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Vivian Howard is a farm girl originally from Deep Run, NC who expects the unexpected but occasionally still finds herself surprised. Her smile, laugh, and loving nature are straight from the sweet strawberry patch. Vivian built her culinary career in New York City where she worked with the likes of Wylie Dufresne (wd-50) and Jean George Vongerichten (Spice Market). ‬But don't let the farm girl fool you; when you see that wrinkled brow, and her eyes turn stormy, remember that she expects nothing but the best from her ingredients, her cooking, herself, and everyone around her. Vivian takes great pride in the fact that 70 percent of the foodstuff at Chef and the Farmer is local, but she's even more proud of her twins Theo and Flo.

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Ben, Vivian’s husband and business partner, is a self-described “North Shore Jew from Chicago, living on a hog farm in North Carolina.” He is a painter who worked in restaurants to supplement his artist’s salary, and met Vivian when they both served at Voyage in New York City. Shortly after meeting Ben, Vivian told her roommate that he was “kind of arrogant” but thought he would make a significant impact on her life. Ben says that it was Vivian’s beauty that initially drew him in, “cause I’m a pretty visual person.” Ben runs the front of the house and has made it his mission to transform his staff into wine experts. 

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Coming Soon

Biography:

Hailing from Institute, NC, Lillie has been helping out on Warren Brothers' farm "since forever.” A woman of all trades, Lillie does everything from picking to taking produce to market. Like her mama, Mary Vaughn, Lillie loves to cook. Her grilled chicken is highly prized, dressed with a closely-guarded, NC-style barbeque sauce. Warren is a regular fixture at her dinner table and has asked often after the recipe. But, he says, “Lillie told me that if she told me the recipe, she’d have to kill me."

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Warren, who supplies the restaurant with everything from flowers to sweet potatoes, comes from five generations of farmers. Warren and Vivian share a unique farmer-chef relationship. He gives her the freedom to ask him to plant a specific crop, but Warren can trust that she will remain flexible. “It might not work out with that particular plant. Vivian knows that because she comes from a farming background.” Everyone knows him around town by his bare feet. “There is something about having my feet in the dirt.” When this easy-going, barefoot farmer isn’t tending to his crops, he is likely to be camping and fishing in beautiful Beaufort, NC. 

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Scarlett is, as her first name suggests, a southern belle through and through. A farmer's daughter, Scarlett became a farmer's wife and school teacher. With the birth of her first daughter, she retired from teaching school only to become a full-time advice giver. She too is an excellent grandparent and next-door neighbor.

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