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After 13 years as head chef and founder of Durham restaurant Saltbox, Moore has been nominated for the prestigious James Beard Outstanding Chef award. "“I feel–I feel a little bit tickled every now and again with that recognition,” he says.
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Photo Essay: Saltbox Seafood Receives James Beard Award Nomination
As a young man, Ricky Moore grew up immersed in crabbing, fishing and shrimping culture. He points to seafood as an early source of joy and human connection.
“My earliest memory is going fishing with my grandmother with a bamboo pole with a line at the end. That’s the earliest sort of reference or expression that I experienced, and it was very innocent. It was time spent with my grandma.”
Decades later, he has found a way to channel this knowledge and memory into building community around seafood. Moore founded Saltbox with the mission of shining a spotlight on the flavors of North Carolina’s coast.
“My original location was to be a platform to showcase those non celebrated species that are just as delicious as flounder, shrimp or oysters,” he said. “I was I was trying to share this idea that we’re blessed here in this state with a coastline that has a bountiful amount of seafood that we should be enjoying.”
Moore hopes to help educate the Durham community about which fish are in season.
“I kind of felt like there was an opportunity to showcase the untraditional offerings… things like sheep’s head, like butterfish, blue fish, Spanish Mackeral, King Mackeral.”
Maria, who works in Moore’s kitchen, prepares a dish for a young couple.
After 13 years as head chef and founder of Durham restaurant Saltbox, Moore has been nominated for the prestigious James Beard Outstanding Chef award. “I feel–I feel a little bit tickled every now and again with that recognition,” he says.
Saltbox’s spicy mahi plate is smokey and tender, a warm peppery kick alongside delicate, crispy-skinned sliced potatoes. Moore’s sweet tea sings with citrus. Its full-bodied vibrance evokes southern Sun Tea, as if brewed for hours on a mother’s back porch.
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