In the Kitchen: Ashley Moore of America’s Test Kitchen

For cooking enthusiasts nationwide, Ashley Moore is a familiar face, composing dishes weekly as a popular on-screen test cook for Cook’s Country From America’s Test Kitchen on PBS. But in Rhode Island, she’s a familiar off-screen face too. Moore moved to the Ocean State with her young family nearly four years ago, lured by its quality of life, palpable charm, and easy train commute to the America’s Test Kitchen studio and campus in Boston’s Seaport District.

Viewers first got to know her as host of Today’s Special, a YouTube series that focuses on quick, weeknight-friendly meals. It launched in 2020 and today, the series has amassed millions of views (and still counting). Think roast chicken with potatoes, air-fryer pistachio-crusted salmon, one-pan turkey meatballs with lemony rice, and black bean burgers and quesadillas. As a busy mother to Jackson, a seventh-grader, and Willie, a kindergartener, Moore knows firsthand the demand for no-fuss, family-friendly meals. 

For those who know her, being a beloved television personality is a natural fit. Acting and food were lifelong passions of Moore’s. After pursuing a BFA in acting from the California Institute of the Arts, the New London, Connecticut native was determined to follow her dream of cooking on air on the Food Network. She moved back East and enrolled in an accelerated program at Johnson & Wales University, followed by an internship at the Food Network. A job offer brought her and her now-husband to Boston, and soon after, she was lured by America’s Test Kitchen. “It was a pretty lengthy interview process,” she concedes. “It took me six months to get hired, and I’ve been there almost 14 years since.” Moore started in recipe development on the cookbook team, moved over to Cook’s Country to become senior editor, switched to food styling, and then started on the show. She’s starting her ninth season of filming, which will expand from 13 episodes to 23.

Moore says America’s Test Kitchen has expanded exponentially since she started, but it still has that grassroots feel. “For the most part, it still has that mentality. You just love the people you’re working with,” says Moore, who’s also a food stylist there and instructor for America’s Test Kitchen Cooking School. “It’s a really amazing, collaborative environment, just a great place, and I’m lucky to be there.”

Before moving to Rhode Island, Moore lived with her family on Boston’s North Shore, and she’s as surprised as anyone to find herself calling in Rhode Island home. “If you told me growing up I was going to live in Providence someday, I would look at you like you had three heads,” she says with a laugh. “It was going to be New York City or LA, but I cannot even tell you how much I’ve fallen in love with not only Providence, but the state of Rhode Island.”

She and her family enjoy exploring the state’s natural wonders, cool attractions, international flavors, and events. “There’s diversity, there’s culture, there’s different types of food – that was really important to me and my husband, for our kids to grow up around,” she explains. “Honestly, our quality of life is so rich because we live where we live.”

Moore also loves local events like the Newport Folk and Jazz festivals, pointing to the perhaps unexpected but undeniable similarities that food and good tunes share. “Food is the one thing besides music that brings people together, and hopefully, keeps people together,” she says.  “When you’re at a concert, everyone is there for this one shared experience, and when you’re eating a meal around the table, either at a restaurant or at home, you’re there for the same experience as well.”

Reflecting on her family’s few years here, and those to come, Moore is excited. She says they’re fitting in seamlessly, and are adopting that certain je ne sais quoi that is the magic of the Ocean State. “Something about Rhode Island has just really struck and felt like home for us, so I definitely think we’ve put our roots down.” Find where to watch Moore in action, including Rhode Island PBS, at AmericasTestKitchen.com.