Chef & the Farmer

Vivian Howard is an American chef and TV personality. She started her journey after opening her famous restaurant, Chef & the Farmer in 2006 in downtown Kinston, North Carolina. The restaurant puts their own twist on traditional southern dishes while using ingredients from within a 90-mile radius. From personal experience, Chef & the Farmer is the best restaurant I have ever eaten at without a doubt. The atmosphere was family friendly and extremely welcoming. The staff were so inviting and would take time out of their busy night to give you their true opinions on dishes, their back story and great life advice. If I had the chance to go back again, I would in a heartbeat. Make sure to take a trip out to Kinston, North Carolina to see for yourself what all the hype is truly about!

In 2013, Howard opened her second restaurant, The Boiler Room, right across the street serving items such as oysters and burgers. In 2011, PBS A Chef’s Life came about. From 2013 to 2015 the show aired nationally attracting fans of all ages such as myself. In fall of 2017, the season finale aired as a one hour special. I would sit down and  watch with my family every week. My dad has even taken her recipes and made them his own. It has changed our family meals from subpar to spectacular to say the least. Check out her online TV show for some of the best, easy make-at-home recipes!

Vivian Howard released her popular book Deep Run Roots- Stories and Recipes from my corner of the South in October of 2016. It remained on the New York Times Bestseller List for three weeks and has come to win many other awards. The book has gone to win Cookbook of the Year, the Julia Child First Book Award, Outstanding Restaurant Cookbook and Outstanding Cookbook in the general category. Another one of her cookbook will be released in 2019. Check out her book for all her own special recipes that have a twist on southern comfort food!