A Chef's Life

A CHEF'S LIFE

with Vivien Howard and Ben Knight - PBS

If you're not watching this show  - about a married couple with kids, building a new life in Kinston, North Carolina, you're missing something very special.

At the beginning of each segment, Ms. Howard tells us her parents were willing to help her open her own restaurant - as long as she and her husband, Ben, opened it in her girlhood place of birth.

Ms. Howard  was living a very successful life in NYC, but the offer was just too hard to turn down. So, she and her husband Ben packed up their belongings and moved from the hustle and bustle of New York to the "hear a pin drop" quiet of Kinston, NC.

A Chef's Life is so much more than a show about food. Vivien and Ben take us on a journey of family life, memories of Ms. Howard's childhood and the trials and joy that go into living life.

Part documentary, part cooking show - you acquire knowledge of Ms. Howard's early food roots, not by listing every detail of a recipe (although recipes are available on the website!). Rather, you are taken on a journey through southern cooking as it is creatively updated into contemporary, sophisticated new dishes. 

The show is now entering its second season - and the adventure continues. As stated on the PBS website, "And so The Chef and the Farmer, located in Kinston, North Carolina, was born. Six years in, Vivian and her restaurant have won numerous accolades, including her selection as a James Beard semi-finalist, but the challenges continue. As the series opens, Vivian and Ben are juggling the restaurant, raising twins and anxiously building their own home — right next door to her parents."

If you love to cook and want more than just a typical program about preparing food, this is your show. It certainly is mine!
Enjoy this trailer for season 2 - and make your way over to PBS, to learn more about, A Chef's LIfe. And for more, The Chef and the Farmer website.