Ashley Christensen

Ashley Christensen is an American chef, restaurateur, author, and culinary celebrity. She is based in Raleigh, North Carolina, and the chef + proprietor of AC Restaurants, a hospitality group that operates Poole's Diner, Fox Liquor Bar, Beasley's Chicken + Honey, Death & Taxes, Poole'side Pies, and AC Events. A two-time James Beard Award winner, she is widely credited for helping to put Raleigh's food scene on the map. Early life and education Christensen was born in Greensboro, North Carolina. She attended North Carolina State University, where she began cooking by throwing dinner parties for her friends and family. Career Christensen lives and works in Raleigh, North Carolina, having taken her first restaurant job at the age of 21. Since making Raleigh her home, she has sought to foster community through food, philanthropy, and the stimulation of the city's downtown neighborhood. Her 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 also appeared on Food Network's popular series Iron Chef America and MSNBC's Your Business. Restaurants Christensen is the chef and proprietor of AC Restaurants, a hospitality group. In 2007, she opened Poole's Diner, named for one of the building's original tenants and one of downtown Raleigh's first restaurants. In 2011, she opened her next projects, Beasley's Chicken + Honey and Fox Liquor Bar, in a corner building once occupied by a Piggly-Wiggly in the 1940s.