Whether you’re visiting, studying or living in Durham, you’ve likely taken time to experience The Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club and its onsite restaurant, The Fairview Dining Room. This week, Duke University unveiled a brand new hotel across the street, The JB Duke Hotel, with its own chef and modern dining facility.
The major difference between the two properties is the feel: The Fairview Dining Room has a statelier traditional Southern atmosphere, whereas the JB Duke Hotel is a more modern stylistic ambiance. The JB Duke’s dining facility, otherwise known as The MarketPlace, is an open, modern and inviting space that is station oriented for food service. This includes soup, salad and sandwich stations, dessert stations, entrée stations and chef action stations.
We asked JB Duke Hotel’s executive chef, Erik Lampe, a few questions about what to expect at the new hotel restaurant.
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BBC: What type of cuisine will the restaurant serve? Will it change seasonally?
CHEF LAMPE: I like to describe it as, “contemporary Southern with international accents.” The MarketPlace cycle menu changes daily and is reflective of the seasonal preference. The Lobby Bar and Barista Bar will also change frequently based on seasonality and product availability.
BBC: Is there a particular cuisine you specialize in? Can you name a couple of signature dishes?
CHEF LAMPE: I am a classically trained chef with experience in multiple regional cuisines. My style is an accumulation of techniques from these experiences that focus on utilizing regional and sustainable products. Some signature dishes from my past include sautéed halibut with roasted fennel, couscous, and red pepper/Kalamata olive tapenade; roasted pork tenderloin with sweet potato dumplings and bourbon sorghum sauce; falafel wraps on naan with romaine hearts, pickled root vegetables, cucumber onion and spicy harissa sauces. My experiences from fine dining to current trends in today’s casual fare blend well with the multiple concepts at the JB Duke Hotel.
In addition to serving as chef de cuisine and chef de partie at a AAA Five Diamond and Mobile Four Star-rated restaurant, my experience includes serving as executive chef for military and private clubs, upscale hotels, university and conference centers.
BBC: I imagine the dining room will be popular with guests from the hotel, but how you plan to attract the community to dine at the JB Duke Hotel as well?
CHEF LAMPE: First impressions are key, and we plan to exceed the expectations of each and every guest that walks in. The JB Duke Hotel’s well-trained staff will provide the guests with an outstanding, quality dining experience.
The MarketPlace, will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner Monday through Friday, breakfast and lunch on Saturday, and breakfast on Sunday. The Lobby Bar will feature an a la carte menu with small plate options and be open every day of the week from 4 p.m. until closing. The Barista Bar will feature popular items such as danishes, muffins, yogurt, coffee and juices from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m., and will transition to more traditional a la carte menu selections at 11 a.m. until closing. Reservations are encouraged but not required.
Bites of Bull City will be sharing an inside look at the space during a media tour next week – follow along on Instagram to get a glimpse.
Tobin says
Will there be easy parking for community folks to come and dine? I think that would be key in attracting non-Duke and non-hotel people to dine there.
magnoliawriting@gmail.com says
All visitors/diners at the hotel can park in the convenient Science Drive parking deck right next to the hotel. I’m not sure if they offer any kind of parking validation for dining.