Celebrating Ashley Daniels
Ashley Daniels preparing salads for the March 2021 Community Dinner.
As an engineer with several years of work experience at Michelin behind her, Ashley Daniels is—it’s fair to say—not the typical student who comes through the CC Pearce Culinary School. While Ashley loved working for Michelin as a tire designer, after a few years, she felt like she was just going through the motions.
“I was getting to a point where I was just subconsciously doing, but not walking out enough of my passions and the things that I really enjoy. So it was time for me to go and step out and take a risk.”
Ashley started an integrated nutrition health coaching program a year ago and finished in January 2021.
“It was part of the journey of discovering what I really what to do. I always loved food, always loved cooking, but originally when I started the program, it was more because I wanted to know more about the inner workings of our health. At the time I was going through a fitness health program and discovered that I’m addicted to sugar in the sense that if I took it all out of my diet, I felt like I needed cake. I didn’t like that control it had over me, so I started exploring what that was and started the program.”
Ashley has brought her inquisitive nature, as well as her precision and focus to the culinary school over the past six weeks, and we have all benefitted from her presence (and amazing plant-based food). Read on to learn more about Ashley’s experience as a student.
How did you learn about the culinary program at Project Host? What made you sign up?
I started as a volunteer in the Soup Kitchen, and I absolutely loved it. As I was volunteering, I found out about the culinary school, and I figured, let’s fill out an application and see what happens.
I’ve always loved cooking but never considered actually doing it outside of just for nourishment. I thought it would be fun to get kitchen experience and be familiar with some of the equipment and just to expand my home cooking skills.
What’s been the best part of your experience in the Project Host culinary school?
The best part is the people. That’s always the case for me. Getting to meet Chef Marianne and Chef Leah and getting to work with them closely was good for me because I think community is very important in anything you are doing. Having people around you that support your passion or are walking their own path—it makes a huge difference.
What have you learned in terms of cooking skills?
I enjoyed being able to put my eyes on equipment that I’ve read about, and being able to produce recipes in mass for people, versus what I’m used to—feeding four or five. That was a great stretch of my skills, especially from the seasoning perspective.
This past week when Greenville schools were out for spring break, I had the ablility to choose recipes I wanted to make. I’m not vegan or a health expert. I’m just a person like anyone else who has seen things and seen other people cooking and said, “Hey, I want to try that!” It’s been a great opportunity for me to try some things and perfect techniques. That’s been really huge, because when you pair that with health coaching, it’s not necessarily just about eating carrots and lettuce, it’s about eating what makes you happy and makes you whole on the inside and doing that consistently.
What have you learned in terms of soft skills?
Communication is huge. Honing all of those skills. We were in a class of two and working with interns and multiple people in the kitchen, being able to communicate and work as a team was essential. All of that was enhanced being in this environment.
How do you feel about doing meal prep for Cooking for Kids?
That was one of my favorite parts. I love working with kids. I’ve volunteered with kids since I was a kid myself, so that gave me more of a sense of fulfillment, knowing that I was doing this for children that may not have access to healthy or any food at all. That was one of my favorite parts of the program, honestly.
How would you describe working with Chef Marianne?
I loved it. She’s amazingly gracious and patient person. It shows in everything that she does. She’s very giving. She’s there to help and to serve and be there as a teacher and a friend.
What are you planning/hoping to do with your training and certification?
I’m planning on continuing culinary arts training through an online program and combining that through what I have gained here and through my health coaching. I’m going to continue to cook and coach, and my plan is to get more into full-time health coaching.
In fact, Chef Marianne helped Ashley get an interview next week with Health Dare for health coaching role. Chef Marianne said:
“I can’t wait to see what Ashley does. She’s going to do really great things, and I’m excited for her for this job interview that she has lined up. I think it would be a really good fit for her because she’s very passionate about helping others feed their best selves. Working with Ashley has been especially interesting because she came from a completely different background, and that’s not something you always get to see. I am excited to see how she helps other people.”
By Claudia Winkler
Chef Marianne, Ashley Daniels, and Trina Gambrell at graduation.