Bonnie Moore

Bonnie Moore is Executive Chef at Blackberry Mountain in Walland, United States, where her work is built around breakfast as a service category with real range. Morning food is treated as a starting point with structure, shaped to fit the pace of the day ahead, whether a guest is heading to the trail, the spa, or a slower meal. At Blackberry Mountain, breakfast is not treated as a formality before the day begins, but as the first decision a guest makes about how to move through it.

Training at Boston University and Johnson & Wales University led Moore into line work as a pizza cook, where speed, timing, and service discipline became the foundation of her practice. From there, she moved through kitchens that expanded her scope in measured steps. She served as Sous Chef at Inn at Little Washington, then joined the development team at Willowsford, where the work shifted from execution to creation.

She later served as Sous Chef of the Main House at Blackberry Farm, then head of the Main House kitchen there, taking on greater command of the room and its daily rhythm. That path reads as accumulation rather than reinvention, with each post adding a layer to the same practical skill set. Since 2021, Moore has served as Executive Chef of Blackberry Mountain. Her cooking there stays close to the morning table and the needs of the guest in front of her.

She likes to offer a range of menu items that support the kind of day guests want to enjoy when they leave the table, whether it is active and adventurous or relaxing and leisurely. That approach gives the menu its logic and matches the pace of the place. Alongside restaurant service, Moore has maintained a parallel focus on food education and access. She is founding board member and Executive Director of Real Food for Kids, co-founder of Real Food for Kids' Chefs Feeding Families program, and chef advisor of Virginia Department of Education School Nutrition Services.

Her work in these roles keeps nourishment, access, and service tied together, without losing their practical edge. Moore’s cooking is grounded in seasonal produce, especially the earthy flavors of winter ingredients. She has said she likes building dishes around kale, bitter greens, collards, and root vegetables because they are fun to experiment with and offer a true taste of the season. Her signature dishes include Honey and Orange Marmalade and Honey Thyme Brebis and Pear Toast, which reflect the register she works in at breakfast: familiar ingredients arranged with restraint and pushed toward clarity rather than excess.

Her career has moved steadily through kitchens and service settings, but the through line remains consistent. Moore works with structure, attention, and a clear sense of what a guest needs at the start of the day.