If you’re eating out in Raleigh tonight, chances are pretty good that Ashley Christensen had a hand in cooking it.
The James Beard Award-winning chef and restaurateur runs seven downtown eateries—Poole’s Diner, Beasley’s Chicken + Honey, Chuck’s, Fox Liquor Bar, Joule Coffee & Table, Death & Taxes and Bridge Club—and she has just released her first cookbook. Christensen celebrates the release of Poole's: Recipes and Stories from a Modern Diner with a free, public talk at her alma mater on Tuesday, Oct. 25, at 7 p.m. in the James B. Hunt Jr. Library Auditorium.
While the event is free and open to the public, registration is required. Visit Eventbrite to register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/chef-ashley-christensen-author-event-tickets-28166500762.
Co-presented by the NCSU Libraries and the NC State Alumni Association as part of Red & White Week, Christensen will be interviewed on stage by NC State's Dr. Cat Warren—Christensen's former English professor. They will discuss recipes from the new cookbook, which The New York Times lauds as ranging “broadly from down-home to sophisticated, and from easy to labor-intensive,” as well as Christensen's dedication to the revitalization of downtown Raleigh and her philosophy of building community through the shared experience of food.
Christensen’s commitment to bright, fresh flavors and locally grown, seasonal ingredients have garnered local and national acclaim. She is also involved in a variety of charities including the Frankie Lemmon Foundation, the Southern Foodways Alliance and Share Our Strength. In 2014, Ashley was awarded the James Beard Award for Best Chef Southeast.
The cookbook Poole's: Recipes and Stories from a Modern Diner will be available on-site for purchase from Quail Ridge Books.