Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Batiste.
Hi Ashley, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I have been working in restaurants for around 12 years now. About 9 of those years have been spent working alongside my husband, Ryan McDonald. After years of learning how to define and refine our idea of hospitality, we decided to build our creative project; our business was formed to incorporate everything we love to do, called Farm Spirit. Hospitality wears many hats, and it’s been a privilege to dive into what that means explicitly to us through a lens of our creation, born out of collaboration. We decided to make a pop-up dinner with friends at Such and Such Farm, which quickly grew into a fantastic partnership.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I always heard that anything worth having is not quickly earned, which has informed my work ethic over the years. Focusing on the struggles is easy, but nothing is without hardship. Being parents and finding a good work-life balance while making time for one another, friends, and family is complicated, so we structured our business with these things in mind.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Farm Spirit?
Farm to table is who we are, and Friend to Table is what we do. We emphasize building a community around food. Your servers are also your farmers, morning chores come before dinner plates, and we all share a genuine love for bringing people together—that’s where the magic is. The best ingredients create the best meals. When not hosting dinners, we operate a CSA with our business partners at Such and Such Farm, serve ready-to-eat and value-added food at local farmers’ markets, and provide private in-home chef dinners.
What does success mean to you?
Success is such a subjective thing; to me to us, it means being able to do what we love with people we love and provide unique experiences and meals for our community. Success has the opportunity to show our son what it is to turn dreams into tangible careers.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.farmspiritstl.com
- Instagram: @farmspiritstl
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/FARMSPIRITSTL/
Image Credits
Matt Middeke Cory Smale Autumn Blum Cory Miller
