Congratulations Ashley Christensen!

Ashley Christensen, owner of Poole’s Diner and several restaurants in downtown Raleigh, won the James Beard Award for Outstanding Chef in the country recently, she is the only North Carolina chef to ever win the top award!

“To my parents Lynn and Fox, thank you for making sure we ate dinner together every night and teaching me that the best part of food is sharing it with others,” Christensen said in her speech.

Watch @A______C______ of @poolesdiner accept the 2019 Outstanding Chef award #jbfa pic.twitter.com/ifWH3kB2qz

— James Beard Foundation (@beardfoundation) May 7, 2019

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