Chef Melanie Wilkerson, a Durham, N.C. native, recently returned to the community where she was raised, to take on the role of executive chef of the Counting House restaurant at 21c Museum Hotel Durham, which includes a 125-room boutique hotel and a contemporary art museum. The hotel’s building is a 1930s, historic, art deco structure that was once a department store and bank (the vault and safety deposit boxes still exist today).
At Counting House, Wilkerson oversees a dining experience that highlights locally inspired cuisine and Carolina seafood. She said coming home to Durham in late 2024 (after working in Wales and California) to take on the executive chef role is an honor that’s both humbling and motivating.
“Leading a restaurant in a space like 21c—where art, history, and hospitality collide—gives me the platform to showcase Durham to the world,” shared Wilkerson. “It’s also personal: I get to tell the story of my hometown through the menu, while also mentoring the next generation of cooks who call this city home.”
Wilkerson explained that Counting House at 21c Museum is a collision of experiences. “Being housed in a former bank turned museum hotel means we’re constantly surrounded by stories of reinvention, and I like to think the menu reflects that. It’s a Southern restaurant at heart, but it pulls inspiration from global flavors and techniques, inviting guests to experience Durham through a modern lens.”
According to Wilkerson, Counting House is memorable because guests come for a meal but find themselves engaging with world-class contemporary art and a sense of Durham’s cultural heartbeat. “That duality—being both a local dining room and an international destination—creates moments people don’t forget,” she said.
Counting House: A Love Letter to Durham and a Beacon for Visitors
Wilkerson personally loves working in this industry because every day is about creating moments that people carry with them. “For me, the joy is twofold: The artistry of transforming raw ingredients into something meaningful, and the leadership of mentoring young cooks—many of whom are experiencing kitchens as safe, creative spaces for the first time,” she said. “Hospitality is unpredictable and demanding, but it constantly teaches me patience, humility, and innovation.”
At Counting House, Wilkerson’s overall goal is to create a restaurant that’s simultaneously a love letter to Durham and a beacon for visitors. “I want locals to feel ownership—that this is their place—and I want travelers to leave understanding a piece of our city’s spirit,” she said, noting that Durham has a rhythm unlike anywhere else.
“It’s fiercely local, unapologetically creative, and deeply tied to history,” said Wilkerson, speaking about Durham. “The food and beverage scene reflects that—it’s collaborative rather than competitive. You can taste the city’s past and future in one bite. Being a chef here means I’m not just feeding guests; I’m contributing to the narrative of a city that built itself on resilience and reinvention.”
Wilkerson said community is woven into every decision she makes at Counting House, much like the spirit of Durham. “From sourcing ingredients with local farmers to featuring regional traditions on the menu, we’re not just a restaurant in Durham—we’re a restaurant of Durham,” she said.
The restaurant also has community partnerships with organizations like Kind Kitchen Group, a culinary educational non-profit that Wilkerson founded with her wife, Chef Sicily Sierra.
‘Food That Feels Rooted But Never Stuck’
The overall menu at Counting House is Southern-rooted, globally inspired, and community-driven. Southern ingredients like Carolina Gold rice, Cheerwine, and local greens anchor the plates, but Wilkerson said she’s not afraid to layer in techniques or influences from her time in California and Wales, or from collaborations with Durham’s diverse food community. For instance, she teamed up with Durham’s Saltbox Seafood Joint to celebrate Juneteenth this year, alongside other local chefs, creating a “Durmnik box” (cookout-style picnic box).
“For me, community-driven cuisine means two things: sourcing and storytelling,” explained Wilkerson. “It’s about working with local farmers, fishermen, and artisans so that our plates reflect the ecosystem we live in. But it’s also about honoring the stories—how a dish can pay tribute to a grandmother’s recipe, a neighborhood tradition, or a cultural influence that helped shape Durham.”
Wilkerson said she rotates the menu seasonally, but she also allows flexibility for inspiration—whether that comes from a farmer dropping off something unexpected or a new conversation with her team. “My advice: Don’t chase novelty for its own sake. Freshness comes from authenticity—listening to your environment, your ingredients, and your people.”
Wilkerson’s family plays a big role in her work and the menus she creates, and they inspired her to launch a career in the culinary world. “My family shaped everything about how I cook,” she shared. “Growing up in Durham, I learned early on that food is more than sustenance—it’s storytelling, memory, and legacy. My grandmother’s kitchen was my first classroom; there was community, neighbors showing up unannounced, laughter around the table, and lessons on resilience and care. That foundation gave me both the technical drive to pursue professional cooking and the deeper calling to make food a tool for connection.”
In addition to being inspired by her family roots, Wilkerson learned a lot from her various roles outside of North Carolina. In California, she was executive sous chef at The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe. Later, she was chef de cuisine at FolkTable Restaurant in Sonoma (she led the team to Michelin Bib Gourmand Awards, garnering honors in 2021 and 2022). She also worked in Wales.
“Both experiences [in Wales and California] taught me how a place changes palate,” said Wilkerson. “In Wales, I learned restraint—respecting ingredients in their simplest, most honest form. California gave me the opposite lesson: abundance and creativity, leaning into diverse cultures and bold flavors. Together, they shaped my style of Southern cooking with global edges—food that feels rooted but never stuck.
On Balancing Creativity with Consistency, Being Innovative, and Following Trends
Working as an executive chef at Counting House, Wilkerson said her biggest challenge is balancing creativity with consistency.
“Guests want excitement, but they also want reliability,” said Wilkerson. “I handle it by building systems—prep guides, training manuals, and feedback loops—that allow my team to execute consistently while still leaving room for innovation. My advice [to other chefs and operators]: Invest in people and processes. A great dish doesn’t matter if your culture isn’t sustainable.”
Wilkerson said she also tries to inspire her team by setting the standard. “I try to lead by example—staying curious, showing up with energy, and being transparent about both successes and struggles,” she shared. “But I also believe inspiration is reciprocal. I ask my cooks what inspires them and find ways to bring their ideas to life. A team that feels seen will always be more inspired than a team that feels managed.”
In terms of being inspired and innovative throughout her career, it all goes back to community. “Innovation, for me, often comes from cross-pollination—bringing lessons from community work into the restaurant, or from global travels back into Southern traditions,” said Wilkerson. “Rethinking how restaurants can care for their teams as much as their guests.”
While Wilkerson finds inspiration through community, she’s a bit cautious about finding inspiration through culinary trends. “Trends are like weather—you should be aware of them, but you can’t let them dictate the whole landscape,” she said. “I pay attention because they reflect cultural shifts, but I always filter them through: Does this make sense for my team, my guests, my community?”
One trend that Wilkerson is paying attention to is the way plant-forward cuisine is evolving. “It’s no longer about ‘vegetarian alternatives,’ but about celebrating vegetables in their own right,” she said. “That’s exciting, especially in a Southern context, where vegetables have always been central to the table—collards, beans, okra, and preserves. Elevating them without erasing their cultural roots feels both timely and timeless.”
Wilkerson is also fascinated by the rise of low-alcohol and non-alcoholic adult beverages. “Guests today are more intentional about how they drink, and that shift allows bartenders to stretch their creativity—balancing flavor, texture, and ritual without relying on high proof,” she said. “It’s a trend that feels less like a fad and more like a realignment of hospitality to guest wellness.”
When it comes to trends, Wilkerson advises other chefs or bar/restaurant owners and operators to pause. “Ask yourself: Is this sustainable for my team, my community, and my bottom line?” she said. “Chasing trends without context burns out kitchens and confuses guests. But when you align with trends that amplify your story, they become tools for connection rather than distractions.”
And, to stay innovative, creative, or forward-thinking in the bar and restaurant industry, Wilkerson suggested that it’s important to stay curious about the world beyond the kitchen. “Read about art, travel when you can, talk to people outside the industry,” she encouraged. “Kitchens that only look inward eventually stagnate. Innovation comes when you let the outside world in.”
Kind Kitchen Group and ‘Food as a Bridge’
Reflecting on her career thus far, Wilkerson said it isn’t a dish or an award that she’s most proud of, it’s co-founding Kind Kitchen Group with her wife. “Creating a nonprofit that uses food as a teaching tool for middle-schoolers and families in Durham feels like a natural extension of my culinary career,” she said. “Every student who learns to cook or garden with us reminds me that success isn’t only about restaurants—it’s about impact, legacy, and leaving your community stronger than you found it.”
Wilkerson said Kind Kitchen is all about community. “We wanted to create a place where middle-school youth and families could access not just food, but the skills to grow, cook, and share it,” she shared. “Sicily and I both believe in ‘food as a bridge’—connecting youth to skills, families to one another, and communities to their own power. Teaching young people, that what they put on their plate can be a source of agency, joy, and possibility.”
Kind Kitchen Group’s biggest success isn’t measured in numbers, according to Wilkerson, it’s in the quiet moments. “A student telling us they cooked dinner for their family. A parent sharing that they started a garden because their child insisted. These ripples matter more than any single program—they show that food can transform cycles of insecurity into cycles of confidence and care,” she said.
For those who would like to be a chef, Wilkerson encourages them to be curious and humble. “Technical skills will take you far, but what sustains you in this industry is curiosity—always asking what else food can be—and humility—remembering that kitchens are teams, not stages. And don’t forget: Build a life outside of work. The best chefs draw from the world, not just from cookbooks.”
‘My Hope Is That We Keep Surprising People’
For the future, Wilkerson wants Counting House to keep evolving as a space where art, food, and community meet, which means more collaborative dinners with local chefs and artists, more engagement with non-profit partners, and continued exploration of Southern cuisine in dialogue with global traditions. “My hope is that we keep surprising people—not with gimmicks, but with depth and authenticity.”
Overall, Wilkerson sees her culinary journey as a circle—beginning in Durham kitchens, traveling the world to refine her craft, and returning home to invest in the community that raised her. “Whether through Counting House or Kind Kitchen, my goal is simple: to make food a bridge,” she said. “A bridge between past and present, between tradition and innovation, between restaurants and community.”
Aaron Kiel is an award-winning journalist and public relations professional in Raleigh, N.C. He’s worked in the beverage, tea, and coffee industries for two decades, as well as hospitality and technology. He’s a journalist at heart, but he also wears a PR and communications hat through his consultancy, ak PR Group. Aaron is a contributing writer/reporter for Questex’s Bar & Restaurant News and he’s a past editor of Questex’s World Tea News. In 2023, he was a finalist and honorable mention in the “Folio: Eddie & Ozzie Awards” for “Range of Work by a Single Author – B2B” for World Tea News, and in 2024, he won two awards for his work with Bar & Restaurant News, including a Gold Northeast Region Award in the American Society of Business Publication Editors’ (ASBPE) Azbee Awards under the “Diversity, Equity & Inclusion” category, and a “Folio: Eddie & Ozzie Award” in the B2B article category for “Culture & Community.” He also received a 2024/2025 ASBPE Diversity Fellowship Award, which supports and recognizes diversity in the field of B2B journalism. Connect with him on Instagram: @adventurer_explorer or visit akprgroup.com.
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