Ashley Christensen is a local treasure: a Raleigh chef who is a multi-James Beard Award winner and who has the special touch when it comes to fostering community through food. Ashley is an avid supporter of social causes, notably that of hunger relief and in 2017 raised over $130,000 to fight childhood hunger in the Triangle and across the country with Inter-Faith Food Shuttle and No Kid Hungry.
On Sunday, October 13, 2019, Ashley Christensen and a serious line up of five talented chefs from around the country will join together to fight childhood hunger. The event will be held at Christensen’s Poole’s Diner on South McDowell Street. The chefs participating in this special culinary event include:
Chef Sarah Grueneberg, chef/partner of Monteverde Restaurant & Pastificio in Chicago, IL (2017 James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef: Great Lakes)
Chef Jason Stanhope, executive chef of FIG in Charleston, SC (2015 James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef Southeast)
JoAnne Canady-Brown, owner of The Gingered Peach Bakery in Lawrence, NJ (2018 James Beard Foundation fellow)
Alex Raij, chef owner of Txikito, La Vara, Saint Julivert, and El Quinto Pino in New York (2019 finalist for James Beard Awards Outstanding Restaurateur)
Rob McDaniel, executive chef of SpringHouse in Alexander City, AL (2017 semifinalist for James Beard Foundation Best Chef South)
The evening will begin with a cocktail reception, followed by dinner featuring a course with wine pairing from each guest chef. An auction of culinary experiences donated by each of the chefs will follow, raising critical funding to make sure all children have access to the food they need to live healthy lives. These funds will support Inter-Faith Food Shuttle’s mission to feed, teach and grow and a portion of the funds will benefit hunger relief efforts in each community from which the participating chefs hail. Funds will support programs like BackPack Buddies which provides 2,900 backpacks of nutritious food for children from food-insecure homes with healthy weekend meals and School Pantries, which expanded this year to 26 schools across Inter-Faith Food Shuttle’s 7-county service territory.
“It’s a joy to partner with Inter-Faith Food Shuttle and a group of talented chefs and friends from across the country for a spirited night of dining and fundraising – all in the name of ending childhood hunger,” says Ashley Christensen. “There is a growing need for food for the children right here in our community. They may be our neighbors, our kid’s classmates, our friends – and the generosity of Ashley Christensen, the incredible line-up of chefs and the guests who will bid on the fantastic auction packages mean one thing: a step closer to a healthy and hunger-free North Carolina,” says Tradell Adkins, Food Shuttle Child Hunger Program Director.
A limited number of tickets are available for this sell-out event at $250 each and table sponsorships for $1,500, which includes four seats. To purchase your ticket visit www.foodshuttle.org/dinner.