Ashley Stewart

Short bio

Ashley Stewart is a Fort Wayne private chef with a gift for making plant-based food people crave — fresh, seasonal cooking with a vegan and Asian-fusion streak. Warm, playful and self-taught over 15 years, she loves surprising guests with dishes they didn’t expect to love and the pure joy a great meal brings.

Bio

Ashley Stewart has been cooking since she could reach the stove. As a kid she’d watch the Food Network and race to chop onions as fast as the pros, and that early spark never faded. After trying three different colleges for three different majors, she finally realized the obvious — someone would actually pay her to do the thing she loved most — and never looked back.

More than fifteen years on, what drives Ashley is simple: the joy and happiness food can bring. She loves surprising people with preparations of foods they think they don’t like, and living for the look on a guest’s face when the bite hits just right. Cooking, for her, is really about connection and delight.

Her food is fresh, seasonal and endlessly inventive, with a real talent for vegan and plant-based cooking that wins over even the skeptics. Her proudest creation says it all — a smokehouse jackfruit with cashew rotini so rich and comforting that kids ask for seconds. She makes food accessible and fun for everyone, whatever their dietary preferences.

Organized and warmly talkative, Ashley turns her kitchen into a welcoming space. She pays close attention to detail and to each client’s tastes, transforming simple ingredients into memorable dining experiences — comforting classics one moment, playful, unexpected creations the next. Every plate is aimed at etching a lasting memory.

Beyond private dining, Ashley is a familiar face in the Fort Wayne food scene, known for her engaging cooking demonstrations, workshops and community events. Working as a private chef across Fort Wayne, she brings that same energy into private homes — fresh, creative, joyful food designed to surprise, comfort and bring people together around the table.