She was born in Boulder, and after spending years living with her father in England, she moved back. After stints in radio and marketing, she decided to turn her career toward the kitchen—not her kitchen but the Culinary School of the Rockies, where she oversaw classes for home cooks. In 2001, in the midst of the rise of the celebrity chef, she began marketing for James Mazzio, who was named a Food & Wine Best New Chef. Then in the mid-’90s, it all seemed to happen: Frasca opened in downtown Boulder and The Kitchen opened. Chefs like Mark Monette, Dave Query, Bradford Heap, Lenny Martinelli and Radek Czerny made names for themselves.

And Ax was there to make sure the world knew about them.

“There was a confluence of people intent on promoting the business, and then there were businesses that were worthy of promotion,” she said.

After working with the Fresh Ideas Group for two years, Ax has now launched her own brand—Root PR—with a website (rootpr.com), logo, staffer and the works. Here, we talk with Ax about her favorite local foodie trends, dining spots and foods:

On her favorite foodie trend:
“It’s all about the celebrity farmer these days. I walked into Alfalfas, and there’s a giant picture of Anne Cure from Cure Organic. I think that’s really exciting. It’s really important to be connected to our food and the people who grow it. The more we are connected to it, the healthier we are all around.”

On the experience of eating:
“I think so much of eating food is about the experience, to be with people you care about. It’s like having a little celebration every time you sit down for a meal. I never just eat to eat. I wake up and I think, ‘Wow, I get to eat three times today.’ It’s a treat. It’s almost always with someone,” she said. “And my job is a way to feed that. It means eating out in Boulder a lot.”

Her favorite dish to cook: Indian curry. “It takes forever but it tastes like you were plunked down in an Indian kitchen.”

On her role in Boulder’s foodie fame: “It was great timing. It was perfect timing. I started doing something that wasn’t even a job. I would love to think that I helped to make a difference. I was and am genuinely excited about the high-quality stuff that’s going on here.”

On food groups: “We’re seeing all these people getting together over food. It’s an amazing trend. They all really get it.”

On her career: “I’ve been making it up as I go along,” she laughs. “I had never worked in PR when I started. I love food, and I love people who do cool stuff with food.”

{LOCAL STUFF}

Best trail for off-leashing:
Twin Lakes
Gorgeous sunsets and doggy swimming areas.

Best place to socialize pets:
Gunbarrel Park Commons
Low traffic, off leashing, lots of friendly pet owners.

Best local doggy doc:
Gunbarrel Veterinary Hospital
Acupuncture, geriatric care, daycare.

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Median home cost/gross rent: $375,000/$1,050

Dog parks/hiking areas: 7

Perks: Celestial Seasonings tours (and the smell of tea in the air for miles); mountain and waterfront views from Tom Watson Park; suds at Asher Brewing Co.; bus services from Gunbarrel to Boulder and back; vino from Boulder Creek Winery; Jay Hill Farm and 63rd St. Farm offer the best of what’s grown.

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Best family-friendly treat:
The Snow Cap Cafe
You really can’t beat ice cream.

Best place to escape your mom responsibilities:
De Maj
A chic little shop where you can get a not-so-mommy haircut.

Best family dinner:
Colorado Coal Co.
Excellent steaks and burgers.

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Percentage of family
households in Erie: 79

Student/teacher ratio at
Erie High School: 1 to 20.6

Erie Elementary Mascot:
The Tiggers

Perks: The Arts Coalition of Erie; great access to cycling roads; the view from Erie High School; the Homecoming Parade; the fried pickles at Colorado Coal Company; proximity to Boulder, Denver, DIA and Northern Colorado.

{LOCAL STUFF}

Most historic green
chili rivalry:
Efrain’s vs. Santiago’s
Just a block a way, these two Mexican food hubs impress big crowds with their spicy goods.

Best showing of
historic pride:
Lafayette High School/Pioneer Bilingual Elementary School.
The community protested a potential remodel of this 1925-built school, and
saved it from gentrification in 1991.

Best place to find
historic things:
Noble Treasures
This consignment shop on South Public Road has it all.

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Year Lafayette and Mary Miller moved to the area: 1871

Year coal was discovered on the Miller Farm: 1884

Year the last coal mine in Lafayette was closed: 1956

Perks: The leather couches at Cannon Mine Coffee Shop; walking on the Coal Creek Trail; Peak to Peak Charter School; the Rueben at Hanna’s; wandering through shops like pARTiculars and Elizabeth’s Embellishments; cocktails at Tutti; Lafayette Peach Festival; the lazy river in the Lafayette Rec Center.

{LOCAL STUFF}

Best place to socialize
first thing in the morning:
Vic’s
It’s like Cheers. But your drink
of choice is an Americano.

Best shop for making your home a social hotspot:
Nest
This décor store is trés chic.

Best nearby destination
for socializing:
Oskar Blues’ Tasty Weasel
This bar/tasting room is just
down the street.

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The land: Prospect sits on what was once an 80-acre tree farm.

Accolades: 1996’s Governor’s Smart Growth Award.

Number of units at build out: 585

Perks: Your stylist is also your neighbor; ribs at The Rib House; the tastings at Tenacity Wine Shop; finding treasures at Suburban Hill.

{LOCAL STUFF}

Best shop to get lost in:
Boulder Bookstore
Endless hours of adventure, happiness, romance and getting lost.

Best occasional
shopping experience:
Boulder Farmers Market
A beautiful, bountiful explosion
of produce, flowers and more.

Best post shopping splurge:
Manis and pedis at Ten20
A little Sex in the City and 20
shiny pink digits.

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No. of maps you can find in Art Source International: More than 25,000

Downtown’s most famous residence: The Mork and Mindy house on Pine Street.

Square footage of The Peppercorn: 12,000

Perks: Breakfast at The Kitchen; the Zip Code Guy; cupcakes at Tee & Cakes; walks on the path; cocktail-making classes at The Bitter Bar; shows at the Boulder Theater; the Boulder International Film Festival; sitting at the salumi bar at Frasca; the Taste of Pearl.

{LOCAL STUFF]

Best place to bathe in outdoorsiness:
The Lyons Outdoor Games, each June
Kayaking, biking and a 5K.

Best music option:
Bluegrass
With RockyGrass as a local holiday and Oskar Blues offering weekly grass jams, this is your new soundtrack.

Best indoor activity:
Antiquing
Sure, antiquing may not have the allure of climbing or mountain biking. But how often do you find cool vintage jewelry in the
great outdoors?

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Population: About 2,000

Number of pinball games at Lyons Classic Pinball: 37

Population increase between 2000 and 2009: 21 percent

Perks: Bouldering at Button Rock; picnicking in the parks along the St. Vrain: flyfishing in the St. Vrain; beer and burgers at Oskar Blues; sunset at Planet Bluegrass.

{LOCAL STUFF}

Best pre-show dinner:
Sugarbeet
Rustic yet upscale with bold,
lovely flavors.

Best place to nurse your post-ArtWalk hunger:
Pumphouse
A pint of Wildfire Wheat and
a flame-thrower burger.

Best place to nurture
your inner artist:
Crackpots
Bring the whole family
and get crafty.

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Longmont’s claim to fame: Charles Dickens’ relative was a civic leader here in the 1880s.

Year the Longmont Symphony Orchestra was founded: 1966

Who’s in charge: Longmont’s mayor is also a part-owner of the popular brewpub, The Pumphouse.

Perks: 3rd Street in the fall; getting a new pair at Brown’s Shoes; wine and apps at Terroir; coffee
at Ziggi’s.

Growing Gardens’ urban garden—several acres literally planted in the middle of the city—includes plots for residents, a children’s garden and Cultiva, two acres of organic produce planted, nurtured, harvested and sold at market by local teenagers.

Every summer, 50 Boulder-area kids get up at the crack of dawn two days a week to plant, weed, pick produce and get dirty in the sunshine. Proceeds from the sales of Cultiva harvests go to local families in need. The teens are paid for their time, and they learn lessons they won’t find at other summer jobs: from the basics of gardening and farming to teamwork, responsibility, commitment and hard work.

The kids earn cooking classes with local chefs, take nutrition classes and volunteer. Some of the participants work at the farmer’s market, selling the goods.

“They learn about food security issues and the value of physical labor,” said Ellie Goldberg, Cultiva coordinator. “They can gain appreciation for it. They can see and experience the rewards of their labor.”

Coordinators select participants who are not only committed and ready for the work but who will help make the groups well-rounded.

“Everyone is really nice. They are all happy to be outside and to be here,” said 15-year-old David Andrews. Both David and his older brother, Vaughn, 18, worked at Cultiva in 2010 and 2011.

The kids say they like the work—in the sunshine, the growing process, working together, being around other “cool kids”—and many suggest their experience was more than just a job: “It’s satisfying because I’m not just feeding a corporation with labor. I get to help out a non-profit. I get to be a part of this process,” 18-year-old Eric Norton, a college student and a youth leader at Cultiva. “It’s the best job I could have
right now.”

But the owners and operators of the home and garden call it a full-time job. Darren Green and Shawn Roehler have spent countless hours over the last decade and a half transforming the large corner lot from a grass-covered lawn to a green thumb’s Shangri-la with seeds of sentiment and soul.

“It’s becoming less and less grass. We are slowly expanding, and soon there won’t be any grass left,” Roehler laughed. “We just keep adding to it.”

Green grew up in the 1892-built bungalow (his family is only the third to live in the home), but never really focused on a garden, except for his grandmother’s roses. When Roehler moved in 15 years ago, they slowly cleaned up the backyard, leveled it out and started planting annuals by seed; Roehler works at Lafayette Florist as an accountant. They added a pond with kois, which has gone through several iterations before the current 4,500-gallon, 5-foot-deep pond. They started working on the front years later, and they planted the hell-strip last year.

The gardens continue to evolve: The back has a “haphazard” quality with layers of arrangements, while the front is intentional and planned with colors playing off the house. Throughout it all, they’ve added in plants and flowers that remind them of people and places: a tulip poplar for Roehler’s home state of Indiana, a “Heaven on Earth” rose for Green’s grandma, and tons of Roehler’s favorite:
annabelle hydrangea.

But it doesn’t come easy. The fellas spend their entire weekends working on the garden:

“For the garden tour, I spent three hours just weeding the hell strip,” Roehler said. Despite the time commitment—or maybe because of it—they see it as a de-stressor, a way to socialize with friends and a means of keeping up a sense of neighborly competition.

“We get to share it with friends,” Green said. “When people come by, we sit out here and talk and relax. It’s good for us. And everyone leaves with
a smile.”