You may not be a famous Charlotte chef, but now you can cook like one
What do Charlotte restaurants Barrington’s, Good Food on Montford, Stagioni and the soon-to-open NC Red all have in common? The answer: award-winning Charlotte chef Bruce Moffett.
Moffett has now acclimated to the South but still loves the chill of an early Rhode Island snow. His New England roots are the base and inspiration for the food on his Charlotte table, his restaurant management style and the recipes in this chef’s new cookbook, “Bruce Moffett Cooks.”
For Moffett, dining out is as much about the experience as it is the quality and characteristics of the cuisine. To that end, each of his restaurants has its own individual style. The common thread is an unbeatable attention to detail in terms of food, service and atmosphere.
At each restaurant, menus are seasonally driven and feature local farmers, fisherman and artisan producers. The secret to Moffett’s longevity, success and ability to grow from one successful restaurant to four — and soon-to-be-five — is Moffett’s restaurant-management style.
Maintaining a quality of life for everyone involved is as important to him as the food on the plate. As a result, the team at the Moffett Restaurant Group is a close family, many working with the group for as long as Moffett has been in Charlotte. These talented chefs and culinarians each understand Moffett’s original mission that farm fresh ingredients and the food that results are to be celebrated and enjoyed.
It all started with the opening of Barrington’s, Moffett’s flagship restaurant here, in 2000. The tiny 40+ seat dining room continues to do big business and is continually mentioned in “best of” and “award-winning” lists, with good reason.
Barrington’s has always been home base for Moffett. But with 4 restaurants and one coming soon, plus the new cookbook, Moffett recently decided to take himself off the line and out of the kitchen at Barrington’s, freeing himself up to make rounds and visit each of his restaurants from night to night.
With Moffett’s move, Chef Jason Newman — his former chef de cuisine — has stepped up to the executive chef position at Barrington’s.
This evening, Moffett celebrates the launch of his new cookbook at two back-to-back media events held at Barrington’s in the Foxcroft East Shopping Center at 7822 Fairview Road in Charlotte.
“Bruce Moffett Cooks,” was written with Keia Mastrianni and edited with Cat Carter and Michael Graff. The photos are by Charlotte photographer Stefanie Haviv. Published by UNC Press in Chapel Hill, the book is the story of a New England born and bred chef who finds himself running a kitchen (or two or three or four) in Charlotte, a city best known for traditional Southern cuisine.
The recipes included are some of Moffett’s favorites from Barrington’s, Good Food and Stagioni menus gone by, plus recipes he remembers from his childhood. The book is dedicated to his mother and grandmother, the women who first taught him how to cook.
Aside from outstanding recipes you will want to try your hand at, the stories between the culinary notes are a great read. They pay tribute to the farmers, friends and family who are all a part of Moffett’s journey.
The cookbooks are available in area bookstores, on Amazon and at each of Moffett’s Charlotte restaurants.
Meet the other Moffett Group Restaurant gems
The inspiration for flavors on the Good Food menu come from around the world. Good Food on Montford was Moffett’s second restaurant in the Queen City, and it’s currently led by Executive Chef Larry Schreiber.
Later this summer, Schreiber will leave the kitchen at Good Food, 1701 Montford Drive, to open Bao & Broth. With Schreiber’s move, Chef Kiran Gonzales will become the executive chef at Good Food on Montford, where tapas-style small plates feature a host of flavors from around the world. In 2010, Good Food was a James Beard nominee for Best New Restaurant in the South.
Moffett’s ode to traditional Italian cuisine and a bit of the history of Charlotte is Stagioni: Four Seasons of Food.
This Italian restaurant opened in the Myers Park neighborhood in the historic Villa at 715 Providence Road. As he has done in each of his restaurants, Moffett paid homage to the location’s roots in planning the space, and the interiors at Stagioni were restored to their original historic splendor.
On the menu: Classic Italian favorites served with a locally sourced twist that changes with each season of harvest. Favorites include the handmade pasta dishes, wood-fired pizzas and slow-roasted meats.
Executive chef Eric Ferguson leads the team at Stagioni. After the pasta, the pizza and the deliciously rich, braised meats, be sure to leave room for dessert. These lightly powdered-sugar-dusted zeppoli are sure to satisfy any sweet tooth.
But that’s not all. Later this month, look for the much anticipated opening of NC Red, Moffett’s newest restaurant concept, at 1921 Commonwealth Ave in Plaza Midwood. It will be a blend of New England food and flavors inspired by what he grew up with in his hometown of Barrington, Rhode Island, all made with Southern-inspired and sourced ingredients.
[Related: Here’s what to expect at N.C. Red, opening in Plaza Midwood this March]
The menu at NC Red features lots of seafood and shellfish — grilled, baked and fried; two styles of fried chicken, biscuits, pickles and more, including several versions of New England chowder.
Chef Andrew Dodd, formally the chef at Stagioni, will be the executive chef. Originally from Nashville, Dodd has his own spin on Nashville hot chicken on the menu; and, in what may be a playful nod to The Penguin, the original tenant of the well-known Plaza Midwood location, there are fried pickled green tomatoes on NC Red’s list of fixins.
On the horizon, Bao + Broth will be opening late summer at the new Tompkins Hall in Optimist Park on Brevard Street.
This restaurant is a collaborative effort between chefs Schreiber and Moffett and will feature the popular steamed buns and ramen that often make appearances on the menu at Good Food on Montford.
This story was originally published March 12, 2019 at 8:01 PM with the headline "You may not be a famous Charlotte chef, but now you can cook like one."