Ashley Merriman

The Path

Ashley Merriman trained at Hamilton College and Institute of Culinary Education before moving into a career shaped by a string of notable kitchens. Those early studies provided the framework for the work that followed: professional kitchen life built on technique learned, revised, and repeated until it becomes part of the cook’s reflexes. She went on to work as chef at Butter in New York City, chef at Tilth in Seattle, chef at Branzino in Seattle (2009), and chef at work with Alex Guarnaschelli in New York City. Her path continued as chef at the waverly inn at The Waverly Inn in West Village, New York City (from 2012), then as co-chef at Prune in New York City (until 2021). Today, Ashley is executive chef of National Arts Club (since 2021). Taken together, those roles show a career built through accumulation: one kitchen after another, each requiring precision, pace, and the ability to adapt without dropping standards.

The Work Today

Since 2021, Merriman has served as executive chef at National Arts Club in Manhattan, New York City. After years in earlier kitchens, the role places her in a setting where consistency, judgment, and training carry as much weight as any single plate. The work there extends past cooking itself. It is about keeping the rhythm of service steady, setting expectations, and making sure the daily practice of the kitchen matches the level of care expected from the outset. Her connection to New York has also become personal. “I’m originally from New Hampshire, but I’ve spent so much time here that I can’t imagine living anywhere else.” For a chef whose career has been shaped in the city’s demanding kitchens, the remark fits the record. As a leader, she points to the work of teaching cooks as much as the food they send out. “I love helping young cooks develop habits of excellence in the kitchen, teaching my cooks something new every day and watching them grow as cooks.” That is the register of her leadership: skill passed hand to hand, corrected in real time, strengthened through repetition. In Merriman’s telling, excellence is not declared. It is built in service, in routine, and in the daily correction of habit.

In Their Words “I love helping young cooks develop habits of excellence in the kitchen, teaching my cooks something new every day and watching them grow as cooks.” “ICE helped me refine my existing skills and knowledge and introduced me to the broader culinary world in New York City.”

Acclaim

Merriman’s work is marked by a progression of chef appointments across named kitchens: Butter, Tilth, Branzino, The Waverly Inn, Prune, and National Arts Club. The signature is not a public dish name but a standard: good, real food, finely prepared. That standard carries the line through her career—careful technique, a commitment to teaching, and the kitchen discipline that turns training into instinct and instinct into consistency.