Chef Valerie Ellsworth joined the faculty at Johnson & Wales University in 2001, where she teaches Classical French Pastries, Breads and Rolls, and Hot and Cold Desserts for enrolled students, as well as many Chef's Choice classes for the community.
After graduating from the University of Massachusetts with a bachelor’s degree in English, Valerie Ellsworth earned an associate degree in Culinary Arts from Johnson & Wales University’s Vail Campus in ’96. Ellsworth was also a teaching assistant at the Vail Campus. She remained in Colorado as the executive chef at the Inn at Beaver Creek. Ellsworth’s career continued at Vail Valley Jet Center where she was executive chef and manager of the Jet Café. She was later appointed to the Charleston faculty and eventually relocated to Charlotte in 2004 where she currently teaches in the I.B.P.I. program.