Speaking & Demonstrations

Speaking & Demonstrations

Ashley Rose Young gestures while teaching a gumbo demonstration at the Southern Food and Beverage Museum. Pots, mixing bowls, and ingredients cover the counter in front of her.
Food demonstrationsSouthern Food and Beverage Museum · New Orleans
Ashley Rose Young speaks into a microphone beside a guest in a red shirt during a cooking demonstration. They stand behind a counter with food and cooking equipment.
Hosted conversationsSmithsonian’s Cooking Up History · Washington, D.C.
Ashley Rose Young holds a bottle during a cocktail demonstration at Wigle Whiskey in Pittsburgh. Glasses and bar tools sit in front of her.
Cocktail demonstrationsWigle Whiskey · Pittsburgh

Invite Ashley to your event

History comes alive when we can ask questions, share a story, and sometimes taste the subject at hand. I speak with audiences about American food and culture, and I bring years of experience hosting public programs, interviewing guests, and leading food demonstrations.

I’m available for lectures, book talks, moderated conversations, panel discussions, museum programs, podcasts, media interviews, and food and cocktail demonstrations. I enjoy tailoring a program to its audience and setting.

Possible topics

  • How Food Becomes American — Migration, exchange, and the changing meaning of familiar dishes.
  • Who Fed New Orleans? — The street vendors, market workers, and customers at the heart of Nourishing Networks.
  • Street Food and the American City — What food sold in public can tell us about work, power, and belonging.
  • Creole Chef Lena Richard — Her life, work, and legacy in New Orleans food culture.
  • Food, Race, and Representation — The people whose contributions to American food history have too often gone unrecognized.
  • Stories from the Archives — What rare books, recipes, and everyday objects reveal about American life.
  • Careers in Museums and Libraries — An inside look at research, curatorial work, and public engagement, with practical advice for exploring a career in these fields.

Demonstrations and conversations

At the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, I hosted Cooking Up History, working with chefs and home cooks to connect live cooking with historical storytelling. I can bring that conversational approach to food and cocktail demonstrations, either as host or as a participant, depending on the program.

Let’s talk

If you’re planning an event, please get in touch and share the date, location, audience, format, and the kind of conversation you have in mind.