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A Chef's Life Season 1 Episodes
Season 1 Episode Guide
13 Episodes 2013 - 2013
Episode 1
Sweet Corn & Expensive Tea
Tue, Sep 10, 2013 27 mins
NYC chef Vivian Howard and her husband Ben head to her North Carolina hometown to open a restaurant in the series premiere, which also finds her revisiting the Southern tradition of "putting up" corn, making smoked corn relish and dealing with a setback that could derail her plans.
Episode 2
Strawberry Stay at Home
Tue, Sep 17, 2013 27 mins
Vivian and Ben rebuild their restaurant; and take their twins on a strawberry-picking excursion. Also: Vivian and a friend create a recipe for coconut cornbread strawberry shortcake with basil whipped cream.
Episode 3
Pimp My Grits
Tue, Sep 24, 2013 27 mins
The restaurant prepares for a practice service to test the new equipment and new menu, but nothing goes as planned. Among the changes to the menu: a section called "Pimp My Grits," where the quintessential Southern ingredient is offered in four ways.
Episode 4
Cracklin' Kitchen
Tue, Oct 1, 2013 27 mins
Vivian introduces the restaurant's philosophy of "whole animal, no waste" with two pigs. She also shows how to make sweet potatoes with cracklins.
Episode 5
Tomatoes...You Say Heirloom, I Say Old Timey
Tue, Oct 8, 2013 27 mins
An old-time way of canning tomatoes. Also: Vivian plans on serving the "ultimate tomato sandwich" at a luncheon for food enthusiasts who are coming to the restaurant to study barbecue.
Episode 6
The World Is Your Oyster
Tue, Oct 15, 2013 27 mins
Vivian visits Cedar Island to learn about the new culture of farm-raised oysters in the Southeast; discusses with Ben opening an oyster bar across the street from Chef & the Farmer; and, with her father, orchestrates an oyster roast for the family.
Episode 7
Muscadine Time
Tue, Oct 22, 2013 27 mins
Ben, Vivian and the twins pick muscadine grapes at a local vineyard. Vivian also visits her grape suppliers; makes homemade wine; and creates a pizza with mulled muscadines that Ben tests during their first pizza night at the wine shop.
Episode 8
A Road Trip for Rice
Tue, Oct 29, 2013 27 mins
Vivian learns about heirloom rice, which grows in fields on the Savannah River, during a visit to Columbia, S.C. Later, she hosts a rice night at the Chef & the Farmer that features rice-centric courses; and learns how to make a chicken-and-rice dish from her mother.
Episode 9
A Peanut Pastime
Tue, Nov 5, 2013 27 mins
Vivian visits a neighbor's peanut farm; and learns about an old school-break snack of salted peanuts and Pepsi from her father. Later, she makes Pepsi-glazed pork belly with country ham-braised peanuts; and reinvents boiled peanuts for the local farmers' market.
Episode 10
Love Me Some Candied Yams!
Tue, Nov 12, 2013 27 mins
A sweet potato farm is visited. In other events, Vivian and her mother make candied yams; and Vivian later re-imagines the dish with texture, sorghum and pecans. Mother Earth Brewery and Chef & the Farmer also team up for a beer dinner that features first-of-the-season sweet potatoes.
Episode 11
Collard Green Queen
Tue, Nov 19, 2013 27 mins
Vivian makes collard kraut with neighbors; and learns about the cabbage collard. She also hosts an event for 100 people called Terra Vita that features collards.
Episode 12
The Buttermilk Belt
Tue, Nov 26, 2013 27 mins
Vivian and Ben learn about buttermilk during a visit to Maple View Dairy; and later attempt to take the twins' Christmas card picture in the family's pool-turned-turnip patch. Vivian's nieces and nephews also try to make buttermilk with their great-grandmother's butter churn.
Episode 13
Have Yourself Some Moonshine
Tue, Dec 3, 2013 27 mins
In the Season 1 finale, a visit to Broad Slab Distillery in Benson, N.C., features a discussion about white lightning. The restaurant's mixologist also works moonshine into several new drinks; and the restaurant staff faces the holiday party season. Later, they cap the season with a party at Ben and Vivian's new house.
