Donnell Collins

Donnell met her first culinary mentor—Kay Rentschler, Chef Owner of the Storm Café—after moving to VT from CA before high school. Teaching her to love food and respect the process and business, Kay started Donnell on the path to where she is today. After attending culinary school at Newbury College she returned to VT and finished her internship at The Basin Harbor Club. A few years and kitchens later she helped open The Starry Night Café in Ferrisburgh. Returning to CA to work in Berkley, known at the time as the “gourmet ghetto”, Donnell honed her farm to table skills working first as a Sous Chef at Bistro Liason  and then as a Chef de Cuisine at five-star restaurant La Folie in San Francisco. Ready for a change, Donnell returned to VT to join the team at Leunig’s Bistro where she is Co-owner and Chef today. She loves the process of taking raw ingredients and creating something really special with them, feeding people something delicious, and giving them a real experience with food. She enjoys cooking everything, from a complex 10-course meal to grilled cheeses for her daughters. She gets inspiration from everywhere and likes being able to communicate the feeling of her original inspiration through her dishes. Donnell believes dining should be an experience and, as with any form of art, should make you feel something.