Chef Vivian Howard and her husband Ben leave New York to open a restaurant in her small North Carolina hometown. Vivian revisits the Southern traditio...
Vivian and Ben rebuild their restaurant against the backdrop of the Southern harbinger of spring, the strawberry. Their twins go on their first strawb...
The restaurant gears up for a practice service when the new equipment and new menu will be tested in real time - but nothing is going as planned. One ...
Vivian goes about christening the restaurant's new "whole animal, no waste" program with two little pigs from Warren Brothers' farm. She uses everythi...
Vivian preps for a Southern Foodways Alliance luncheon. Food enthusiasts from around the country are coming to study BBQ & Vivian plans to serve them ...
Vivian goes to Cedar Island to explore the new culture of farm-raised oysters in the Southeast. She and Ben share plans of opening an oyster bar acros...
Ben, Vivian and the twins pick muscadine grapes at a small local vineyard while learning the history of this native grape. Vivian visits Mike and Gato...
Vivian travels to Columbia, South Carolina, to meet with Glenn Roberts of Anson Mills and learns about Carolina heirloom rice growing in fields on the...
Vivian visits neighbor Marty Harper's peanut farm just before and during harvest. Vivian's dad introduces Ben and Vivian to the old school break snack...
Vivian introduces us to Rob and Amy Hill, proprietors of one of the largest sweet potato farms in the country and two of the restaurant’s best custome...
Vivian spends the morning with her neighbors, the Mills brothers, participating in their 100-year-old, all-male family tradition of making collard kra...
Vivian and Ben go to Maple View Dairy to pick up product for the restaurant. They talk buttermilk with the dairy’s manager, and the noise Ben makes wh...
Vivian visits Broad Slab Distillery, where they talk about the art and soul of white lightning. The restaurant’s mixologist works moonshine into sever...
After a year recovering from a restaurant fire and re-opening Chef and the Farmer, Vivian and Ben go all-in to open a burger/oyster bar called The Boi...
Vivian and Ben head to the beach for their annual summer vacation with the Howard family. Vivian turns up the heat with a bit of friendly competition ...
Burgers. Oysters. Beer. Hallelujah! Vivian and Ben are on the cusp of opening their new restaurant, the Boiler Room, and they are facing a new challen...
Vivian, Ben and the entire Chef and the Farmer staff hustle to complete the mammoth preparations necessary for her big luncheon at the Southern Foodwa...
Excitement turns into heightened emotion and real nerves for Vivian as she faces one challenge after another in the prep kitchen before her big SFA lu...
As Vivian returns from her Mississippi road trip to the fall harvest, she confronts her long absence from the dinner service at Chef and the Farmer. S...
Vivian presents a few of the many ways fish makes its appearance in Southern cooking, from dried mullet roe to a friendly fish stew competition with W...
It’s November ya’ll and that means it’s busy at Chef and the Farmer. Vivian is feeling the stress of both work and home as she juggles running the res...
The heady heyday of hot Summer vegetables are over and rainy winters can bring some dull varieties. Few are more unglamorous than the turnip. Neverthe...
Late winter brings “run-up” turnip greens, which Vivian sees as central to her approach to southern food, capturing both the spirit and the letter of ...
As Vivian waits for Spring’s vegetables to appear, she pauses to appreciate chicken’s endless capacity as an ingredient. The restaurant’s new best-sel...
Vivian hunts for ramps—an Appalachian wild leek—with renowned bacon purveyor Alan Benton near his home in the Tennessee countryside. The restaurant wo...
Vivian finally makes good on a promise to cook for a friend’s supper club, and she seizes the moment to experiment with an egg dish that she hopes to ...
Ben and the kitchen team pack up the van and hit the road for New York. A month of planning and preparation peak as Vivian’s invitation to cook at the...
With squash season in full effect, trouble with the twins, staffing issues at the Boiler Room, and a new cookbook overloading her plate, Vivian seeks ...
Vivian's mother shares the secrets of Gramma Hill's canned peaches as well as memories from her childhood. Vivian also sweats through a Thanksgiving-i...
Vivian has three days to write a book chapter on figs. The resulting stress leads to a fig-honey-bourbon slushie tasting; and a fig preserves session....
Vivian visits a friend, who serves homemade pickles, chicken salad and chocolate cake. Ben and Vivian also audition a new chef.
Vivian learns that picking okra is a prickly business and receives a crash course in food styling during a photo session for her cookbook. Scott Barto...
Vivian learns to make pickled beets. She also incorporates beets into an unconventional chocolate cake for Ms. Mary's 89th birthday.
A new manager signs on at the Boiler Room; and a family reunion features an impressive spread of home-cooked casseroles.
Vivian makes chicken livers drizzled with hot honey. Ben preps for his art show in Durham, N.C. and Vivian checks out the city's restaurants.
Vivian learns to bring out the bitter and sweet in rutabagas. She also showers her team with gifts while they prepare a holiday menu and, despite brew...
Vivian heads to the Charleston’s Wine and Food Festival, the South’s premiere gathering of world-class chefs and food folk. Her jam-packed schedule in...
Conclusion. Charleston, S.C., is visited. Included: the Waffle House Smackdown; the proper way to open a clam; and clam hash.
After some initial hiccups, Vivian’s whole cow program finds its groove. Mrs. Scarlett shows her how to make a classic cubed steak, inciting an epic t...
Vivian judges the Southern Sides competition at the annual BBQ Festival alongside Mrs. Scarlett and Ms. Lillie, who prove to be finicky judges. Vivian...
Spring onions kick off the season in high gear as Vivian takes a break from penning her first cookbook to prepare a benefit dinner at Lomax Farm in Ca...
After a summer away, Vivian returns to the restaurant and a staff of new faces. She also asks a favor of an avid home chef: test her cookbook recipes.
As a visit from her editor accelerates book preparations, Vivian reckons with handing over the restaurant reins to John and Justise. A tutorial in “be...
Vivian’s summer itinerary picks up with a 14-day photoshoot as she preps for a first-time trip to Feast Portland. Sam Jones and Miss Lillie share old-...
Vivian explores Portland, Ore., prior to preparing the BBQ cabbage for Feast Portland.
Vivian demonstrates rabbit processing during a visit to the Carolina Meat Conference; and is depressed at the prospect of losing a cherished staff mem...
Vivian learns about farm-raised catfish; and a staff member's last day at the restaurant arrives.
Flo and Theo's pre-school class visits the restaurant, but slow service makes everyone antsy. In other events, Vivian turns to an old friend for help ...
A view behind-the-scenes reveals the hot and cold of curing ham. At a New York dinner party hosted in her honor, Vivian serves up a gift of North Caro...
Vivian holds a mayo blind taste test and a surprise brand takes top prize. After a new chef takes the reins, her diminishing role at the restaurant be...
Vivian’s plate is full of everything. Except tomatoes. As Chef & the Farmer turns 10 years old, Vivian embarks on a fruitless search for the season’s ...
With Summer heat high and rain levels low, Vivian struggles to scrounge up enough green beans to add to the menu at Chef & the Farmer. Her kitchen cap...
Vivian preps peppers for a trip to Lambstock, a party where chefs, food, and music converge. Even with Warren behind the wheel, the road provides unex...
Vivian, her parents, and Flo pluck pears from a tree that’s been in the family for 100 years. The arrival of Vivian's cookbook sparks a well of emotio...
Vivian heads to NYC where her book launch means a full itinerary. A celebration dinner at Bon Appétit Kitchen follows her appearance on the Rachael Ra...
What begins as a dinner at Maker’s Mark in Vivian’s honor ends as an American history lesson. A tour of Maker’s Mark and Jefferson’s distilleries illu...
On a short hiatus from the book tour, Vivian takes the twins to pick persimmons off Mrs. Betty's tree and learns about the different varieties of the ...
Vivian plans a respite from the road during the holidays, but finds herself equally busy at home. She volunteers at a soup kitchen and does one last b...
Vivian visits one of her favorite farmers and an eastern North Carolina restaurant known for its fried livers. She learns that not all livers are crea...
While enjoying some time at home, Vivian films a segment for a morning TV show where cornbread takes center stage. She then stops by a Kinston institu...
Join Chef Vivian Howard for a taste of the holidays as she serves up the best of her Southern cooking heritage and the Chanukah traditions her husband...
After five momentous seasons of A CHEF’S LIFE, Vivian hosts THE FINAL HARVEST, a farewell feast of epic proportions. This series finale begins as a tr...
