Ashley Hykes McGee is a culinary instructor at Johnson & Wales University, Charlotte North Carolina. She is a graduate of UNC- Chapel Hill and the Culinary Institute of America.  Prior to her appointment to the culinary faculty, Ashley was chef/owner of Stardust Fine Dining in Morehead City, NC from 2002-2005. Stardust was a local favorite serving gourmet Southern cuisine and was called one of the top three restaurants in North Carolina by John Batchelor, reviewer at the Greensboro News and Record.

Ashley has served as chef de cuisine at Bayona under Chef Susan Spicer when that restaurant achieved #1 status in the New Orleans Zagat guide. She has also worked at Enrico’s, San Francisco, Sea Horse Grille, Bermuda, and Southern Season, Chapel Hill.