27 Views

Bridgette Lacy knows her tomatoes. She was indoctrinated at an early age, when her grandfather would shower her family with plump tomatoes he grew in his garden. Come July, young Bridgette looked forward to tomatoes for lunch, dinner, and even breakfast. Fast-forward to Bridgette Lacy, popular features writer at the News and Observer in Raleigh. There she was introduced to the unofficial summer holiday: Mater Day. She’s been observing it ever since.

Bridgette Lacy’s story, “Mater Day,” was featured in the anthology, The Carolina Table: North Carolina Writers on Food, published by Eno Publishers. Bridgette is the publicist for Blair, a regional book publisher. She is a seasoned communicator, an award-winning journalist, and a publicist with a breadth of experience. She is former media relations manager for the North Carolina Arts Council and served as a longtime features writer for the News & Observer in Raleigh. She's the author of Sunday Dinner, a part of the Savor the South series by UNC Press. That title was a finalist for the Pat Conroy Cookbook Prize. Bridgette is a contributor to 27 Views of Raleigh: The City of Oaks in Prose & Poetry, published by Eno. She also is a contributor to All the Songs We Sing: Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Carolina African American Writers' Collective, which was published by Blair. Her work has appeared in Our State, Salt, and O.Henry magazines.

When writer Michael Malone moved back to his native North Carolina, he discovered that fiction came pouring out of him, as did other creative pursuits—plays, songs, imaginative parties, and fundraisers. He was the impresario the small, formerly quiet town of Hillsborough had been waiting for. Among the work inspired by his new hometown was a young adult (YA) story, entitled “Uncle Tatlock and the Town Clock.” Set in a fictionalized version of Hillsborough, the story explores a small town’s past, from its revolutionary roots, to its Civil War surrender, to its contemporary complications and small victories. The town clock has been through it all.

Michael Malone was the author of 12 internationally acclaimed novels, including the classic Handling Sin; Dingley Falls; Fool’s Cap; and The Four Corners of the Sky. He also wrote the popular “Hillston” mysteries, set in a small North Carolina town. The three novels are narrated by two incompatible Piedmont homicide detectives, Justin Savile V and Cuddy Mangum, who over their years of working together forge a close friendship. Michael also published a collection of short stories, entitled Red Clay, Blue Cadillac, as well as two books of nonfiction, one on American movies, one on Jungian psychology. His television writing credits include daytime dramas on ABC, NBC, and Fox. His stories, essays, and criticism have appeared in a wide range of publications, including The Wilson Quarterly, Mademoiselle, Harper’s, The New York Times, The Nation, The Partisan Review, and Playboy. His short works have often been included in anthologies, and his novels have been translated into many languages. Michael also wrote plays, songs, and poems. Among the many prizes he was awarded over his career are the O Henry, the Edgar, the Writers Guild Award, and an Emmy for ABC’s “One Life to Live,” where he was head writer for nearly a decade. He taught at Yale, the University of Pennsylvania, and Swarthmore. Most recently, he was a professor in the theater and English departments at Duke University.

His story, “Uncle Tatlock and the Town Clock,” is a young-adult prequel to his novel, The Last Noel. The Tatlock story appears in Eno Publishers’s anthology, 27 Views of Hillsborough: A Southern Town in Prose & Poetry.

Michael died in August 2022 at the age of 79.

The Lloyd family reunion was, and still is, a summertime ritual for chef and cookbook author Nancie McDermott. Generations have gathered for over a century in rural Orange County for an afternoon of feasting and visiting. Nancie savors the dishes, the shared experience, and the meaningful connection with her big extended family.

Nancie McDermott has published fourteen cookbooks, most of which are based on the cuisines of Asia and of the American South. Among her books are the award-winning Southern Cakes: Sweet and Irresistible Recipes for Everyday Celebrations; Real Thai: The Best of Thailand's Regional Cooking; and Fruit: A Savor the South Cookbook. A North Carolina native, Nancie grew up watching her maternal grandmother cook and bake in her dairy farm kitchen. It sold her on the idea of the kitchen being a fun, fascinating lab for creating and playing, a place made for celebration and connection. Her interest in Asian food was inspired by the three years she spent as a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand. She has published articles in Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, Fine Cooking, and other publications. Her cover story for Southern Living was nominated for a much-coveted James Beard award. Her television appearances include playing the role of cake historian on Alton Brown’s “Good Eats,” on the Food Network; leading Thai market tours on the Discovery Channel; regular appearances on "Hallmark Home & Family"; and video cooking classes for Craftsy.com. Her essay “The Family Reunion” is included in Eno Publishers’ anthology, The Carolina Table: North Carolina Writers on Food. Nancie lives with her family in Chapel Hill, in a house with a productive and sometimes-messy kitchen, and a garden where okra, basil, Armenian cucumbers, and lemongrass thrive.

Chef Bill Smith worked in the kitchen at Chapel Hill’s famous Crook’s Corner for 25 years. He talks about foraging for honeysuckle and blackberries on the local bike path, his mostly friendly exchanges with other bike path regulars, and the work of keeping Crook’s Latino kitchen staff safe through the Trump years and the pandemic.

Bill Smith is the retired chef of the now-defunct Crook’s Corner, considered by many Chapel Hill’s most famous restaurant and one of the most innovative kitchens in the South. Bill is the author of several cookbooks, including Seasoned in the South: Recipes & Stories from Crook’s Corner and from Home, and Crabs & Oysters: A Savor the South Cookbook. He is the 2022 recipient of the Southern Foodways Alliance Craig Claiborne Lifetime Achievement Award. He was twice nominated for best chef in the U.S. by the James Beard Foundation, and was that organization’s American Classics Award winner in 2011. Bill was a co-founder of Chapel Hill/Carrboro’s famous Cat’s Cradle music club, which he still frequents. For years he worked hard to help his immigrant co-workers in the Crook's kitchen: He helped them get green cards, obtain passports for their American-born children, and avoid ICE raids and deportation. For those out of work during the pandemic, he spearheaded efforts to pay rent, put food on the table, and keep the electricity on.

Georgia Carroll was a supermodel in the 1930s, a Hollywood star in the 1940s, and a Chapel Hill resident from the 1950s until her death in 2011. How did this glamorous young woman end up in Tarheel country? Cookbook author and designer Moreton Neal remembers the late Georgia Carroll Kyser, her generosity, her leadership, and her precisely decorated Christmas tree.

Born and raised in Brookhaven, Mississippi, Moreton Neal learned to cook at her grandmother’s knee, and learned to eat well in New Orleans. With Bill Neal, whom she met and married while they were students at Duke University, she opened La Residence, the first fine-dining restaurant of its kind in North Carolina. After leaving the restaurant business, Moreton wrote a cookbook/memoir entitled Remembering Bill Neal: Favorite Recipes from a Life in Cooking, as well as numerous articles for magazines and other publications. For many years, Moreton was the food editor of Raleigh Metro Magazine, and hosted a lifestyle radio talk show called “Better Living.” She continues to write a recipe column entitled “Joyous Cooking” for Chapel Hill Magazine, and to design interior spaces for her clients.