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Laurey Masterton

Laurey's is located at 67 Biltmore Avenue, Asheville NC 28801.

Brief Biography

Asheville Chef Laurey Masterton is well-known across Western North Carolina for her food and for the sale of her bumper sticker, “Don’t Postpone Joy.” This glassblower, long distance bike rider and now practicing beekeeper strives to live up to her motto.

She is equally passionate about her commitment to the planet and serving locally-grown foods. Masterton’s website contains links to close to three dozen local farms that are the source of many of her ingredients. As a business owner, she is proud of the steps she takes to protect the planet. She recycles everything - glass, paper, plastic and cans. She doesn’t use plastic grocery bags. Used cooking oil is transformed into bio-fuels. Her bottled water comes from a local spring and is in a biodegradable plastic container. And she collects all of her business’ compostable materials and takes them to local farms.

Masterton is partnering with The Nature Conservancy and our Picnic for the Planet campaign by providing a special catered lunch on April 21 in Lake Lure. The lunch, which is part of a wildflower workshop and hike, will feature recipes using local honey as a key ingredient. Bees, via pollination, are responsible for 15 to 30 percent of the food US consumers eat. But in the last 50 years the domesticated honeybee population—which most farmers depend on for pollination—has declined by about 50 percent.

Read an interview with Laurey Masterton.

Laurey's Favorite Picnic Recipe

Rosemary Lemonade
12 lemons (to make about 2 cups of juice)
½ cup Sage honey-or a local variety
Fresh rosemary
1 cup + 8 cups water 

Here’s what you do

Make a simple syrup:
Combine the honey with ½ cup water in a small saucepan.
Bring to a boil.

Turn off heat. 
While the syrup is still hot, add whole rosemary sprigs and leave in the syrup. 

Squeeze 12 lemons. 

Combine the lemon juice with the rosemary syrup. Add water to the syrup/juice mixture.
Add more water if needed, remembering that once you add the juice to ice in a glass, the ice will melt and dilute the mixture to some degree. 

Serve with a sprig of fresh rosemary in each glass. 

Serves 12 

© 2012 by Laurey Masterton, not to be copied without express permission of the author.

Laurey Masterton

Laurey's is located at 67 Biltmore Avenue, Asheville NC 28801.

Read Laurey Masterton's Full Biography

Read Laurey Masterton's Full Biography

Read Laurey Masterton's Full Biography