DURHAM, N.C. / AGILITYPR.NEWS / March 01, 2022 / Former chef and owner of Durham's Four Square Restaurant now leads a collaborative kitchen

at The Durham, the mid-century modern boutique hotel.

Executive chef Shane Ingram leads a collaborative kitchen at The Durham, a boutique hotel in downtown Durham now serving an ever-evolving seasonal menu of American classics and regional specialties.

Chef Ingram is known for the award-winning Four Square Restaurant, a pillar of fine dining in Durham for 17 years, earning many accolades and a loyal following for its excellent service and a dynamic menu that changed monthly based on local ingredients. Ingram felt compelled to accept the executive chef position at The Durham in order to share his decades of culinary skills and knowledge with The Durham’s talented crew of chefs — some new to the profession and others experienced. Ingram is launching a program in connection with the nation’s top culinary schools to develop The Durham as a training ground for the next generation of culinary and hospitality talent. Ingram came to North Carolina after working for some of the nation’s best and most well-known chefs: Emeril Lagasse at Emeril’s restaurant in New Orleans, the late Charlie Trotter at Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago and Patrick O’Connell at the Inn at Little Washington.

“My goal is to provide a learning atmosphere that is fun and joyful and contributes to Durham’s already legendary dining scene,” Ingram said. “The Durham Hotel is the perfect place to both teach and learn with its restaurant, rooftop, coffee bar and extensive event spaces offering endless possibilities for young chefs to be creative and learn.”

Since last spring, Ingram has mentored the hotel’s tight-knit food and beverage staff as they continued to weather the pandemic. Ingram and the kitchen team have created a constantly evolving menu of elevated fare made with the bounty of produce, meats, cheeses and seafood from local and regional farms and purveyors. Recent menu highlights include Baked Flounder stuffed with Country Ham Mousse; New York Strip Steak with Caramelized Onions and Peppers, Crispy Potatoes and a House Worcestershire; and creative vegetarian offerings, such as Phyllo-wrapped Goat Cheese with Golden Beet Vinaigrette and Broccoli Rabe and Winter Squash Birria with Crispy Chickpeas, Cilantro and Radish.

In the late 1990s, Ingram and his wife, Elizabeth Woodhouse, came to The Triangle. Ingram worked as executive chef at The Fearrington House, a Relais & Chateaux property in Pittsboro, and Woodhouse worked at Second Empire Restaurant in Raleigh. In 1999, the couple purchased and renovated the Bartlett Mangum House, a 1908 Greek Revival mansion off Chapel Hill Road. They opened Four Square with Ingram in the kitchen and Woodhouse as the general manager. Four Square Restaurant earned a reputation as a culinary destination, receiving a AAA Four Diamond designation from 2001-2016 and numerous Wine Spectator awards for its fine dining, upscale service and wine list. In 2010 and 2011, respectively, Ingram opened the popular modern, fine dining restaurant, One, in Chapel Hill’s Meadowmont community, and G2B gastropub in Durham.

The Restaurant at The Durham is open for breakfast seven days a week, weekday lunch, weekend brunch and dinner Thursday-Monday. The Rooftop at The Durham is currently open for small plates and cocktails Tuesday-Saturday evenings but hours will increase with warmer weather. For more information and current hours, visit thedurham.com or follow @thedurhamhotel on Instagram or facebook.com/thedurhamhotel.

ABOUT THE DURHAM: The Durham is a boutique hotel that has become a community and cultural hub in downtown Durham since opening in 2015. The only independently owned and locally operated downtown Durham hotel offers 53 thoughtfully appointed rooms, including six suites, an upscale restaurant, coffee bar and rooftop lounge as well as private event space for weddings, business meetings and community events. Numerous regional, national and international publications have featured the property including Architectural Digest, The New York Times, Garden & Gun, Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, Saveur, Travel + Leisure, Southern Living, Monocle, Conde Nast Traveler, Tasting Table, Departures, Wallpaper, Surface and NBC’s Today Show.