Life & Work with Ashlyne Pitts of Morrisville

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashlyne Pitts.

Hi Ashlyne, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
My love for cooking began at an early age. I had the fantastic privilege to grow up across the street from my granny’s house (Maggie Reid) in Granite Quarry, NC. She was a tremendous home cook, caterer, restaurant owner, and entrepreneur from Salisbury, NC. I distinctly remember going to her house for dinner most nights of my childhood as my mother did not enjoy cooking. She would prepare feasts made for 50, even if only 10 people showed up for dinner. She made the most impressive Southern comfort & soul food I have yet to taste. Once I was a teenager, I was able to help her in the kitchen, from chopping veggies to overseeing her coveted macaroni and cheese (one of my favorites). We had a powerful bond that began in the kitchen. She was one of those strong Christian women we can explain through God’s incredible favor.

In high school, it was my desire to become a professional chef and attend culinary school, but my parents and even granny were against it, so instead, I put those dreams on a shelf. I attended UNCG as an undergrad and UNC-Chapel Hill, where I got a BS in Finance and a Master’s in Accounting. I later became a CPA in NC and started my career as an accountant. However, my love of food grew into a side hobby. 2015, I started cooking for friends and family from baby showers, parties, and meal prep. In 2016, my granny unexpectedly passed away the day before Thanksgiving. Her death made me realize life was short and that I should consider following my passions. In 2017, as a healing project for myself, I self-publish a cookbook called Granny’s House, a collection of recipes she made throughout my childhood. In 2018, I officially started my business, Southern Apron Cooking, in Charlotte, NC.

In 2019, I relocated to Morrisville, NC, to get married and began growing my business there. Although the pandemic put a damper on the business side, I finally achieved my dream of attending culinary school, and I graduated with an AA in Culinary Arts in May 2022 from Wake Tech Community College. Although I still work in finance/accounting, I also find time for my passions of cooking and traveling.

I offer private chef services, private group cooking classes, and trim catering options through my business, Southern Apron Cooking. Also, next month, I’ll set up a booth at the Western Wake County Farmer’s Market in Morrisville to sell my cookbooks and a secret family BBQ sauce called Da Dip. My cousin TJ and myself have developed the secret family recipe over the last few months. It was this same recipe that my granny’s former restaurant “Reid’s Chicken – Home of Da Dip” was created around. The concept was fresh hot fried chicken was emersed or “dipped” in a sweet vinegar-based BBQ sauce. It was a local gem in Salisbury, NC, and is something our family is still well known for. To continue our granny’s legacy, we plan to start selling the product at local farmer’s markets here in Wake County and Rowan County, where my cousin lives, and eventually pitch to the Salisbury-based grocery store chain Food Lion in the future.

It wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The road has had twists and turns. My starting point, unfortunately, came out of loss. When my granny passed in 2016, I even took cooking professionally as a possible option. When I officially started my business in 2018, I slowly grew momentum and started making a five-year plan to quit working. In late 2018, I had my first corporate catering client and was meal-prepping for over 10 people a week. My now husband and I were long distant, and he proposed in 2019, so that meant someone had to move. It was easier for me to find a job in the Raleigh area, so I was the one to move, and with that, the loss of my Charlotte clients. My new job brought new challenges, and I stopped cooking to focus on that, soon after getting married in 2020, the pandemic began. However, the silver lining of being in a field that can be remote is that I was able to attend culinary school in the evening that year. My husband supported me for 6 months during my last semester so I could entirely focus on school. I eventually started working remotely again due to struggles with imposter syndrome and financial strains. Still, I have slowly built my client list in the area, worked in a few restaurants, and taught some fantastic cooking classes. Cooking is a very physically demanding profession, so I have had my share of stitches, burns, and urgent care visits; however, the passion for recreating that same joy I felt as a kid when taking that first bite of comfort food keeps me pushing forward.

Let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I specialize in private family gatherings, small catering events, and, in general, creating food memories. The food I typically serve is elevated southern-inspired food. I can twist the flavors we have all grown up to love in the South by incorporating fresh produce, herbs, and less fat but with the same fantastic flavor. I am most proud of my cookbook “Granny’s House: My Southern Childhood,” which can be found on Amazon, not because of any profits that have come from it but just the fact that I created something that tangibly solidifies my granny’s food in history and gives anyone in the world to opportunity to experience. It didn’t start as something I was going to publish, but I am so glad I did. What sets me apart from others is my childhood, growing up in a close-knit family that pushed and encouraged each other to accomplish our goals. My second passion for travel has also helped set me apart. In 2009, while in college, I studied abroad in Mexico for six months. This created a passion for exploring other cultures. Since 2010, I have traveled to over 15 different countries. In most of them, I have taken a cooking class where I have learned some fantastic new produce and flavors that only a few others have discovered in person.

We’d like to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you.
I don’t believe in luck. What’s meant to be will be. What God has planned for my life, good or bad, has a purpose, and it’s up to me to figure out what that purpose is. That said, even I have been pursuing cooking. It’s evident through the unique opportunities I have been given without effort. I think a lot of “luck,” if we use the word, comes through simply continuing to move and take steps, no matter how big or small, toward a dream until an opportunity is presented. You must start to have these lucky encounters. Someone early in my career told me that success is where preparation meets opportunity rather than luck.

Pricing:

• $25 – Cookbook on Amazon

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @southernaproncooking; @a_realbeauty88