Important Links:

Listen to Bill Smith read his story, “Notes From the Bike Path,” from the anthology, 27 Views of Chapel Hill: A Southern Town in Prose & Poetry:

Bill Smith in Our State.

Nothing Could Be Finer

Bill Smith interview in The Bitter Southerner
Bill Smith interview

To purchase 27 Views of Chapel Hill, click below:

Music for this episode is entitled “Carolina Heart,” by the group, Heartland Nights; available on Soundstripe:

Carolina Heart

Season Two, Episode 11: Show Notes

Picking Honeysuckle With Chef Bill Smith

Life on the Bike Path & in the Crooks Kitchen

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.

The Recipe

Honeysuckle Sorbet

(Makes about 2 quarts)

4 cups honeysuckle flowers, tightly packed, but not smashed, stems and leaves discarded. The little green thing on the end of each flower is ok.

5 ½ cups cool water for the flowers

1 1/3 cups water for the syrup

2 cups sugar

A few drops of freshly squeezed lemon juice

The merest speck of ground cinnamon

Place the flowers in the cool water in a non-reactive container (like glass or stainless steel). Weigh down with a plate and let them stand on the counter overnight. Meanwhile, make a syrup of the rest of the water and the sugar by mixing them together and boiling them until the sugar is dissolved and it begins to thicken a little, about five minutes maximum. Cool completely. The next day, strain the infusion from the flowers and combine it with the syrup. Stir together with the lemon juice and the cinnamon. (I use the tip of a very sharp boning knife to measure the cinnamon. You don’t really want to taste it but you can tell if you’ve left it out.) Churn in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Store in your freezer but keep in mind that the flavor will fade after a time and you will be left with sugary ice.

Bio—

Bill Smith is the retired chef of the now-defunct Crook’s Corner, considered by many to have been 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, a place he still frequents. He worked hard to help immigrants who for years were his co-workers in the Crooks kitchen. He helped them get green cards, passports for their American-born children, avoid ICE raids and possibilities of deportation. For the immigrants who found themselves out of work during the pandemic, he spearheaded efforts to pay their rent, put food on the table, and keep the electricity on.