THURSDAY 29th May
Chef Dean Neff, Executive Chef / Owner of Seabird (Wilmington, NC)
Chef Daniel Murray, Chef de Cuisine at Cypress Hall (New Bern, NC)
Chef Ricky Moore, Chef / Owner of Salt Box Seafood Joint, Durham, NC
Our Thursday dinner features two of the biggest hitters in the North Carolina culinary scene paired with one of the brightest upcoming talents. With multiple James Beard award nominations and an enduring commitment to North Carolina's seafood industry we are more than excited to see what this amazing collaboration comes up with.
DEAN NEFF
Dean Neff is the owner and chef of Seabird – the sustainable seafood restaurant and oyster bar devoted to celebrating North Carolina’s coast, as well as the new owner of Wilmington’s oldest seafood market – Zora’s Market & Kitchen.
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A James Beard Foundation “Outstanding Chef” Semi Finalist and Finalist and “Best Chef Southeast” nominee, Neff opened Seabird in Spring 2021 as his first solo venture with wife Lydia Clopton; in 2024, he took the reins at Zora’s Market & Kitchen. At Seabird, Neff offers “Seabirdie” oysters farmed by Holdfast Oyster Co. exclusively for Seabird, and changes the menu daily based on back door deliveries from coastal fishers, farmers and foragers.
Eater calls it “Essential” and named it the “Beach Restaurant of the Year.” Reader’s Digest, Hemispheres, The Local Palate and Garden & Gun praise it as one of THE reasons to visit Wilmington today; the Wall Street Journal and BuzzFeed’s “Worth It” have celebrated Seabird’s locally focused seafood tower and overall commitment to sustainable seafood.
Neff is an outspoken champion of North Carolina’s Oyster Trail, a regional council member for the Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC, and serves on the North Carolina Fish Consumption Advisory at Duke University. He is also an NC Catch Chef Ambassador
Follow @ChefDeanNeff and @SeabirdNC and visit Seabird to reserve for brunch and dinner, and visit Zora’s Market & Kitchen to purchase seafood and enjoy lunch to-go or at a picnic table outside.
RICKY MOORE
Ricky Moore is a James Beard Foundation award-winning American chef, entrepreneur, speaker and author with decades of restaurant and hospitality experience. Moore believes that ordinary, simple food can be extraordinary when executed at the highest level. Moore was born and raised on the inner banks of North Carolina in the coastal town of New Bern, where catching and eating fresh fish and shellfish is a way of life. He served as a cook in the US Army for seven years before graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in 1994 and working in some of the world’s most prestigious kitchens.
Moore opened SALTBOX Seafood Joint® in Durham, NC in 2012. Accolades in Garden & Gun, Travel + Leisure, The New York Times, The Washington Post and Forbes followed. In 2019, Moore debuted the SALTBOX Seafood Joint® Cookbook – with 60 recipes celebrating his coastal culinary heritage.
In 2020, as one of the region’s most admired chefs, Moore received his first James Beard nomination. In 2022, he was awarded the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef Southeast. In 2025, Moore was named a semifinalist of the James Beard Foundation's national Outstanding Chef Award.
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Website: https://www.chefrickymoore.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chefrickymoore
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chefrickymoore
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@chefrickymoore
DANIEL MURRAY
Daniel Murray is the Chef de Cuisine at Cypress Hall in New Bern, North Carolina. For the past 11 years, he has cooked in Ohio and Texas, and in North Carolina since 2018. Daniel was first inspired by Bud Taylor at The Bistro in Topsail Island, where he began working with local fisherman and farmers. Then, he spent time under Jamie Davis, at The Hackney in Washington, NC. Another champion for all things local, Chef Jamie also inspired him to continue to develop working relationships with his local contacts, and push himself everyday to be better.
Daniel took all that inspiration and advice to Cypress Hall in 2019 where he continues to work with many local purveyors, allowing him to focus on the seasonality of ingredients and highlight the best of North Carolina on the plate.
One of his favorite ingredients to work with is NC Oysters. Each oyster is unique and tells a story on the plate of where it comes from and about the farmer who raised it. “I learned early on that oysters are more than food, they are tradition, community, and storytelling all wrapped in a shell.”
Growing up near the water in Florida, Daniel forged an early relationship with seafood. He was always fishing and learning how to break down fish and how to properly cook them. He recalls his first dish was fried bluegill with instant grits. It became his passion then, and continues to this day.
The past year has been one of tremendous growth and development, as he continues to hone his skills. He is excited about a future project that will feature North Carolina’s vast bounty of seafood.
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Daniel is an NC Catch Chef Ambassador
THE EVENT - WHAT TO EXPECT
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Arrive from 5:30pm for cocktails and canapes.
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During this time you will enjoy three different canapes (one from each chef)
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Dinner starts at 6:30pm - with each chef presenting their courses, our amazing seafood suppliers will also present to educate about the featured seafood.
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Dinner consists of four Courses​ in addition to the canapes
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​Cost $175 per ticket includes tax and tip, only 40 tickets per night
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Wine Pairing +$30 and cocktails both available to purchase on the night.