was still indecisive on which path I wanted to take in like and pursued criminal Justice again. In the end, I knew my heart belonged in the kitchen and I never looked back.
From Boston, I returned back to San Diego with a hunger for baking I never knew I’d had until I ran into my High school teacher again. She told me that I always had it in me to pave my own way in life. She encouraged me in high school to pursue baking further but I never felt like it was “right” at the time or that I was ever going to be “good enough”. It wasn’t until then that I knew she was right all along.
I re-invented my career in San Diego and was able to work with some of the best chefs in the business. I made lifelong friendships and professional connections there that has made me the chef I am today. Fast forward another 5 years and that’s where Dallas comes into play, after a time in my life that I needed a change. A failed relationship that left me broken, an illness that almost cost me more time with my father and the need to re-invent my personal baking style again with new surroundings; Dallas became the saving grace I didn’t know I needed.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Nothing is ever smooth in life. Without the bad days or the bumps in the road, you would never be able to appreciate the good days. I feel like everything is my life has been a struggle and the more life pushed me, the more I pushed back. I wasn’t going to let anything stand in my way of my dreams in life.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Fairmont Dallas – what should we know?
I am the Executive Pastry Chef at the Fairmont Dallas. I am best known for Specialty theme cakes and Wedding cakes but we are a full service bakery here at the hotel and I take pride in the fact that we can do it all! From house made breads made daily to decadent desserts all the way back to traditional Peach pies that are my nana’s recipe and I can’t take off the menu even if I tried! Everything is made in-house and I’m most proud of the love and passion we put into everything that comes out of our kitchen.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
I owe all of my success to 2 amazing females that have truly influenced my career from the ground up; Carol Ledbetter, my high school teacher and Mary-Catherine Woods, my mentor from within the business. Carol has supported me in every decision and has always shown up to support my success no matter what part of the country I’m in.
Mary Catherine was the only teacher I felt that I was truly learning from. She let me screw up without consequence. She let me creatively work on my own style and she was the first person to take the time to teach me how to expertly work with sugar, chocolate and Fondant. She allowed me to do the “fun stuff” and even the hard stuff as a rookie and praised me for the job I did regardless because I gave it all I had. She made me want to learn more and do more and be better than the person I was yesterday.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1717 N Akard St
Dallas, Tx
75201 - Website: fairmont.com
- Phone: 2147202020
- Email: ashleigh.wright@fairmont.com
- Instagram: cupcakequeenash
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