Chef Vivian Howard kicks off fifth season of PBS show

Kinston restaurateur stars in fifth season of popular reality show

Kinston restaurateur Vivian Howard will be in front of the camera and in the kitchen for a fifth season of her Peabody Award-winning show “A Chef’s Life.” The show centers on Howard, who, with her husband Ben Knight, left the big city to open a fine dining restaurant in small-town eastern North Carolina.

Each episode follows Howard out of the kitchen and into cornfields, strawberry patches and hog farms as she hunts down the ingredients that inspire her seasonal menus. Using a chef’s modern sensibilities, Howard explores Southern cuisine, past and present — one ingredient at a time. A celebration of true farm to table food, the 13-week series combines the action and drama of a high-pressure business with the joys and stresses of family life.

In Season 5, Howard finds plenty of reasons to celebrate, as Chef and the Farmer turns 10 years old and her first cookbook hits the New York Times bestseller list. She sets out on a book tour with her trusted team and a finicky food truck. In between greeting hordes of fans in multiple states, Howard discovers small batch whiskey in Kentucky, fishes for trout in the North Carolina mountains, and breaks bread with fellow chefs in the Virginia hills where good food and good music meet.

The season premier airs at 12:30 p.m. on PBS Charlotte, WTVI, on Thursday, Oct. 5.