Our Team
We are chefs first and foremost. We have a deep passion for food cultivated by over 60 combined years of cooking. This is what we do and we love it.
Island Edge Culinary was started by Chef Colin in 2019 and has grown into a thriving business. Between the three of them there isn’t anything they can’t create for you!
Chef Colin Auchincloss
The culinary bug was planted at an early age by assisting my mom in cooking for a variety of dinners hosted in my childhood home. My mom had a passion for cooking new and unique items, and loved going through cookbooks. I developed the same passion for food and hospitality and through the school of hard knocks I refined my craft.
My years in the kitchen started in a small oyster bar north of Raleigh, NC where I learned the dogged work ethic of line cooking but realized I needed broader pastures to continue to grow. Over the years, I worked in specific restaurants based on what styles of cuisine I hoped to learn. The varying kitchens became my culinary school and I filled my home library with the cook books from the best chef’s in the world.
Having trained at a variety of restaurants I took over the once iconic Bogart’s American Grill in Raleigh’s up and coming Glenwood south district. I went on to run a Spanish tapas restaurant before moving to Chapel Hill where I took over as Chef of Azure grille, a modern California style bistro. Feeling I was still missing pieces, I took a step back to work at Heron’s, the five star hotel restaurant in Cary, NC. Heron’s was where I would learn the fine dining touches I bring to my guests today.
How did we end up here?!
My wife and 3 children moved to St Thomas in the summer of 2018 just as the island was coming back to normal after the hurricanes of 2017. We have had family on island for 15 years and had visited many times. After one spring break visit, my wife received an attractive job offer and we moved our 3 boys to the island! With family support and so many possible adventures who wouldn’t say yes to living in paradise.
Now I get to enjoy working in my true passion while living in paradise. When I’m not cooking, I enjoy all the islands have to offer.
Chef Alyse Arehart
Alyse began working on private yachts in 2015,
during which time she traveled the US eastern
seaboard and Bahamas. In 2017 she moved to the Virgin Islands to be chef on a charter vessel.
Her education is in environmental studies, and she has varied experiences in bartending, non-profit organizations, ecotourism and, of course, cooking.
In 2019, she obtained a culinary certificate from Ashburton Cookery School.
Alyse learned a lot as a yacht chef, but she currently enjoys being land-based, as it offers her the opportunity to be part of her community. She has cooked locally at the Terrace Restaurant in St John. Today, she is assistant manager at a My Brother’s Workshop Cafe & Bakery, a local non-profit that provides vocational training and mentorship for at-risk youth.
Alyse is enthusiastic about local ingredients, infusing Caribbean flavors into favorite dishes. What she loves most about the V.I. are the lovely people, beautiful reefs, and fresh tropical fruits.
