Moreton & Bill Neal
Moreton Neal and Bill Neal graduated college with a desire to change the world. A sidelight—cooking for faculty while in graduate school—turned into influential careers in the food business. And their shared vision did, indeed, change the culinary and dining world. Together, the Neals, who met as undergraduates at Duke, fueled the renaissance of fine dining in the South, nurtured appreciation for traditional
Southern foods, and gave rise to the locally sourced, seasonal cuisine movement. Bill began his career as an apprentice cook at the Danziger family’s famed Villa Teo. Moreton started cooking under a French chef at Durham’s Hope Valley Country Club. In 1975, they decided to open their first restaurant, La Residence, a fine dining establishment featuring local ingredients infused into traditional French and Mediterranean fare. The original eatery was in the main house of a local farm, now The Fearrington House. In 1977, they relocated
to 220 West Rosemary Street, then later to 202 West Rosemary, where the restaurant still operates. Moreton ran “La Res,” which
was named one of the 100 best restaurants in the nation by Travel/Holiday and Gourmet magazines, until 1992.
Bill left in 1982 to launch Crook’s Corner, which focused on traditional Southern dishes. Crook’s quickly became a favorite
of locals and out-of-towners and arose as the standard-bearer for the Southern food revival. Vaunted culinary writer Craig Claiborne declared Bill “a genius at the stove,” and helped propel Bill’s Southern Cooking cookbook into a must-read for home cooks and professional chefs alike. The James Beard Foundation named Crook’s one of America’s Classic restaurants in 2011. The Neals’ eloquence when it comes to talking and writing about food is well documented. Bill authored several cookbooks and Moreton is also an author and food writer with columns and a long running radio show to her credit. Their restaurants were training grounds for many of the most celebrated Southern chefs: Ben Barker of Durham’s Magnolia Grill; Robert Stehling of Charleston’s Hominy Grill; John Currence of Oxford’s City Grocery; Bill Smith, who took over the Crook’s kitchen in 1992. And their own son, Matt, who runs Neal’s Deli in Carrboro with wife Sheila.
For launching two landmark restaurants, nurturing culinary talent and setting lasting trends in the culinary arts, we are proud to induct Moreton Neal and Bill Neal into the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Business Hall of Fame.
Southern foods, and gave rise to the locally sourced, seasonal cuisine movement. Bill began his career as an apprentice cook at the Danziger family’s famed Villa Teo. Moreton started cooking under a French chef at Durham’s Hope Valley Country Club. In 1975, they decided to open their first restaurant, La Residence, a fine dining establishment featuring local ingredients infused into traditional French and Mediterranean fare. The original eatery was in the main house of a local farm, now The Fearrington House. In 1977, they relocated
to 220 West Rosemary Street, then later to 202 West Rosemary, where the restaurant still operates. Moreton ran “La Res,” which
was named one of the 100 best restaurants in the nation by Travel/Holiday and Gourmet magazines, until 1992.
Bill left in 1982 to launch Crook’s Corner, which focused on traditional Southern dishes. Crook’s quickly became a favorite
of locals and out-of-towners and arose as the standard-bearer for the Southern food revival. Vaunted culinary writer Craig Claiborne declared Bill “a genius at the stove,” and helped propel Bill’s Southern Cooking cookbook into a must-read for home cooks and professional chefs alike. The James Beard Foundation named Crook’s one of America’s Classic restaurants in 2011. The Neals’ eloquence when it comes to talking and writing about food is well documented. Bill authored several cookbooks and Moreton is also an author and food writer with columns and a long running radio show to her credit. Their restaurants were training grounds for many of the most celebrated Southern chefs: Ben Barker of Durham’s Magnolia Grill; Robert Stehling of Charleston’s Hominy Grill; John Currence of Oxford’s City Grocery; Bill Smith, who took over the Crook’s kitchen in 1992. And their own son, Matt, who runs Neal’s Deli in Carrboro with wife Sheila.
For launching two landmark restaurants, nurturing culinary talent and setting lasting trends in the culinary arts, we are proud to induct Moreton Neal and Bill Neal into the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Business Hall of Fame.