920.854.4306
| Chef Tom Ashwell Smith
Chef Tom Ashwell Smith
I’m Chef Tom Ashwell Smith. Welcome to T. Ashwell’s in Ellison Bay! “Ashwell” is my mother’s maiden name, and the restaurant is named in her honor partly because she encouraged my love of cooking ever since I was a kid. I’ve spent all my summers in Door County, as did my father, staying in the same small cabin on the water where I now live. I was born in 1969 in Libertyville (near Chicago) and received my formal training at Kendall College in Evanston, graduating in 1991 with an Associates Degree in Culinary Arts. I had the opportunity to work for Bernard Cretier, owner of La Vichyssois in Lakemoor, Illinois. I was his apprentice and learned all the stations in the kitchen, which meant starting with prep work and ultimately cooking on the line. At that point in my life, I wasn’t sure that the restaurant business was for me, so I changed jobs and began working 
for a family friend building custom homes while working catering events for the North Shore of Chicago. I catered parties for formal and semi formal celebrations, both independently and for catering companies. But it wasn’t long before I realized that I preferred cooking to construction! In 1994, I made the decision to move into the family cabin in Ellison Bay. My first job as a chef in Door County was at the Sister Bay Café’. The Daubners gave me the opportunity to be apart of the menu development, and I am forever grateful for that learning opportunity. But my dream was to go out on my own and utilize my past experience and culinary training to the fullest. I wanted to develop a restaurant that would reflect the creative flair of my kitchen staff and my experiences by offering a menu that changes both weekly and seasonally. I have been fortunate to have many mentors in this industry, all of which have made T. Ashwell’s possible, for T. Ashwell’s is the culmination of all my experiences. I began looking around for a good restaurant location. Everyone in my family had driven by the Griffin Inn in Ellison Bay many times, and it had been for sale off and on during the 1990s. Early in 1999, my mother and sister stopped to look at the Inn. They immediately came to get me and as soon as I saw it, I knew it would be a wonderful restaurant. Although it was bigger than I needed at the time, as T. Ashwell’s has grown we’ve used more and more of the space. My dream was realized when T. Ashwell’s opened on May 16, 1999. I’ve enjoyed turning this large home into a warm, friendly setting for a meal. My staff and I offer established favorites but love to experiment with new dishes. I try to get out of the kitchen a few times each evening to talk to guests, and you can usually find me chatting in the bar at the end of the evening. I’ve gotten enormous satisfaction as my love of helping Mom in the kitchen has grown to offering Door County residents and visitors a wonderful restaurant where they can meet and eat. I never forget that the atmosphere of T. Ashwell’s has everything to do with the atmosphere in Door County—we’re closed on Tuesdays expressly so that my staff and I can enjoy living, as well as working, in this beautiful place.
I’m Chef Tom Ashwell Smith. Welcome to T. Ashwell’s in Ellison Bay! “Ashwell” is my mother’s maiden name, and the restaurant is named in her honor partly because she encouraged my love of cooking ever since I was a kid. I’ve spent all my summers in Door County, as did my father, staying in the same small cabin on the water where I now live. I was born in 1969 in Libertyville (near Chicago) and received my formal training at Kendall College in Evanston, graduating in 1991 with an Associates Degree in Culinary Arts. I had the opportunity to work for Bernard Cretier, owner of La Vichyssois in Lakemoor, Illinois. I was his apprentice and learned all the stations in the kitchen, which meant starting with prep work and ultimately cooking on the line. At that point in my life, I wasn’t sure that the restaurant business was for me, so I changed jobs and began working for a family friend building custom homes while working catering events for the North Shore of Chicago. I catered parties for formal and semi formal celebrations, both independently and for catering companies. But it wasn’t long before I realized that I preferred cooking to construction! In 1994, I made the decision to move into the family cabin in Ellison Bay. My first job as a chef in Door County was at the Sister Bay Café’. The Daubners gave me the opportunity to be apart of the menu development, and I am forever grateful for that learning opportunity. But my dream was to go out on my own and utilize my past experience and culinary training to the fullest. I wanted to develop a restaurant that would reflect the creative flair of my kitchen staff and my experiences by offering a menu that changes both weekly and seasonally. I have been fortunate to have many mentors in this industry, all of which have made T. Ashwell’s possible, for T. Ashwell’s is the culmination of all my experiences. I began looking around for a good restaurant location. Everyone in my family had driven by the Griffin Inn in Ellison Bay many times, and it had been for sale off and on during the 1990s. Early in 1999, my mother and sister stopped to look at the Inn. They immediately came to get me and as soon as I saw it, I knew it would be a wonderful restaurant. Although it was bigger than I needed at the time, as T. Ashwell’s has grown we’ve used more and more of the space. My dream was realized when T. Ashwell’s opened on May 16, 1999. I’ve enjoyed turning this large home into a warm, friendly setting for a meal. My staff and I offer established favorites but love to experiment with new dishes. I try to get out of the kitchen a few times each evening to talk to guests, and you can usually find me chatting in the bar at the end of the evening. I’ve gotten enormous satisfaction as my love of helping Mom in the kitchen has grown to offering Door County residents and visitors a wonderful restaurant where they can meet and eat. I never forget that the atmosphere of T. Ashwell’s has everything to do with the atmosphere in Door County—we’re closed on Tuesdays expressly so that my staff and I can enjoy living, as well as working, in this beautiful place.