What Kate Spade did for handbags, Christian Louboutin for women’s shoes and Versace for fashion, award-winning designer chocolatier and native Memphian Chef Phillip Ashley Rix is doing for chocolate; liberating it from the confines of tradition. Named one of the Best Chocolatiers and Confectioners in America by TasteTV, listed in USA Today’s 10 Best, donned the “Real Life Willy Wonka” by FORBES, listed in the Top 5 best chocolate boutiques in the South by Garden & Gun, “Memphis’ King of Chocolate” by Local Palate magazine and a featured chef in the James Beard Foundation Celebrity Chef Tour in 2015, Chef Phillip Ashley is a rising star in the culinary world. With a portfolio of over 200 designer chocolates and major clients around the world, his delectable gems are the official chocolate of the 2016 GRAMMYs Celebration®, the official chocolatier for Horseshoe Casino Tunica and his signature collections are sold by national luxury retailers Neiman Marcus and Horchow.
Self-taught, Phillip Ashley spent over two years studying the history, chemistry and artistry of chocolate. Today, he is renowned for designing wildly imaginative chocolates with ingredients such as sweet potato, barbecue and bleu cheese. His passion for fanciful flavors and masterful attention to detail result in visually stunning, decadent pieces of edible art.
