Chef Ashleigh Putnam hails from Groton, VT. She attended Oxbow High and in 2010, she graduated from the Culinary Arts program at the Riverbend Career and Technical School in Bradford, VT.  From there, Ashleigh spread her wings and went to Alabama where she spent a year studying at the Faulkner State Community College Culinary program.

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During that time, she immersed herself in Southern cooking, tastes, and styles – including being part of a team that prepared a 16-course meal for 200 people at the first annual Flavors of Alabama Festival in 2012.

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Called home to the Northeast by family and a desire to learn more, Ashleigh enrolled in the New England Culinary Institute (NECI), graduating in 2017.  As part of her coursework at NECI, she specialized in Middle Eastern foods – a testament to her ardor for multicultural foods and travel. 

 

Around Vermont, Ashleigh has worked the Roadkill Supper in Burlington, Vermont’s Food and Wine Festival, and the Heritage Farm Dinner in Greensboro. This, and stints at a number of restaurants and hotels, as well as the meat and seafood departments of the Lebanon Coop - helped develop her confidence with a range of methods and ingredients.

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Ashleigh brings a new flair to The Barefoot Gourmet’s reputation for recipes that surprise and delight.