FOOD
26 • Thursday, May 5, 2022
OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL
Journal photo by Jordan Wald
FOODIE NEWS
Girlspring Executive Director Kristen Greenwood, second from left, with members of Les Dames d’Escoffier International, from left, Andrea Kirkland, Charbett Cauthen and Stefanie Maloney.
Journal photos by Jordan Wald
How to Cook Up a Cookbook Ashley McMakin’s Newest Venture Is a Formidable but Fun Project
Ashley McMakin began catering from her home in 2005 and opened her first restaurant in Bluff Park two years later. Now, you can find Ashley Mac’s locations in Cahaba Heights, Homewood, Inverness and Riverchase, plus her newest spot in downtown Birmingham at the Pizitz Food Hall.
By Donna Cornelius
A
shley McMakin has a deft hand at putting the right ingredients together. Since opening Ashley Mac’s 15 years ago, she’s come up with dishes that have made her business a real success story. Now, she’s cooking up a project that will give Ashley Mac’s fans a chance to re-create some of her favorite recipes in their own kitchens: a cookbook. The book, which will be published by Hoffman Media, isn’t due out until next spring. But McMakin has been hard at work for some time on all the components involved in such a daunting undertaking: recipe selection, multiple tastings and photo shoots. “My husband, Andy, encouraged me to do a cookbook, and customers often ask if I’ll share a recipe,” she said. “So this has been years in the making.” Although she’s always loved to cook, McMakin didn’t originally plan on a fulltime culinary career. After graduating from Briarwood Christian School, she went on to the University of Alabama. She and Andy met when both were students in UA’s Culverhouse College of Business, and she had set her sights on working in marketing.
She began catering from her home in 2005 and opened her first restaurant in Bluff Park two years later. Now, you can find Ashley Mac’s locations in Cahaba Heights, Homewood, Inverness and Riverchase, plus
‘The cookbook is about how I eat and cook in real life. The book will have homestyle dishes, family recipes, things I make for the kids and, of course, some Ashley Mac’s favorites.’ ASHLEY MCMAKIN
her newest spot in downtown Birmingham at the Pizitz Food Hall. “The cookbook is about how I eat and cook in real life,” McMakin said. “The book will have homestyle dishes, family recipes, things I make for the kids and, of course, some Ashley Mac’s favorites.” This isn’t McMakin’s first cookbook. “I made a little one in 2005 called ‘A Taste of Birmingham,’” she said. “I made 50
copies for friends and family. Those friends have always said it’s their most used cookbook, so I knew I had to do a more full-scale one in the future.” Putting together her new cookbook has been a tad more involved than that first homemade volume. She began meeting with Hoffman Media representatives to talk about the project about a year ago. McMakin said she already had a good relationship with the company; she had worked before with Southern Lady, one of Hoffman’s most popular magazines, and she and Brian Hoffman, president and chief creative officer of Hoffman Media, Popular choices for went to high school togeth- Ashley Mac’s salad trio: pimento cheese, er. “Brian was another per- chicken salad and son who really encouraged Baby Bleu salad with me to do a cookbook,” she poppyseed vinaigrette. said. Hoffman asked McMakin to bring about 200 recipes to the discussion table so that there would be plenSee ASHLEY, page 27
Wonder Women: Chef’s Edition Girlspring Showcases the Many Careers Available in the Food Industry
By Ally Morrison Girlspring invited chefs, caterers and other industry professionals from the Birmingham Chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier International to share information about culinary and hospitality careers with girls in fourth grade to high school. Guests of the April 30 event learned about the many ways to be involved in the culinary world, hearing from restaurant owners, dieticians and catering CEO’s at the Homewood Library. “Before COVID, we used to have these events called Wonder Women every month,” Executive Director Kristen Greenwood said. “We’re trying to get back into these careerfocused events to give girls an idea of the many different careers available to them.” Greenwood knew members of the Birmingham Chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier and thought it would make for a fun event. Charbett Cauthen, vice president of programs for LDEI, chose a panel of speakers who reflected all aspects of the hospitality industry. Kristal Bryant, Crystal Peterson, Andrea Kirkland and Stefanie Maloney all brought interesting backgrounds to the event, ranging from food writers to restaurant owners. “I tried to show a different variation of all the different things we do and the diversity that we have,” Cauthen said. “I did this so that we might touch a few girls and spark an interest in them for the industry.” Participants had the chance to sample dishes and try exclusive recipes to take home and make for themselves or with their moms.
Cooking Up Fun
Jones Valley Teaching Farm to Offer Foodie Summer Camps Jones Valley Teaching Farm will present a plethora of educational and interactive summer camps during June and July to students curious
See CAMP, page 27
