The Art, Heart, and Heritage of Ashney Artisan

Ashney Rebello didn’t set out to become one of Vancouver’s most recognized Goan culinary voices. She trained as a fashion designer at NIFT Mumbai, assisting acclaimed designer Wendell Rodricks, before an unexpected detour reshaped her path. Living in Hong Kong with her husband and daughter, she found herself craving the food of home — and with no video calls available yet, she learned her family’s Goan recipes over Skype, guided by her mother and mother-in-law through dish after dish.

A cake decorating course deepened the pull, connecting her to friends who encouraged her to start a food column — she went on to win an award for taking home cooking “to a different level” during her two years in Hong Kong. By the time she and her family settled in Port Moody’s Aspenwood neighbourhood five years ago, food had become more than a hobby. “Ashney’s Artisan gave me an identity,” she says of the business, now known for its charcuterie boards, corporate gifting, and grazing tables — started almost by accident, when a close friend simply registered it for her on the spot.

Today, Ashney is a certified chocolatier trained under Barry Callebaut and Luis Amado, writes a regular food column for Freshet News, and has earned a nickname that’s stuck around Vancouver: the “Sorpotel Queen of Vancouver,” after the rich Goan pork dish that’s a staple of her table.

Her heritage runs through everything she does. As Social & Cultural Director for the Goa Overseas Association of Vancouver — a community of roughly 2,500 to 3,000 Goans across the region — she helps organize the group’s annual New Year’s dance and a picnic that drew 400 people this year, with the association’s 50th anniversary celebration coming this October. Away from the spotlight, she and her daughter regularly cook for hundreds at local churches and prepare meals for those experiencing homelessness over Thanksgiving.

This September, her work was recognized on an international stage: Ashney was felicitated for her contributions to culinary arts and Goan culture at the first-ever Miss Goa International pageant, held in London. Her cookbook, Ashney’s Kitchen Stories: The Ultimate Cookbook of Goan Recipes — its cover featuring her in a traditional Goan Kunbi saree — is still in the works, with a Portuguese-inspired cookware line planned to follow.

What to watch next: Ashney is preparing an exclusive fall grazing board recipe for Port Moody Pulse readers, coming in a future issue.