Chef's Bio

Chef Ashley James has a story to tell on a palate covering the world. Spanning 24 years of experiencing some of the worlds finest establishments, Chef Ashley arrived in Los Angeles and his career on stage began. As Executive Chef of Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles, LA’s premier entertainment hang out, Chef Ashley has cooked for the A-list of Hollywood and everyone has gone bananas. Whether it’s over his signature Banana Lemongrass soup, or the world’s best fish n’chips from his native land, England. Perhaps it’s just his simple philosophy of creating dishes to excite the five senses. Every day life in the kitchen is a flurry of creation. With the help from his team of global artisans, Chef Ashley’s cuisine is based on classic French techniques and refined by a Mediterranean/California approach using locally sourced ingredients. Prior to arriving in Los Angeles, Chef Ashley was Executive Chef at the Four Seasons Hotel, Buenos Aires. During Chef Ashley’s time in Buenos Aires the restaurant Le Mistral was awarded the number one restaurant in the country. Chef Ashley was also involved in various media projects from his own 12 series television show distributed in all Spanish speaking countries and also many other magazine and international publications. Prior to Buenos Aires he was Executive Sous Chef at Four Seasons Resort, Punta Mita in Mexico where he was part of the pre-opening team, the hotel. He began his career with Four Seasons as Chef de Cuisine at Maxims de Paris at the Regent Singapore. Previous to joining Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Chef Ashley worked in Europe for 10 years at a number of highly acclaimed Michelin starred restaurants in Bordeaux, Paris, Mallorca (Spain) and of course his native England A British national, Ashley James graduated from Staffordshire College of Food and Domestic Arts in England. Ashley was named Young Chef of the Year (under 24) in France in 1992. He is a member of the L’Accademie Culinaire Francaise and speaks fluent French and Spanish.