Chef Jim Noble went to school to learn how to build things.

His father built a prosperous sales pipeline for a successful furniture business and Noble—fresh out of school with an engineering degree—expected to follow suit. But an undiscovered passion led him down a different path, one that brought people together around the most essential piece of furniture to any home: the table.

Noble’s path began to diverge when he cracked open a used copy of Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,” purchased with money he earned as a bar owner. Having no formal culinary training, he gleaned what he could from Child before beginning an extensive study of Auguste Escofer, the first chef to commit the secrets of French cuisine to paper. Over time, he cultivated his vision for a new Southern cuisine, one that seeks to preserve and renew our best traditions by applying the rigorous technique of the Old World masters.

What Noble lacked in formal training he made up for in his commitment to excellence, which in turn was driven by an even greater commitment to serve people. He opened his first restaurant in 1983 and now has six restaurants in Winston-Salem and Charlotte, North Carolina. with a seventh under construction. In every instance, Noble quietly sets new standards as he continues to share his interpretation of classic, rustic European cooking with any guest who takes a seat at his table.