Since the initial news of a Littleton, NC revival courtesy of a wealthy benefactor, Chef Ashleigh Fleming has been someone the community has welcomed with open arms and inquisitive palates. Her brand of combining her Texan roots with North Carolina local produce and our own cuisine was something to be marveled. However, on July 23, Fleming announced she would no longer serve as the executive chef at Blue Jay Bistro in Littleton.

In case anyone missed the news the other night, I am no longer at Blue Jay Bistro in Littleton. I am super excited about what the future holds. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all of you that reached out. The calls and texts and emails and messages were incredible. So many guests, so many friends, it was really amazing and I am so grateful to all of you. I know it’s sad news for a lot of my favorite guests and the farmers and families that partnered with me for so many years to help make incredible food. But don’t worry, our best chapter starts now and I’m looking forward to working with yall again soon. Have a good week everybody!! (except for people that serve tomatoes and asparagus out of season from other countries, yall have a bad week!)

EDIT: I am not sure which post but I’m guessing this is the one that apparently in meaning or direction has been taken out of context and twisted somehow by some folks. Social media, you know? So that everyone is aware- this post was me notifying my followers of my career change. This post was a post of gratitude to all the people around me in our community that I built positive relationships with including and especially our farmers. As I posted it early in the morning on a Tuesday I was eating the last tomato I had from one of our farmers and it was incredible. I celebrate the fact that I bought local as often as I could in the last project and I am looking forward to working with all of our growers again soon as I intend to incorporate them as much as I can into all I do. And I stand by encouraging all of us to buy local and in season. It would be a game changer if all restaurants could do this. Not everything that someone posts is about someone or something else. Sometimes it’s just exactly what it says and nothing else. Sometimes it’s actually just about that damn good tomato I’m eating that never saw the inside of a refrigerator while I’m typing and wondering why anyone ever, Chef or otherwise, would want to eat that out of season.

In an Instagram story, she may have offered a glimpse of what is to come.

Fleming was recently featured in FSR Magazine as one who is “reviving small town fine dining.”

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