Meet the chef

Number eight of sixteen children, Asheley St Clair III was born in Correnege, Trinidad & Tobago. His hard work at the Catholic Mission earned him a place at the Thomas Sharpe Black Prep School for Boys in Devonshire, England. Unable to fly home over the holidays, Asheley worked instead for two years for Thomas Menchak, an instructor for 30 years at the L’Ecole Hotelier, Lausanne, Switzerland, who also owned and operated the North Star Pub, a four star property.

Asheley’s passion and talent for cooking were recognized, and Menchak made sure that Asheley won a place at the culinary school in Lausanne. After graduating, Asheley worked for eight years across Europe, learning from different chefs who all told their apprentices the same thing: “If you don’t like doing this, find somewhere else to be.”

After returning to Trinidad and working for a cruise liner, Asheley moved to the Fontainebleau Hotel, Biscayne Bay, Miami, and after several years in Manhattan, to the Mystic Marriott and Red Door Spa as Executive Sous Chef.

Wanting a change of direction in his life, Asheley, whose father is a pastor, studied for the ministry and is an ordained COGIC minister working with young people in the church. He thought he had retired from chefing, but he realized he couldn’t keep out of the kitchen and away from his passion, and now here he is in Deerfield!

Asheley maintains the inn's food philosophy of encouraging sustainable practices and showcasing the quality and taste of the area foods we eat by taking every advantage of seasonal products from the fields, orchards, and waters of this valley. His menus incorporate the exceptional, honest flavors that only artisinal producers, local farmers and growers can provide.

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