We recently connected with Ashley Vazquez and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Ashley, thanks for joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

The biggest risk I took was deciding to become a chef. No one I knew was a chef, and the thought of creating foods was definitely not something that was encouraged while I was growing up.

All I knew was that I loved everything about food. I loved the way it looked, the way it smelled, the way it makes you feel, and I loved the art behind it.

The only problem with me becoming a chef was, well… I didn’t know how to cook. I was fairly young when I got married and I only knew how to make 2 things, spaghetti from a jar and “Shake and Bake” pork chops and everyday I would alternate between the 2. My sweet husband came to me one day and said ” Babe, I love you very much but I cannot continue to eat the same things every day.” So he taught me to cook some traditional Puerto Rican foods, and something just ignited within me.

I became a food blogger for a while and would travel to restaurants and write about the foods and experiences from there. One day I went to a restaurant and ate something that to me was just so delicious that it brought tears to my eyes. I told my husband how amazing it was and he looked me straight in the eye and said the words that changed my life “Why don’t you just make it yourself?” I laughed and told him I didn’t know how to cook and he said “You can do it I believe in you”. So I went out and learned how to make that dish and it came out better than at the restaurant. I watched my husband eat the dish and truly enjoy it. It was a magical moment for myself.

It was that moment when something just clicked. I decided that day, that this is what I needed to do for the rest of my life. So, I went to culinary school and my pathway into the culinary industry was set!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Chef Ashley Vazquez. I have been a professional chef for many years now. 3 years ago I decided to hang up my professional apron and try something slightly different. I am now a culinary instructor for CCISD and it has been the best career move of my life!

I have been married to the love of my life and biggest supporter for 17 years. We have 3 children, 2 French bull dogs and we just have a beautiful life together.

I am an avid world traveler. Aside from creating in a kitchen my favorite pastime is traveling. Each year I try to travel somewhere new to learn the culture and try the foods!

Other things that I enjoy as a creative is fashion. I always try to match my clothes to whatever mood I am feeling. I Enjoy going to the theater. I love watching plays, ballets and operas.

I own a catering company called Bonna Petit Catering Co. and I service the Houston and Corpus Christi areas. I am classically trained in French cuisine, but can create pretty much anything my clients request. I also teach adult cooking classes for private parties and corporate team building events. This is one of my most popular things I offer.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

My journey in the culinary industry was not an easy one. The professional kitchen is a male dominated industry. It was very difficult to be noticed or to move up within the industry being the only woman in the kitchen.

I made it a point to come in early, work harder than the men, and leave later than everyone. The male chefs I worked with sometimes treated me with disdain. They acted as if I didn’t belong there, but I was determined to succeed. So I metaphorically elbowed my way through. All the hard work I put in finally paid off. The owners finally started seeing ME! This made me want to work harder and eventually my first promotion came. At the first restaurant I worked at I only made house salads, I begged to do more. I watched, took notes, and learned all the recipes.

Then one day everyone got sick and called out, the owner asked if I thought I could run the kitchen and I immediately said “YES!” that evening we had a ton of tickets and I did them all with just myself and the dishwasher all with no complaints or plates sent back. The next week I was promoted to lead chef. From there I worked at several places and finally became the Executive Chef.

I would eventually open my own restaurants and they did really well, but I converted them into a catering company during COVID.

I worked in the industry for 18 years and decided it was time to give back. I became a culinary instructor, and this has been one of the best career moves. And then on November 7, 2025 in New York City, I was inducted into the prestigious and exclusive Les Amis d’Escoffier Society of New York. I was the only woman on that stage. The moment I received my medal while walking across the stage it just felt like everything I went through as a young female chef was worth it. I had persevered and pushed my way through adversity to become the woman and The Chef I am today.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I had to unlearn from my upbringing was “That kind of stuff doesn’t happen to people like us.”.

Growing up my family was very poor, and we lived in a very small town with not a lot of opportunity. My family and I lived in some government subsidized apartments overlooking a long road. One day when I was 10 years old, while my mother and I were outside I saw the most incredible thing I had ever seen. It was a BMW. More specifically it was a teal 1997 BMW Roadster with its top down. The man driving this amazing car looked so rich to me.

I was completely hypnotized by what I was seeing. I watched this man driving that car down the road and thought “WOW! I want one of those” I looked over to my mom and said ” I am going to have one of those cars one day”

My mother sighed and said to me “That kind of stuff doesn’t happen for people like us.” I looked at my mom said “I don’t care if I have to work my whole life. I will have a car like that one day! I am going to have everything I have ever wanted.” She smiled and told me “I hope so.”

Fast forward several years and I did work, and I did in fact get the car of my dreams and I am living the life I always wanted. Even though you start out in a bad situation you don’t have to be complacent there.

So, the unlearning that lesson has helped fuel my desire to be better each day.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Chef__Ashley
• Other: TikTok:
  @Dinner.with.a.side.of.murder (cooking tutorials with true crime stories)
  @avaz.travels (travel, fashion, and lifestyle page)

Image Credits

myself