Good Butter Is Having a Moment

The humble dairy staple is suddenly the star of the table.

Once a neglected brick in the fridge and little more than a supporting player on the dinner table, butter has become the main character. Not bread, not steak—butter. From butter-themed parties and trending butter boards to European varieties and compound mixes at local restaurants, the dairy staple is seeing a surge in popularity—with an estimated $45.2 billion market value and millions of videos on ButterTok alone. Call it a renaissance, if you will.

Raleigh chefs are no stranger to the trend. Popular eateries like East End Bistrot, Stanbury, St. Roch and Brodeto feature luxe versions of the “it” ingredient—and have been integrating it in their dishes for quite some time now. 

For his part, St. Roch chef-owner Sunny Gerhart has always primarily used Plugrá, a premium European-style butter, at the restaurant due to its higher fat content (read: 82% butterfat). And he uses it in just about everything—including the compound butters featured in St. Roch’s popular BBQ’d, pimento’d and garlic’d roasted oysters—as well as the garlic bread, BBQ shrimp, and red beans and rice gracing the NOLA-inspired menu. 

“You can tell the difference,” maintains Gerhart, pointing to Euro-style butter’s rich, creamy texture. “Anything you add it to is going to be a little bit more delicious. … I’d cook everything in butter if I could.”

East End Bistrot’s William D’Auvray is also in the Euro butter camp, sourcing an exclusive variety from a supplier in New York. Finished with high-quality olive oil and fleur de sel sea salt and served with homemade sourdough, the high-performance butter is treated as a centerpiece rather than a supporting player—also found in D’Auvray’s signature croissants, morning buns and sauces.

“We’re a French restaurant, so we’re all about butter,” he emphasizes. “I give [repeat customers] a baguette, a couple containers of butter and a little bit of salt to enjoy at home, and it’s like I gave them thousands of dollars.” 

Of course, even the most luxurious butter needs a worthy vehicle, and that’s where bread comes in. At Brodeto, an Italian butter—crafted using the same sweet cream and rigorous standards required for authentic Parmigiano Reggiano production—accompanies a housemade rosemary focaccia, while Stanbury opts for Atlanta-made Banner Butter to serve with local Boulted Bread. 

“I’ve never had a butter as cheesy and funky as [Banner’s],” says Stanbury chef Drew Maykuth. “Also as a small dairy farm, it’s easy to get behind.”

In essence, good butter is proving the most memorable bite of the meal isn’t always the entree. As Julia Child famously put it, “With enough butter, anything is good.” Simple, satisfying and endlessly adaptable, Raleighites are eating it up—literally. 

---

Better Butter

Want to butter like the pros? Good butter doesn’t have to be reserved for a fancy restaurant. Here are a trio of chef-approved picks for your home kitchen.