A Chef's Life (PBS Program)

[Midpack]

For reasons I don't fully understand, DW & I love this show. 3rd Season just started yesterday (here). If you like cooking, southern culture, and like something different - you might love it too. Check your local listings.

We like it so much, we drove hundreds of miles out of our way to eat at their restaurant in (tiny) Kinston NC. It was absolutely wonderful!

A Chef's Life | Shows | PBS Food

A Chef's Life is a half-hour character-driven documentary and cooking series that takes viewers inside the life of Chef Vivian Howard, who, with her husband Ben Knight, left the big city to open a fine dining restaurant in small-town Eastern North Carolina.


Each episode follows Vivian out of the kitchen and into cornfields, strawberry patches and hog farms as she hunts down the ingredients that inspire her seasonal menus. Using a chef’s modern sensibilities, Vivian explores Southern cuisine, past and present — one ingredient at a time. A celebration of true farm to table food, the 13-week series combines the action and drama of a high-pressure business with the joys and stresses of family life.


The series will return in Season 3 to follow Vivian's journey to highlight Southern cuisine and local ingredients, all while managing twos restaurants with husband Ben Knight, a bustling young family and newfound fame.

 

[mickeyd]

For reasons I don't fully understand, DW & I love this show.

Vivian is a good looking gal, sexy even. Good enough reason to view it.

 

[ERD50]

DW has watched it for years (or seems so, has it been on that long?).

Their food looks awesome, and I know people who have been to the restaurant and confirmed it was awesome. And while Vivian is somewhat attractive, she annoys the heck out of me. She just seems all stuck up, it's all about her, and she's always the victim when anything goes wrong (and something always has to go wrong on these shows, to provide some 'drama'). That just turns me off.

I recall one show when she was complaining that all her suppliers were having problems meeting her demands, and she said something like - 'I think they just aren't used to dealing with a strong women'. Hmmm, just maybe Vivian was the problem, the common denominator? And I might not say that if that didn't seem (to me) to be her attitude about everything.

But, if I can get past that, I do enjoy the show. Lot's of interesting approaches to food. I'd love to try that kind of field-fermented kale version of sauerkraut!

-ERD50

 

[HFWR]

Haven't watched, but long ago started watching PBS cooking shows on Saturday morning: Julia Childs, Jacques Pepin, Justin Wilson, etc.