Biography:

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-40) 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.

Biography:

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. 

Biography:

Adam is a butcher who advocates for eating less meat. Although it sounds ironic, Adam’s philosophy towards meat processing harkens back to days when meat was more of a condiment than a main dish. When he’s not traveling the country teaching butchery workshops he’s hosting reading from his James Beard Award-winning books that illustrate the humane way to butcher livestock.

Biography:

When it comes to biddies, Christy Crumpler knows her stuff. Christy was a stay-at-home mom who realized her family needed additional income. Since then, her balancing act is that of a mom of three and a poultry farmer at Brittany Ridge Farms raising a wide variety of free-range game birds and fowl. Although processing chickens is not for the faint of heart, Christy moves the birds through each step--from the coup and the pasture to the killing cone and the scalder – with a mother’s care and a reverence for the techniques she has inherited and upheld over time.

Biography:

Biography:

John Currin Howard is a successful farmer and father of four daughters. He gets things done and can sum up a complicated situation in one line. In recent years, John Currin, as he is known by his community, has made it his MO to be the best grandparent on the planet. 

Biography:

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.