Ricky Moore is an American chef who owns Saltbox Seafood Joint in

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

. He won the

James Beard Foundation Award The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media awar ...

for Best Chef: Southeast in 2022

Early life, education, and military service

Ricky Moore was born at

Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point or MCAS Cherry Point (*) is a United States Marine Corps airfield located in Havelock, North Carolina, United States, in the eastern part of the state. It was built in 1941, and was commissioned in 1942 an ...

, and by the age of seven had lived in Germany, Kentucky, and Texas because of his father's military career. Moore was exposed to German cooking when he lived in Europe. Growing up in New Bern, he fished and crabbed, and wanted to become an artist. In high school, a

home economics Home economics, also called domestic science or family and consumer sciences (often shortened to FCS or FACS), is a subject concerning human development, personal and family finances, consumer issues, housing and interior design, nutrition and f ...

class helped from discover his passion for cooking. Moore graduated from

New Bern High School New Bern High School is a high school in New Bern, North Carolina. The student population is approximately 1,700, and there are 165 faculty and staff members. The student-teacher ratio is approximately 14:1. Sports Athletic teams overview The ...

in 1987, then enlisted in the military at the age of 18. He was initially a

paratrooper A paratrooper or military parachutist is a soldier trained to conduct military operations by parachuting directly into an area of operations, usually as part of a large airborne forces unit. Traditionally paratroopers fight only as light infa ...

and later served as a cook in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. After seven years in the army, he graduated from

The Culinary Institute of America The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) is a Private university, private culinary school with its main campus in Hyde Park, New York, and branch campuses in St. Helena, California, St. Helena and Napa, California; San Antonio, Texas; and Singa ...

in 1994.

Career

Following his culinary education, Moore interned and worked in commercial kitchens in Asia (Singapore), Europe, the Middle East, and North America. Restaurants have included Charlie Trotter's, Equinox and Frontera Grill, IndeBleu, Le Tarbouche, Lespinasse, Tru (Chicago), and Vidalia. In France, Moore worked at Apicius with Jean-Pierre Vigato and Le Violin d'Ingres with Christian Constant in Paris, as well as Le Cerf with Michel Husser in

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

. He also worked Cuisine of India with Shishir Sharma in Toronto. In New York, he interned at

Daniel Daniel commonly refers to: * Daniel (given name), a masculine given name and a surname * List of people named Daniel * List of people with surname Daniel * Daniel (biblical figure) * Book of Daniel, a biblical apocalypse, "an account of the acti ...

in Manhattan and the

Westchester Country Club Westchester Country Club is a private country club located in Harrison, New York. Founded in 1922 as a destination for sportsmen, it was known to professional golfers and spectators for more than four decades as the home of the Westchester Cla ...

in the

Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley or Hudson River Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The region stretches from the Capital District (New York), Capital District includi ...

. In North Carolina, he worked at Glasshalfull in Carrboro and was the first executive chef at Giorgio's in Cary. Moore has been an instructor at the Washburne Culinary Institute's Parrot Cage Restaurant and executive chef of Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants' South Water Kitchen. He was executive chef of Agraia in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, as of 2007. Moore competed against

Michael Symon Michael D. Symon (born September 19, 1969) is an American chef, restaurateur, television personality, and author. He is seen regularly on Food Network on shows such as ''Iron Chef America'', ''Burgers, Brew and 'Que, Food Feuds'', and ''The Bes ...

on ''

Iron Chef America ''Iron Chef America'' is an American cooking show based on Fuji Television's ''Iron Chef'', and is the second American adaptation of the series, following the failed ''Iron Chef USA'' that aired in 2001. The show is produced by Food Network, wh ...

'', and has been featured in the magazines ''

Garden & Gun ''Garden & Gun'' is a national magazine focusing on the Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is Lis ...

'', '' Our State'', and ''

Travel + Leisure Travel + Leisure Co. (formerly Wyndham Destinations, Inc., and Wyndham Worldwide Corporation) is an American timeshare company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. It develops, sells, and manages timeshare properties under several vacation owners ...

''. He is the owner of Saltbox Seafood Joint, which originally opened in

in 2012. Moore published his first

cookbook A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes. Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food. Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (food), course (appetize ...

(''Saltbox Seafood Joint Cookbook'') in 2019. According to Tina Adkins of the '' Sun Journal'', the book has 60 recipes "celebrating his coastal culinary heritage". He also filmed the documentary miniseries ''The Hook'' for the

public broadcasting Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive f ...

network

PBS North Carolina The University of North Carolina Center for Public Media, branded on-air as PBS North Carolina or commonly PBS NC, is a public television network serving the state of North Carolina. It is operated by the University of North Carolina system, whic ...

. Moore was named a "local food champion" by the North Carolina Local Food Council in 2019. In 2020, he was a

semi-finalist in the Best Chef: Southeast category. He also received $25,000 as part of the foundation's '#EatItForward' campaign for Black-owned restaurateurs. Moore won the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef: Southeast in 2022. Additionally, he has been named "Best Chef in the Triangle" by ''

Indy Week ''Indy Week'', formerly known as the ''Independent Weekly'' and originally the ''North Carolina Independent'', is a tabloid-format alternative weekly newspaper published in Durham, North Carolina, United States, and distributed throughout the Re ...

''. In 2025, Moore was named a semifinalist of the James Beard Foundation's Outstanding Chef award.

Personal life

Moore and his wife Norma have been married for 30 years and live in Chapel Hill, as of 2022. The couple met while Moore was stationed in Hawaii, and have two children (daughter Hunter and son Greyson). Moore displays a collection of filet knives from around the world in his kitchen.

Publications

References

External links

Chef Q&A: Ricky Moore at Saltbox Seafood Joint
Discover Durham (January 13, 2017)
The "Best Chef in the Triangle" Talks Carolina Cooking
''Coastwatch'' (Winter 2019)
An Evangelist for Bonefish: On the Hook with Ricky Moore
''Southern Cultures'',

Center for the Study of the American South The Center for the Study of the American South (CSAS) is an academic organization dedicated to the study of " southern history, literature, and culture as well as ongoing social, political, and economic issues" at the University of North Carolin ...