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 Boiler Room. Vivian boils over with the stress.

Episode 1, Blueberries and Boiling Over

A Chef’s Life is a Peabody, James Beard, and Emmy award-winning docu-series that plunges audiences into the kitchen of a high-end restaurant located in the low country of eastern North Carolina.

A Chef's Life

Series 1

Series 2

Series 3

Series 4

Series 5

A Chef’s Life plunges audiences into the kitchen of a high-end restaurant.

Vivian and her husband Ben leave New York to open a restaurant in her small North Carolina hometown. 

Episode 1, Sweet Corn and Expensive Tea

Vivian and Ben rebuild their restaurant against the backdrop of the Southern harbinger of spring, the strawberry. Vivian and a friend develop a recipe for Coconut Cornbread Strawberry Shortcake with Basil whipped cream.

Episode 2, Strawberry Stay At Home

The restaurant gears up for a practice service where the new equipment and new menu will be tested in real time – but nothing is going as planned.

Episode 3, Pimp My Grits

Vivian goes about christening the restaurant’s new “whole animal, no waste” program with two little pigs from Warren Brothers’ farm. She uses everything – including the skin – and shows us how to make sweet potatoes with cracklins.

Episode 4, Cracklin' Kitchen

Food enthusiasts from around the country are coming to study BBQ & Vivian plans to serve them the ultimate tomato sandwich. She weighs the risk of serving something so simple to this discerning crowd.

Episode 5, You Say Heirloom, I Say Old Timey

Vivian and Ben go to Cedar Island to explore the new culture of farm-raised oysters in NC. Vivian shares their plans of opening an oyster bar across the street & orchestrates with her dad, their first ever family oyster roast.

Episode 6, The World Is Your Oyster

Ben, Vivian & the twins pick muscadine grapes at a small local vineyard while learning the history of this native grape. Vivian visits Mike & Gator, to make homemade wine. Back at the restaurant, Vivian makes a pizza with mulled muscadines.

Episode 7, Muscadine Time

Vivian travels to Columbia, SC to meet with Glenn Roberts of Anson Mills where he explains their efforts to save heirloom grains. Glenn's passion inspires Vivian to host a "rice dinner", where each course centres around this grain.  

Episode 8, A Road Trip For Rice

Vivian visits neighbor Marty Harper's peanut farm just before & during harvest. Vivian’s dad introduces Ben & Vivian to an old school snack-break, a pack of salted peanuts dumped into a glass Pepsi bottle.

Episode 9, Peanut Pastime

Vivian visits Tull Hill Farm, one of the largest sweet potato farms in the country. She makes her grandmother’s candied yams with her mom & niece. Vivian re-imagines these for the restaurant with bacon, sorghum & pecans.

Episode 10, Love Me Some Candied Yams!

Vivian spends the morning with her neighbors participating in their 100 year old family tradition of making collard kraut. She visits Warren to talk about an Eastern Carolina favorite, the Cabbage Collard.

Episode 11, Collard Green Queen

Vivian & Ben go to Maple View Farm to pick up product for the restaurant. The dairy manager shows them around & talks buttermilk. Lillie Hardy schools Vivian on buttermilk biscuits at Warren Brothers's house.

Episode 12, The Buttermilk Belt

Vivian & Ben visit Broadslab Distillery where they talk about the art & soul of white lightning. The restaurant's mixologist works moonshine into a few new drinks while the staff takes on the holiday party season. They end the season with a party of their own.

A Chef's Life

Episode 1, Blueberries and Boiling Over

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