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.