Food

A Chef's Life

A Chef's Life is a new 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.

The Final Harvest

54m 34s

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 tractor pushes through her family’s cornfield to carve out the open-air dining room of Vivian's dreams. She gathers Summer’s last vegetables from Warren Brothers’ farm for a batch of chow-chow.

Episodes

  • Liver Lover: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Liver Lover

    S5 E9 - 24m 34s

    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 created equal, but are equally good for you. Back at home, Mrs. Scarlett prepares a humble, old-school dish of beef liver and onions, which inspires Vivian to introduce a fancy, controversial liver dish to the restaurant's menu.

  • Chasing Trout: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Chasing Trout

    S5 E8 - 24m 33s

    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 book signing in Kinston before the holidays. Vivian also visits Sunburst Trout Farms and prepares a Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner at the restaurant where trout — from roe to filet — shines.

  • Persimmon Style: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Persimmon Style

    S5 E7 - 24m 32s

    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 fruit. She then takes that knowledge to Atlanta where an event called “Hired Guns” pits chefs and their dishes against each other. Back in Kinston, Vivian gets a pudding lesson from chef Bill Smith of Crook’s Corner in Chapel Hill.

  • Bourbon Country: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Bourbon Country

    S5 E6 - 24m 33s

    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 illuminates the differences between whiskey, scotch, and bourbon for Vivian who also learns how Frank and Jesse James fit into Kentucky’s boozy biography.

  • WANTED: Broccoli: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    WANTED: Broccoli

    S5 E5 - 24m 33s

    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 Ray Show where Vivian finds that a shot of bourbon goes a long way. Back at the shop, Ben and crew ready the food truck for its first stop in Nashville. While there, a lack of rain leads Vivian on a challenging hunt for broccoli.

  • A Food Truck and a Pear Tree: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    A Food Truck and a Pear Tree

    S5 E4 - 24m 33s

    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 emotions as the reality of wheeling a food truck around the country sets in. In order to get a better handle on the truck, Vivian and her crew do a practice run at the farmer's market and serve up Tom Thumb with pear relish.

  • Prolific Peppers: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Prolific Peppers

    S5 E3 - 24m 33s

    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 unexpected woes. Before hitting the highway, Holley’s grandmother offers a lesson in stuffing peppers and delegating authority.

  • Shake, Rattle and Pole (Beans): asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Shake, Rattle and Pole (Beans)

    S5 E2 - 24m 33s

    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 capers continue as she stumbles to find her rhythm with a new chef firmly in place. Mrs. Tessie Mae offers levity by giving Vivian a golf cart tour of her garden, an intro to pickled pork, and a lesson in snapping pole beans.

  • Two-Mato: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Two-Mato

    S5 E1 - 24m 34s

    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 first ripe tomatoes to serve at the restaurant’s birthday party. For the celebration that brings back familiar faces and dishes, she concocts a menu that represents a decade of professional growth, and then seeks the wisdom of Mrs. Mary and Ms. Lilli

  • King Cornbread: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    King Cornbread

    S5 E10 - 24m 33s

    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 institution that merges cornbread with another Southern signature to create a handheld delicacy called “the pig and a puppy,” and creates her own version for a charity dinner. Back in the kitchen, Mrs. Scarlett & Ms. Lillie team up in a cornbread cook-off.

Extras + Features

  • Preview: King Cornbread: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Preview: King Cornbread

    S5 E10 - 30s

    Vivian films a segment for a morning TV show where cornbread takes center stage. Premieres December 9.

  • Picking Peppers: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Picking Peppers

    S5 E3 - 3m 41s

    Vivian visits Warren to pick from his prolific pepper patch.

  • Preview: Liver Lover: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Preview: Liver Lover

    S5 E9 - 30s

    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 created equal, but are equally good for you. Back at home, Mrs. Scarlett prepares a humble, old-school dish of beef liver and onions, which inspires Vivian to introduce a fancy, controversial liver dish to the restaurant's menu.

  • Preview: Chasing Trout: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Preview: Chasing Trout

    S5 E8 - 30s

    Vivian plans a respite from the road during the holidays, but finds herself busy at home.

  • Preview: Persimmon Style: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Preview: Persimmon Style

    S5 E7 - 30s

    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 fruit. She then takes that knowledge to Atlanta where an event called “Hired Guns” pits chefs and their dishes against each other. Back in Kinston, Vivian gets a pudding lesson from chef Bill Smith of Crook’s Corner in Chapel Hill.

  • Picking Persimmons: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Picking Persimmons

    S5 E7 - 3m 31s

    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 fruit.

  • Preview: Bourbon Country: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Preview: Bourbon Country

    S5 E6 - 30s

    Dinner at Maker’s Mark in Vivian’s honor turns into an American history lesson.

  • Bourbon 101: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Bourbon 101

    S5 E6 - 3m 3s

    Vivian heads to Kentucky for a primer on bourbon.

  • The Pear Tree: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Pear Tree

    S5 E4 - 2m 42s

    Vivian and her family pluck pears from a tree that’s been in the family for 100 years.

  • Preview: Prolific Peppers: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Preview: Prolific Peppers

    S5 E3 - 30s

    Vivian preps peppers for Lambstock, a party where chefs, food, and music converge. Premieres October 21.

Schedule

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