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Ashley Christensen

James Beard Award-Winning Chef, Restaurateur & Cookbook Author

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Ashley Christensen Biography

Since making Raleigh her home, Ashley Christensen has sought to foster community through food, philanthropy and the stimulation of the city’s downtown neighborhood.

Christensen began cooking while in college, throwing dinner parties for her friends and family. These intimate gatherings helped her recognize her passion for cooking and sharing food, and ultimately led to her first professional cooking job at the age of 21. Upon taking the position, she knew she had found her life’s work.

After working in some of the Triangle’s top kitchens, Christensen opened Poole’s Diner in 2007, which takes its name and décor from the building’s original tenant—one of downtown Raleigh’s first restaurants. The shotgun space offers an evolving chalkboard menu of comfort-food classics, re-imagined through a philosophy of locally grown, seasonal ingredients and French-influenced technique.

In 2011, Christensen opened three new ventures, all housed in a corner building once occupied by a Piggly Wiggly. Beasley’s Chicken + Honey is an ode to fried chicken and classic Southern sides; Chuck’s offers burgers and frites with signature updates; and Fox Liquor Bar, housed in the building’s basement, features a menu of more than 50 craft cocktails, as well as beer, wine and bar snacks.

In the spring of 2015, AC Restaurants introduced Death & Taxes, a restaurant celebrating wood-fire cooking with Southern ingredients, and Bridge Club, a private events loft and cooking classroom. Death & Taxes was a 2016 James Beard Award finalist for Best New Restaurant, and Food & Wine listed it as one the Best New Restaurants of the Year. And most recently, in the fall of 2019, Poole’side Pies opened next door to Poole’s Diner, featuring Christensen’s take on Neapolitan-style pizza.

When she’s not in the kitchen, Christensen focuses her time on a number of local and regional charities. She has served as a board member of the Frankie Lemmon foundation and is a co-chair of its annual fundraising event, Triangle Wine Experience. She has also served on the board of Raleigh’s Contemporary Art Museum and the Downtown Raleigh Alliance. She is an active member of the Southern Foodways Alliance and founded the biannual event Stir the Pot, in which she hosts visiting chefs in Raleigh to raise funds for the SFA’s documentary initiatives.

Christensen’s work has gained national attention from such publications as Bon Appétit, Gourmet, The New York Times, Southern Living, Wall Street Journal, and Garden & Gun. She has appeared on Food Network’s popular series Iron Chef America and MSNBC’s Your Business.

In 2014, Christensen was awarded the James Beard Award for “Best Chef: Southeast,” and in 2019 she was awarded the James Beard Award in the “Outstanding Chef” category. Christensen was named Chef of the Year by Eater.com in 2017. She is the author of the cookbook, "Poole’s: Recipes and Stories from a Modern Diner," which was published by Ten Speed Press in fall 2016 and named one of the top cookbooks of the fall by the New York Times.

Speaking Topics
  • An activist on women's issues, Christensen has been outspoken about sexual harassment in the culinary world.

Videos
Books
It's Always Freezer Season: How to Freeze Like a Chef with 100 Make-Ahead Recipes [A Cookbook]

It's Always Freezer Season: How to Freeze Like a Chef with 100 Make-Ahead Recipes [A Cookbook]

Poole's: Recipes and Stories from a Modern Diner [A Cookbook]

Poole's: Recipes and Stories from a Modern Diner [A Cookbook]

News
FAQs
  • How do I book Ashley Christensen to speak at my event?

    Our experienced booking agents have successfully helped clients around the world secure speakers like Ashley Christensen for speaking engagements, personal appearances, product endorsements, or corporate entertainment since 2002. Click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page to check availability for Ashley Christensen, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to discuss your upcoming event. One of our experienced agents will be happy to help you get speaking fee information and check availability for Ashley Christensen or any other speaker of your choice.
  • What are the speaker fees for Ashley Christensen

    Speaking fees for Ashley Christensen, or any other speakers and celebrities, are determined based on a number of factors and may change without notice. The estimated fees to book Ashley Christensen are $30,000 - $50,000 for live events and $10,000 - $20,000 for virtual events. For the most current speaking fee to hire Ashley Christensen, click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to speak directly with an experienced booking agent.
  • What topics does Ashley Christensen speak about?

    Ashley Christensen is a keynote speaker and industry expert whose speaking topics include Celebrity Chefs, Food, Lifestyle, Virtual Speakers.
  • Where does Ashley Christensen travel from?

    Ashley Christensen generally travels from Raleigh, NC, USA, but can be booked for private corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. For more details, please contact an AAE Booking agent.
  • Who is Ashley Christensen’s agent?

    AAE Speakers Bureau has successfully booked keynote speakers like Ashley Christensen for clients worldwide since 2002. As a full-service speaker booking agency, we have access to virtually any speaker or celebrity in the world. Our agents are happy and able to submit an offer to the speaker or celebrity of your choice, letting you benefit from our reputation and long-standing relationships in the industry. Please click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page including the details of your event, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536, and one of our agents will assist you to book Ashley Christensen for your next private or corporate function.
  • What is a full-service speaker booking agency?

    AAE Speakers Bureau is a full-service speaker booking agency, meaning we can completely manage the speaker’s or celebrity’s engagement with your organization from the time of booking your speaker through the event’s completion. We provide all of the services you need to host Ashley Christensen or any other speaker of your choice, including offer negotiation, contractual assistance, accounting and billing, and event speaker travel and logistics services. When you book a speaker with us, we manage the process of hosting a speaker for you as an extension of your team. Our goal is to give our clients peace of mind and a best-in-class service experience when booking a speaker with us.
  • Why is AAE Speakers Bureau different from other booking agencies?

    If you’re looking for the best, unbiased speaker recommendations, paired with a top-notch customer service experience, you’re in the right place. At AAE Speakers Bureau, we exclusively represent the interests of our clients - professional organizations, companies, universities, and associations. We intentionally do not represent the speakers we feature or book. That is so we can present our clients with the broadest and best performing set of speaker options in the market today, and we can make these recommendations without any obligation to promote a specific speaker over another. This is why when our agents suggest a speaker for your event, you can be assured that they are of the highest quality with a history of proven success with our other clients.
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This website is a resource for event professionals and strives to provide the most comprehensive catalog of thought leaders and industry experts to consider for speaking engagements. A listing or profile on this website does not imply an agency affiliation or endorsement by the talent.

All American Entertainment (AAE) exclusively represents the interests of talent buyers, and does not claim to be the agency or management for any speaker or artist on this site. AAE is a talent booking agency for paid events only. We do not handle requests for donation of time or media requests for interviews, and cannot provide celebrity contact information.

If you are the talent and wish to request a profile update or removal from our online directory, please submit a profile request form.

James Beard Award-Winning Chef, Restaurateur & Cookbook Author

Travels From:
Raleigh, NC, USA
Speaking Fee:

Ashley Christensen Biography

Since making Raleigh her home, Ashley Christensen has sought to foster community through food, philanthropy and the stimulation of the city’s downtown neighborhood.

Christensen began cooking while in college, throwing dinner parties for her friends and family. These intimate gatherings helped her recognize her passion for cooking and sharing food, and ultimately led to her first professional cooking job at the age of 21. Upon taking the position, she knew she had found her life’s work.

After working in some of the Triangle’s top kitchens, Christensen opened Poole’s Diner in 2007, which takes its name and décor from the building’s original tenant—one of downtown Raleigh’s first restaurants. The shotgun space offers an evolving chalkboard menu of comfort-food classics, re-imagined through a philosophy of locally grown, seasonal ingredients and French-influenced technique.

In 2011, Christensen opened three new ventures, all housed in a corner building once occupied by a Piggly Wiggly. Beasley’s Chicken + Honey is an ode to fried chicken and classic Southern sides; Chuck’s offers burgers and frites with signature updates; and Fox Liquor Bar, housed in the building’s basement, features a menu of more than 50 craft cocktails, as well as beer, wine and bar snacks.

In the spring of 2015, AC Restaurants introduced Death & Taxes, a restaurant celebrating wood-fire cooking with Southern ingredients, and Bridge Club, a private events loft and cooking classroom. Death & Taxes was a 2016 James Beard Award finalist for Best New Restaurant, and Food & Wine listed it as one the Best New Restaurants of the Year. And most recently, in the fall of 2019, Poole’side Pies opened next door to Poole’s Diner, featuring Christensen’s take on Neapolitan-style pizza.

When she’s not in the kitchen, Christensen focuses her time on a number of local and regional charities. She has served as a board member of the Frankie Lemmon foundation and is a co-chair of its annual fundraising event, Triangle Wine Experience. She has also served on the board of Raleigh’s Contemporary Art Museum and the Downtown Raleigh Alliance. She is an active member of the Southern Foodways Alliance and founded the biannual event Stir the Pot, in which she hosts visiting chefs in Raleigh to raise funds for the SFA’s documentary initiatives.

Christensen’s work has gained national attention from such publications as Bon Appétit, Gourmet, The New York Times, Southern Living, Wall Street Journal, and Garden & Gun. She has appeared on Food Network’s popular series Iron Chef America and MSNBC’s Your Business.

In 2014, Christensen was awarded the James Beard Award for “Best Chef: Southeast,” and in 2019 she was awarded the James Beard Award in the “Outstanding Chef” category. Christensen was named Chef of the Year by Eater.com in 2017. She is the author of the cookbook, "Poole’s: Recipes and Stories from a Modern Diner," which was published by Ten Speed Press in fall 2016 and named one of the top cookbooks of the fall by the New York Times.

Ashley Christensen Speaking Topics

  • An activist on women's issues, Christensen has been outspoken about sexual harassment in the culinary world.

Ashley Christensen Videos

  • Chef Ashley Christensen on winning the James Beard Award for ...
    Raleigh's Ashley Christensen sees the James Beard Award as an opportunity to push the field to be the best it can possibly be.
  • Ashley Christensen: Fostering Community Through Food - YouTube
  • Chef Ashley Christensen Pooles Diner Raleigh - YouTube

Ashley Christensen Books

Speaker Lists Featuring Ashley Christensen

FAQs on booking Ashley Christensen

  • How do I book Ashley Christensen to speak at my event?

    Our experienced booking agents have successfully helped clients around the world secure speakers like Ashley Christensen for speaking engagements, personal appearances, product endorsements, or corporate entertainment since 2002. Click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page to check availability for Ashley Christensen, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to discuss your upcoming event. One of our experienced agents will be happy to help you get speaking fee information and check availability for Ashley Christensen or any other speaker of your choice.
  • What are the speaker fees for Ashley Christensen

    Speaking fees for Ashley Christensen, or any other speakers and celebrities, are determined based on a number of factors and may change without notice. The estimated fees to book Ashley Christensen are $30,000 - $50,000 for live events and $10,000 - $20,000 for virtual events. For the most current speaking fee to hire Ashley Christensen, click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to speak directly with an experienced booking agent.
  • What topics does Ashley Christensen speak about?

    Ashley Christensen is a keynote speaker and industry expert whose speaking topics include Celebrity Chefs, Food, Lifestyle, Virtual Speakers.
  • Where does Ashley Christensen travel from?

    Ashley Christensen generally travels from Raleigh, NC, USA, but can be booked for private corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. For more details, please contact an AAE Booking agent.
  • Who is Ashley Christensen’s agent?

    AAE Speakers Bureau has successfully booked keynote speakers like Ashley Christensen for clients worldwide since 2002. As a full-service speaker booking agency, we have access to virtually any speaker or celebrity in the world. Our agents are happy and able to submit an offer to the speaker or celebrity of your choice, letting you benefit from our reputation and long-standing relationships in the industry. Please click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page including the details of your event, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536, and one of our agents will assist you to book Ashley Christensen for your next private or corporate function.
  • What is a full-service speaker booking agency?

    AAE Speakers Bureau is a full-service speaker booking agency, meaning we can completely manage the speaker’s or celebrity’s engagement with your organization from the time of booking your speaker through the event’s completion. We provide all of the services you need to host Ashley Christensen or any other speaker of your choice, including offer negotiation, contractual assistance, accounting and billing, and event speaker travel and logistics services. When you book a speaker with us, we manage the process of hosting a speaker for you as an extension of your team. Our goal is to give our clients peace of mind and a best-in-class service experience when booking a speaker with us.
  • Why is AAE Speakers Bureau different from other booking agencies?

    If you’re looking for the best, unbiased speaker recommendations, paired with a top-notch customer service experience, you’re in the right place. At AAE Speakers Bureau, we exclusively represent the interests of our clients - professional organizations, companies, universities, and associations. We intentionally do not represent the speakers we feature or book. That is so we can present our clients with the broadest and best performing set of speaker options in the market today, and we can make these recommendations without any obligation to promote a specific speaker over another. This is why when our agents suggest a speaker for your event, you can be assured that they are of the highest quality with a history of proven success with our other clients.

Ashley Christensen is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics such as. The estimated speaking fee range to book Ashley Christensen for your event is $30,000 - $50,000. Ashley Christensen generally travels from Raleigh, NC, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Art Smith, Jose Garces, Michael Solomonov, Vivian Howard and Michael Schwartz. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Ashley Christensen for an upcoming live or virtual event.

Ashley Christensen Speaking Topics

  • An activist on women's issues, Christensen has been outspoken about sexual harassment in the culinary world.

Ashley Christensen Speaker Videos

  • Chef Ashley Christensen on winning the James Beard Award for ...
    Raleigh's Ashley Christensen sees the James Beard Award as an opportunity to push the field to be the best it can possibly be.
    Ashley Christensen: Fostering Community Through Food - YouTube
  • Chef Ashley Christensen Pooles Diner Raleigh - YouTube

Ashley Christensen News

Tell us about your event!

During normal business hours, we respond to most inquiries within 4 hours.

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Speakers Similar to Ashley Christensen

This website is a resource for event professionals and strives to provide the most comprehensive catalog of thought leaders and industry experts to consider for speaking engagements. A listing or profile on this website does not imply an agency affiliation or endorsement by the talent.

All American Entertainment (AAE) exclusively represents the interests of talent buyers, and does not claim to be the agency or management for any speaker or artist on this site. AAE is a talent booking agency for paid events only. We do not handle requests for donation of time or media requests for interviews, and cannot provide celebrity contact information.

If you are the talent and wish to request a profile update or removal from our online directory, please submit a profile request form.

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