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-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.

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:

David Cecelski is a historian who focuses on eastern North Carolina. He also has degrees from both Duke and Harvard. His most recent book is “The Fire of Freedom: Abraham Galloway and the Slaves’ Civil War,” from UNC Press. He was recently the co-recipient (with Tim Tyson) of the N.C. Literary and Historical Association’s Crittenden Award for lifetime achievement. Read more about David at https://davidcecelski.com.

Biography:

Vera was often in tow when her father, David, explored eastern North Carolina for his work as an oral historian and author. After graduating with a degree in American politics from Williams College and a few years working in New England, Vera decided to return home to North Carolina. She is the assistant manager at Stagville State Historic Site, one of North Carolina’s largest plantations.

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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.

Biography:

Jamie grew up in Jackson Heights, a 10-minute drive from Deep Run where Vivian was raised. In 2006 when Ben and Vivian opened Chef & the Farmer, they had such faith in his people skills that they hired him to be the first bar manager even though he had never tended bar. Jones used his self-taught wood carving skills to make the restaurant’s original wooden sign, as well as the replacement, unveiled this season on the restaurant’s 10th anniversary.

Biography:

August 2015 will mark one year that Holley Pearce has served as Chef Vivian’s personal ‘coordinator of chaos.’  Hailing from a little town called Amory Mississippi, the universe plopped Holley at the end of the bar at Chef and the Farmer where she sat drinking dirty martinis and eating grits until one evening, after learning of Vivian’s book deal, she offered her services as personal assistant. Holley began working the next day as a part of the ACL team, which includes a bunch of badass women and a few good men.

Biography:

Casey gave up a 15-year career as a commercial banker to join Vivian and the crew at Chef and the Farmer as a line cook. Casey says the most satisfying part of making the move nearly a year ago is “working with such a notable and talented chef and being part of a team who pride themselves on bringing people joy. I love learning how to make new foods and becoming a better cook. I love getting to travel and being in the heat of the moment with my team.” Casey now serves as culinary assistant at VHQ and will hit the road with Vivian as she embarks on her first book tour.  

Biography:

Madison returned to Kinston after graduating from the College of Charleston where she studied studio arts, art history, historic preservation and community planning. She was trying to get involved in the community when Vivian’s assistant, Holley Pearce, recruited her to help on the book tour. Madison says they survived that blur of a two-month road trip by laughing at everything — even difficult situations. Now she works behind the scenes to make Vivian and Holley’s lives easier.

Biography:

Lesley grew up in Elizabeth City, N.C. and has worked in the hospitality industry since the age of 16. She was working in Greenville, N.C. when she applied to work at Chef & the Farmer on a whim after becoming a fan of the show. She’s spent three years in the kitchen and serves as one of the restaurant’s sous chefs. Her co-worker, Casey Atwater says, “Lesley is resilient, resourceful, knowledgeable, and fast when it comes to cooking. She is a good teammate. She was one of my favorite co-pilots on the food truck. She came equipped with snacks and Diet Cokes.”

Biography:

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. 

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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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: