Q&A with Chef Christensen

While The Living Kitchen was attending the Ritz-Carlton Cayman Cookout this year, TLK spoke with North Carolina’s Chef Ashley Christensen about her cooking style and how she is part of a vibrant culinary community.

THE LIVING KITCHEN: First off, tell us what it is like being here at the Cayman Cookout for the first time.

ASHLEY CHRISTENSEN: So far, so great! Everyone is fantastic and it’s gorgeous here. I’m looking forward to getting into the water with the stingrays. (Stingray Cay is a popular attraction on Grand Cayman, and is a must-do stop en route to the Cayman Cookout's Beach Bash at Rum Point event.)

TLK: What will you be preparing for the guests to enjoy?

AC: For the evening rosé dinner, we are presenting a simple tuna dish served with caviar and buttermilk that's made in Tennessee. For the beach, I’m taking a pimento cheese compound butter that we made to put over roasted oysters with cornbread crumbs. Then on Sunday night at the finale dinner, we’re doing a truffle chicken liver mousse with the little Hoppin’ John waffle. We want to get people in the mindset that good food can be fun.

TLK: Sounds like you are adding some of your Southern style to the menus.

AC: Yes! I feel that in North Carolina there's no excuse not to make great food. It’s an incredible agricultural state, plus–even though I live 120 miles from the coast–we have constant runners bringing us beautiful seafood from our waters. And up towards the mountains we see various crops with a lot of great folks growing grains and other crops. There is an agricultural renaissance happening in North Carolina.

I love all the things that our ranchers do and all the beautiful ocean fish, but I'm a big vegetable cook as well. We have four distinct seasons that bring four waves of crops, so it is very inspiring place to cook.

TLK: That must be amazing for your restaurant clientele to experience.

AC: We have folks who come in who are in tune with the way the seasons roll. They know that if they're seeing asparagus or field peas at the farmer’s market they can look forward to interesting preparations with those in our restaurants. I also love to teach and do a lot of cooking demos. I love to be able to talk about the seasons and the versatility of the crops we have. I explain that if they like one kind of dish, they can actually make it with all these different ingredients that grow in the different seasons in our region.

TLK: As a busy restaurateur, do you feel it is important to build a culinary community?

AC: Yes. I think a big responsibility for restaurants is to be storytellers. We should teach our customers about all of the energy that goes into growing, harvesting, and preparing their food. 

I also am a big believer in the community working together. One thing I love working on is an annual Raleigh event called the Triangle Wine & Food Experience where we raise money for a school for children with developmental disabilities. I curate all the chef talent for the three-day event. We chefs have a great extended network that has a lot of positive influence.  

Food is so elemental and it's also so translatable. It doesn't matter what language you speak once you sit down to enjoy your meal. 

TLK: It does matter what appliances you cook on however, right? 

AC: Absolutely! I totally adore my Sub-Zero and Wolf appliances, and they do an amazing job for me.