Moonrakers Names Christopher Allen Stephens Executive Chef

Beaufort, NC – Moonrakers Restaurant, which will debut this spring at 326 Front Street on the Beaufort waterfront, has named Christopher Allen Stephens as executive chef.

Chef Christopher Allen Stephens arrives at historic downtown Beaufort, North Carolina’s new coastal cuisine restaurant following stints in Boston and several high-end, northeastern private clubs.

“Chef Chris’s day-to-day creative skills will always be in tune, for we will have two daily lunch and two dinner features every day,” said Moonrakers Managing Partner John Stephens. “With a top-of-the-line Wood Fired Oven and all the equipment to run a top-notch kitchen, Chris has no bounds in the way of cuisine.”

Chef Stephens said his passion for food began when he was 15 and working at the local bakery — and he hasn’t stopped working in the kitchen since. His career path was an “easy decision,” as was where to attend college after he was admitted early on scholarship into Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I.

Following graduation, Stephens relocated to the Isle of Wight, England and spent a year apprenticing in a rigorous work environment under a Michelin Star chef. Upon returning to the States with nothing but fine cuisine on the mind and a whole lot more classical training, he started working at the Four Seasons Hotel in Boston.

Stephens remained in Boston for seven years “learning and retaining as much as I could about culinary arts and its industry.” The majority of those years were spent under the tutelage of the well-known, Boston-based restaurant group founded by Barbra Lynch.

Stephens started at Number 9 Park Street, quickly becoming sous chef before moving to Sportello as acting Chef De Cuisine. Later, he helped open Menton — a Relais and Chateaux property — as lead Sous Chef.

Stephens spent the 2014 season at The Carnegie Abbey Club as executive sous chef and returning the following year as the Executive Chef. He then began gaining Executive Chef experience at various high-end private clubs around the northeast.

Stephens said he and his wife look forward to joining his family in North Carolina at Moonrakers. “I come from a big, southern family,” Stephens said. “My first food memory is of picking radishes in my grandparents’ garden. My favorite time of the year for food is the beginning of each season because of all the new seasonal produce changes.”

Moonrakers will be a state-of-the-art, 254-seat, upper-casual dining, full-service restaurant with an additional 90-seat rooftop dining and bar lounge area. The restaurant will focus on an American-Coastal menu with a twist of Caribbean influence, and will feature a captivating dining room and bar overlooking the waterfront on the ground floor including 14-foot open ceilings, display kitchen, custom mural, acoustical sails, dedicated wine wall and a wood fired brick oven. The comfortable décor will be centered on an inviting, light and airy coastal theme atmosphere with sounds of the island and some of the area’s original artwork.

The ground floor will also include an attraction of open-air dining space on and/or above the waterfront overlooking the coastal waterway. The second floor is comprised of open spaces catering to larger group events accommodating up to 110 guests. During favorable weather days and busy summer months, local patrons and seasonal guests sitting outside on the waterfront deck and rooftop areas will enjoy the waterways in this fun, casual gathering place-type atmosphere.

The restaurant’s menu will be inspired from different countries’ specialties and appeal to a diverse clientele, changing every season while keeping the favorites. In addition, Moonrakers will offer an extensive wine list and drink menu.

“At a minimum, our menu will see considerable changes or remakes four times a year,” said John Stephens. “The menu is typically based around the four seasons. At the same time, we will cater to our local clientele. Keep in mind that more than 45 percent of the homeowners in the Beaufort market are visiting their second or third home and are referred to as the ‘weekend locals.’”

John Stephens said the nearly 800,000 travelers to Beaufort each year expect a good selection of seafood choices during their dining experiences — something Moonrakers keeps in the forefront of consideration when putting together its menus.

“It is a coastal experience expectation,” said John Stephens. “Coastal cuisine choices can encompass more than our menu can hold: Clam chowder, grouper, black sea bass, soft shell crab, crab cakes, off shore seasonal catches fresh off the docks, ahi tuna, salmon, New York Strip, shrimp and grits, and more. Grilled salmon entree salad or maybe cedar plank salmon smoked in the Wood Fired Oven.”

“Think all of your favorites, seafood, chicken and steak with the flavorful and colorful ingredients of the southeast,” he said. “Simply put, it will be a seafood-based menu with some meat and potato selections as well.”

Following a soft opening in spring 2018, Moonrakers will be open seven days a week. For additional information, contact John Stephens at (252) 828-0083 or www.moonrakersbeaufort.com.

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