Sometime ago when I was home, my partner had discovered a show for us to watch as she made an effort to "join" me in NC - having never been there. (She eventually came for a weekend in February and now we are stuck 10 hours apart in the era of COVID.) In any case, she found a television show which focused on a chef in NC and her restaurant. We both fell in love and determined that we would eventually visit the restaurant(s).
Like cozy mysteries, this is a tale of "once I was from a small town and left it" and then I went to NC and then. . . I came back. The site of the return: eastern North Carolina and, more specifically, the town of Kinston, NC. Raised in Deep Run, NC, Howard's first show was called "A Chef's Life," and ran on PBS from 2013-2018. Of course, we discovered it in 2019 or 2020, and waned to go to the restaurant The Chef and the Farmer featured in the show. Since then, I have learned from the land of google, she has done several other shows and opened other restaurants. Who knew she was the first female chef since Julia Child to win a Peabody. Amazing.
I love(d) watching the show and look forward to watching more. Among the things I learned about were boiled peanuts, grits (from the nearby Guilford County - which I see many places I go these days; here's the link), corn, and more. I saw Howard and her husband struggle with a fire in their restaurant, think through how to engage with the Southern Foodways Alliance, and wander around (very intentionally) with farmers, friends, and those who held the recipes for the history of the area.
I liked the show. I found it a tiny bit superficial now and then, and yearned for more in depth investigation of things, but it was the right blend of chipper, informative and beautiful. Perhaps the biggest surprise, though, came long after when I was back in NC and . . . it turns out Vivian Howard attended high school where I am currently working for 2 years in the 1990s. Small world.
But most crucially, the insight into Southern food is good for me - and I look forward with glee to eventually being able to head that way and try her versions. Meanwhile, its Boner (pronounced bonner) house in Winston Salem for me.
