I love the content of the show. It shines a light on southern cooking that has not often been seen. Vivian is an amazing and talented chef. However, she is not very likable. The way she treats her husband at times is particularly distateful, and she is somewhat narcissistic. I suppose that many chefs are this way.
21 Reviews
How is the Support
verronjohnson25 August 2018
Husband Ben is so insecure and does whatever and whatever to put Chef Vivian Down!!! AND with this Vivian, your unnecessary insecurities in yourself always surface. Let that incompetent so called Husband go and express your true self!!!
Fantastic Show
michaeljfk14 June 2014
There are a lot of cooking shows, some instructional, some merely exist as platforms to display contrived drama. This show is real. Warts and all. Learning anything about the cooking process or generic intricacies of the restaurant business is secondary.
What allows this show to stand out in comparison to others is the lack of pretension. The interface of those on camera is fantastic and genuine. The viewer is being allowed a real glimpse into others' private lives. And Chef Vivian, via her narration, shares her personal thoughts and feeling as she displays a gamut of emotions, from happiness to sorrow.
It's real. Very real. I highly recommend it.
What allows this show to stand out in comparison to others is the lack of pretension. The interface of those on camera is fantastic and genuine. The viewer is being allowed a real glimpse into others' private lives. And Chef Vivian, via her narration, shares her personal thoughts and feeling as she displays a gamut of emotions, from happiness to sorrow.
It's real. Very real. I highly recommend it.
Authentic and Moving
daisyvickers31 July 2017
A Chef's Life is as entertaining and realistic as reality TV can get. Vivian and Ben are natural on the screen and conversations are not contrived. This show is not only great for learning great recipes, but it is fun to watch because you actually care about the people. It is also a nice window into the lives of real people in rural North Carolina. The show does not, however portray these people as rednecks, hicks or stereotypes. All in all a binge worthy and entertaining watch.
Authentic and Deliciously Captivating
feomgrofhome3 January 2016
I LOVE-LOVE-LOVE A Chef's LIfe. Vivian (and Ben) are great to watch. I enjoy watching it more than ANY show on the Food Network. I no longer subscribe to cable and don't miss it one bit. This is a quality show that really enhances my at-home cooking skills and knowledge of food. I love the way Vivian infuses local ingredients into her cooking and restaurant menu. I also especially LOVE the authentic "southern" (or eastern to be more exact) cooking instruction offered by Lily; I am glad they allow her to be who she is. Warren is also an asset to the show; I am impressed with his garden and knowledge of ingredients (food).
It is so refreshing to watch and listen to someone is REAL. I even like Vivian's drawl. The shows does not appear to be scripted as other shows. I ALSO like seeing the pre-opening staff meetings. Great stuff! It is so impressive when the wait staff really knows the foods that are offered on the menu.
This is an authentic show!!!!
I hope to one day be a patron of Chef and the Farmer restaurant.
It is so refreshing to watch and listen to someone is REAL. I even like Vivian's drawl. The shows does not appear to be scripted as other shows. I ALSO like seeing the pre-opening staff meetings. Great stuff! It is so impressive when the wait staff really knows the foods that are offered on the menu.
This is an authentic show!!!!
I hope to one day be a patron of Chef and the Farmer restaurant.
Intoxicating
ronald0422511 February 2014
What an honest and interesting life. All fantastic recipes featuring home town produce, wine, meat, mixed with a great growing family story. This is real and not contrived or flamboyant production. From moonshine drinks to grape pizza the cuisine is great and filled with history of this quaint region.
Vivian, her husband and crew are educating and creating return customers with new and remastered classic meals. The wait staff is to die for. They work the room and get die-hards to try new entrées and drinks.
The struggle with the fire and trying to build a home adds enough drama to make this show intoxicating. We love this show
Vivian, her husband and crew are educating and creating return customers with new and remastered classic meals. The wait staff is to die for. They work the room and get die-hards to try new entrées and drinks.
The struggle with the fire and trying to build a home adds enough drama to make this show intoxicating. We love this show
Great Series
martin-hines18 July 2015
I just binge-watched Seasons 1 and 2 of this show.
I really like this show for its authenticity, highlighting living and cooking in eastern North Carolina.
You learn some history about these local ingredients and the people and personalities of those who produce/grow them.
The show is a great balance of food history, interpersonal relationships and cooking.
Of course this is a reality show so the interactions between the chef (Vivian Howard) and local farmers are somewhat staged, but the narration by Vivian is fantastic and interesting.
I really hope they produce more seasons.
I really like this show for its authenticity, highlighting living and cooking in eastern North Carolina.
You learn some history about these local ingredients and the people and personalities of those who produce/grow them.
The show is a great balance of food history, interpersonal relationships and cooking.
Of course this is a reality show so the interactions between the chef (Vivian Howard) and local farmers are somewhat staged, but the narration by Vivian is fantastic and interesting.
I really hope they produce more seasons.
A Touching Show with a lot of class
talktojen21 November 2014
As a North Carolinian, I can honestly say this show makes us all proud. Vivian takes southern food from her childhood and locals and elevates it to a superior level, showing that she is a great chef. It is not some fake reality show that uses a script. Vivian is very real and funny, often laughing at the craziness of it all. She will make you cry sometimes, and you will feel like you can't get enough of it. I am astonished by people who say she can't relate to people or is boring. That is crazy. Yes, she and her husband don't the perfect relationship, but who does?? At least its not some sugar coated crap that shows a fake view of the world. It is an honest portrayal of the south and I think the song lyrics in the theme say it all: Why cant you see yourself as beautiful as I see you"..
Scenes From A Marriage
peacecreep19 October 2013
An interesting little show about a couple running a restaurant in North Carolina. The better parts focus on southern ingredients and their preparation, the rest is about them rebuilding their restaurant after a fire. These sequences play as awkward portraits of a marriage on the rocks as they bicker and complain about each other to the camera. A lot of the scenes with locals seem forced and slightly uncomfortable, as it appears Vivian and her cameras annoy them. The film making is simple yet competent and the photography is nice to look at. I certainly appreciate the honesty of it. Chef Vivian definitely has some great recipes and cultural heritage to share but the emphasis on the stressed out relationship gets in the way.
Less Than Endearing
BardonLake16 March 2014
True to the show's title, this series centers around the life of Chef Vivian Howard. Unfortunately for the viewer, Chef Howard is not a terribly endearing personality. Restaurant staff and Chef Howard's husband are subjected to a whole host of petty quibbles, nasty looks, and an overall moody temperament, none of which makes for terribly good television. In fact, it's quite distracting from what otherwise might be a good program. Likewise, Chef Howard's encounters with "the locals" seem rather contrived and the mutual lack of comfort ekes through more than the culinary and cultural content. Many of the locals seem take to Chef Howard about as well as former Confederates took to Carpetbaggers after the Civil War; it's terribly awkward. Overall, the show seems to lose itself in Chef Howard's uncanny inability to relate to her husband, coworkers, and community, rather than truly immersing itself in Carolina culture and "exploring the south one ingredient at a time."
Refreshing Reality Television from The Chef's Point Of View
harrykeyser12 November 2015
The show is about the trials and tribulations of trying to run a unique farm to table restaurant. The chef, Vivian Howard and her husband, Ben Knight, were not created for television, but simply show what it's like struggling with raising a family, running a business, and trying to be creative.
It's fun watching the daily efforts of a restaurant being the fly on the wall. We get to see what it looks like from the back of house, we get to hear about the stress of exhaustive daily effort, and we see the success and failure from a seemingly honest point of view. Vivian Howard and company make each episode interesting and educational.
I enjoy watching "A Chef's Life". Sure, there are 'Reality TV' moments that seem a bit contrived and the occasional scripted moments. But, all and all, it's fun. Haters Gonna Hate, but I will come back and watch each and every episode. I Love It.
It's fun watching the daily efforts of a restaurant being the fly on the wall. We get to see what it looks like from the back of house, we get to hear about the stress of exhaustive daily effort, and we see the success and failure from a seemingly honest point of view. Vivian Howard and company make each episode interesting and educational.
I enjoy watching "A Chef's Life". Sure, there are 'Reality TV' moments that seem a bit contrived and the occasional scripted moments. But, all and all, it's fun. Haters Gonna Hate, but I will come back and watch each and every episode. I Love It.
Yippee! More mutated reality T.V.
BlackJack_B2 August 2014
PBS' A Chef's Life is half cooking show, half "real reality T.V." show. Unlike most reality T.V. cooking shows, this isn't some made-up story about a restaurant opening but a legit opening. Problem is see, they clearly have scripted events occur during the program that anybody with a brain can see a mile away.
The focus is on Chef Vivian Howard, who sounds like a female Dr. Phil. She has a North Carolina drawl and many of the people she interacts with have that distinct accent. She and her husband Ben Knight worked in New York (don't know if that's a work or not) and then claims her parents will allow them to open their own restaurant if they open it in Eastern North Carolina (?) which she says she was finished with in the intro. Most of each show is about the travails of getting this restaurant open with a mix of fact and BS. 5-7 minutes are spent showcasing her cooking prowess.
Much of the show consists of the boring and dull comments of Chef Vivian in front of a camera. She certainly knows how to doll herself up but she has the personality of a rock. She also seems to come off as somebody with a superiority complex and her husband is pretty much forced to do her bidding as he clearly doesn't wear the pants in this family.
I would recommend one episode just so you can hear that unique voice of hers but other than that, it's a good cure for insomnia. Anyway, I'm sure she will script a good ending for her little enterprise.
The focus is on Chef Vivian Howard, who sounds like a female Dr. Phil. She has a North Carolina drawl and many of the people she interacts with have that distinct accent. She and her husband Ben Knight worked in New York (don't know if that's a work or not) and then claims her parents will allow them to open their own restaurant if they open it in Eastern North Carolina (?) which she says she was finished with in the intro. Most of each show is about the travails of getting this restaurant open with a mix of fact and BS. 5-7 minutes are spent showcasing her cooking prowess.
Much of the show consists of the boring and dull comments of Chef Vivian in front of a camera. She certainly knows how to doll herself up but she has the personality of a rock. She also seems to come off as somebody with a superiority complex and her husband is pretty much forced to do her bidding as he clearly doesn't wear the pants in this family.
I would recommend one episode just so you can hear that unique voice of hers but other than that, it's a good cure for insomnia. Anyway, I'm sure she will script a good ending for her little enterprise.
Is there any show that she doesn't whine
patsypetruzzi23 October 2021
barely watchable
Mira89 August 2020
I'm very interested in food, foodways, cooking, all of that. But I have to change the channel when this woman comes on. She's a crabby, spoiled, entitled white woman who is constantly complaining, putting people down, being nasty to her staff, being nasty to her husband, and being horribly condescending to the black people whose southern food culture she is appropriating. I pity her children. I pity anyone who has to come in contact with Vivian Howard.
PBS sponsored infomercial
borderlands-439864 October 2020
There's little to enjoy here. A relatively will to do white Southern lady conducts a culinary business while, superficially, connecting with low income cooks and hourly staff. This show just reinforces the bootstrap narrative of running a small food empire. The actual insights are scarce.
Weird hybrid of reality TV and a cooking show
LilyDaleLady10 June 2017
Warning: Spoilers
The "2" is for the food and cooking, which often look delicious. But this show is so obviously faked, I am amazed people fall for this. Do they believe the couples on "Bachelor/Bachelorette" are genuinely dating and "in love"?
There is no real restaurant "Chef and The Farmer". It's a set for a TV reality show. Simple common sense tell you that no such upscale eatery could survive in a dreary, remote small rural village that is 90 minutes (each way) from the nearest (modest-sized) metropolitan area. You'd be lucky to have 5 customers most nights. It would be impossible to survive. No -- this was an admittedly clever idea for a reality show, and the "customers" are clearly fake, or showing up to get on TV. It was "pre-sold" as a concept for PBS (in SC) and then went national.
Vivian Howard is an attractive, 30-something lady, though her demeanor is often crabby. Of course, from other fake, scripted "reality shows" like American Pickers and Pawn Stars, we know this too is a "shtick". Her husband is rarely seen. They seem to argue a lot. I hope their marriage is better than it looks here. Both of them claim to have "worked in New York City" but if you do the math...they only spent a couple of years there out of college.
By age 26, Vivian was back home in rural North Carolina (a place she says upfront she hated and wanted to GET AWAY FROM)....hmm, why would anyone do that? NYC is the gourmet restaurant capital of THE WORLD. I could see going to a slightly smaller market, but a village in NC? where no customers exist?
BTW: I have talked to actual residents of this part of NC, and they have told me "Kinston is a poor, black-majority village, and no way any of the locals could possibly be eating at an upscale, fancy restaurant". Watch the show, folks. You can count the black people on one hand and have fingers left over. No black customers and no black STAFF. How can you live and work and have a business in a 90% black area, with no black people? Hmmm.
Howard's parents own a large farm, and are immensely rich. Check out the "man cabin" (or whatever they call it) -- it's not a shack. It's nicer than most people's homes! and HUGE! so these very rich people got their daughter to come back to NC, by first offering to support her, and her deadbeat husband (perhaps when she got preggers?) and THEN by offering to pay for her to have a "fake restaurant" and then they (or her husband) marketed the heck out of filming the "fake tribulations" for PBS....and the restaurant burned down.
No inkling as to how you'd survive that, or how someone who works 24/7 can be raising twins....or what kind of income you could possibly generate from a super-fancy restaurant in BUM you-know-what Egypt. (Of course, I know once it got on famous on TV, that did generate some business plus profits from books, PBS revenues, etc.. I mean INITIALLY.)
Every crisis and situation is fake and manufactured for TV cameras. I pity their kids. I pity the husband and the marriage. I'll be really happy when reality TV dies a much deserved death.
There is no real restaurant "Chef and The Farmer". It's a set for a TV reality show. Simple common sense tell you that no such upscale eatery could survive in a dreary, remote small rural village that is 90 minutes (each way) from the nearest (modest-sized) metropolitan area. You'd be lucky to have 5 customers most nights. It would be impossible to survive. No -- this was an admittedly clever idea for a reality show, and the "customers" are clearly fake, or showing up to get on TV. It was "pre-sold" as a concept for PBS (in SC) and then went national.
Vivian Howard is an attractive, 30-something lady, though her demeanor is often crabby. Of course, from other fake, scripted "reality shows" like American Pickers and Pawn Stars, we know this too is a "shtick". Her husband is rarely seen. They seem to argue a lot. I hope their marriage is better than it looks here. Both of them claim to have "worked in New York City" but if you do the math...they only spent a couple of years there out of college.
By age 26, Vivian was back home in rural North Carolina (a place she says upfront she hated and wanted to GET AWAY FROM)....hmm, why would anyone do that? NYC is the gourmet restaurant capital of THE WORLD. I could see going to a slightly smaller market, but a village in NC? where no customers exist?
BTW: I have talked to actual residents of this part of NC, and they have told me "Kinston is a poor, black-majority village, and no way any of the locals could possibly be eating at an upscale, fancy restaurant". Watch the show, folks. You can count the black people on one hand and have fingers left over. No black customers and no black STAFF. How can you live and work and have a business in a 90% black area, with no black people? Hmmm.
Howard's parents own a large farm, and are immensely rich. Check out the "man cabin" (or whatever they call it) -- it's not a shack. It's nicer than most people's homes! and HUGE! so these very rich people got their daughter to come back to NC, by first offering to support her, and her deadbeat husband (perhaps when she got preggers?) and THEN by offering to pay for her to have a "fake restaurant" and then they (or her husband) marketed the heck out of filming the "fake tribulations" for PBS....and the restaurant burned down.
No inkling as to how you'd survive that, or how someone who works 24/7 can be raising twins....or what kind of income you could possibly generate from a super-fancy restaurant in BUM you-know-what Egypt. (Of course, I know once it got on famous on TV, that did generate some business plus profits from books, PBS revenues, etc.. I mean INITIALLY.)
Every crisis and situation is fake and manufactured for TV cameras. I pity their kids. I pity the husband and the marriage. I'll be really happy when reality TV dies a much deserved death.
Just catching this on Amazon/PBS
heartbeatsandmelodies11 June 2020
Love the visits with locals, the neo-southern cuisine and the amount of effort Chef Vivian puts into her menus. Food looks amazing. The husband is an albatross around the neck of the show ... and probably the chef. Seems at most times she has three children to deal with. Work on your self-confidence, Chef, and ditch the whiner!
Vastly overrated, unappealing chef
GNickL19 January 2022
Howard has all the appeal of a month old, overcooked baked potato. Other reviewers have been spot on expounding on how whiney, crass, grating, uncreative, and just plain annoying Howard is. Really, it's not even as good as the awful reality TV shows on commercial TV. What fool at PBS greenlighted this show? Do they think they need to compete with the avalanche of crap on HGTV, Food Channel, etc.?
If I worked for Howard, I would quit; if I were married to Howard, I would divorce; and if I lived near her restaurant, I'd go elsewhere. She is almost unwatchable. I might have given this show three stars but I'm so annoyed at it's high rating, it's getting a one from me.
Joanna Gaines's absolutely pathetic cooking show might even be better than this. And Gaines is far from being a chef.
If I worked for Howard, I would quit; if I were married to Howard, I would divorce; and if I lived near her restaurant, I'd go elsewhere. She is almost unwatchable. I might have given this show three stars but I'm so annoyed at it's high rating, it's getting a one from me.
Joanna Gaines's absolutely pathetic cooking show might even be better than this. And Gaines is far from being a chef.
Positive reviews must be her family
annaml11721 May 2023
Vivian Howard has to be one of the most unlikable and whiniest people on TV. I tried to watch the show back in the day multiple times and I wasn't able to get through one.
She was just on an episode of Patti's Mexican Kitchen, and I love Patti for her cheery, bubbly personality. Then I realized Ms. Howard was her guest. It was such an awkward episode. She must have a manager who's trying their darndest to make her work somewhere. That's why I came on here to see if I was the only one to think that, but I'm not alone. She's just not warm or sincere. I'm sure she is fine on a personal level, but she's just not camera friendly.
She was just on an episode of Patti's Mexican Kitchen, and I love Patti for her cheery, bubbly personality. Then I realized Ms. Howard was her guest. It was such an awkward episode. She must have a manager who's trying their darndest to make her work somewhere. That's why I came on here to see if I was the only one to think that, but I'm not alone. She's just not warm or sincere. I'm sure she is fine on a personal level, but she's just not camera friendly.
Stop asking black women how to cook southern meals
sommermadness19 November 2022
This only get one star. The purpose of me giving one star is that she don't know how to cook number one why you need to go to the South to ask how to cook greens biscuits cornbread but yet you had to a restaurant that's why I feel so Mom and Daddy had to give you a restaurant they have you to come back there cuz they had your back if your mama cook greens so great what you need to go to the South to find out high it's cooked stop acting like you're cooking good you are a copycat it want to take the credit I ain't hating but I know how to cook and I know you don't know what you doing you are slowly stuck on stupid your husband I think he must really truly love you for him to stand it he know you messing up and you'll never be rich off of cooking and you're an egotistical maniac and looking for praise Mom and Daddy's the only one that's going to praise you okay so just go and call your show how to copycat on black Southern women's cooking okay.
Not sure how it lasted this long
chelseat-8855927 November 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Okay southern born and bred here. Vivian gives you enough to dislike her in the intro of the show and it just goes downhill from there. If you like to watch a smoldering dumpster fire, then this is the show for you. She and her long suffering husband are both chefs and after living in NY, they come back to the South she LOATHED so mommy and daddy can pay for her to open a restaurant, and the pitfalls that come with that and rebuilding from a fire for YEARS like the place was hit by a missile lol.
They try to be folksy and PBS is of course going to try and play that angle. The folks are real and pass off the ingredients and often the recipes for Vivian to later use in her restaurant. The whole problem is this restaurant in this town is just a bad idea from the getgo. Each episode finds our chef in a tizzy, fussing about husband, money, THE FIREOMG, staffing issues, soft openings and grand openings, and does shots of video to prove it all smh. She does a high cuisine farm to table menu, but often finds some cull vegetable or animal entrail as the main ingredient and then tries to dance it up a bit. Problem is nobody wants to pay 60 bucks for toad anus served on a graham cracker. So you can see how this will go. The rest is pomp for her family and friends to put on button up shirts and go eat toad anus at her restaurant... The staff morale is always low, sales are always slumping, and she is constantly changing opening and location to the boiler room. It is a headache to watch. All the while it is done by someone who hated the south (her huh huh laugh here), serves entrails, and coopts southern culture when it suits her needs. Everything is tortuous for her. I cannot imagine how her parents and husband feel having to hold their tongue while the titanic sinks. Anyway watch it if you want. She isn't super likeable so that makes it fun to laugh at the problems. Also the restaurant closed down in a mountain of debt despite the parental efforts and her and her husband got divorced because of arguing over money/debt. Chef's kiss...
They try to be folksy and PBS is of course going to try and play that angle. The folks are real and pass off the ingredients and often the recipes for Vivian to later use in her restaurant. The whole problem is this restaurant in this town is just a bad idea from the getgo. Each episode finds our chef in a tizzy, fussing about husband, money, THE FIREOMG, staffing issues, soft openings and grand openings, and does shots of video to prove it all smh. She does a high cuisine farm to table menu, but often finds some cull vegetable or animal entrail as the main ingredient and then tries to dance it up a bit. Problem is nobody wants to pay 60 bucks for toad anus served on a graham cracker. So you can see how this will go. The rest is pomp for her family and friends to put on button up shirts and go eat toad anus at her restaurant... The staff morale is always low, sales are always slumping, and she is constantly changing opening and location to the boiler room. It is a headache to watch. All the while it is done by someone who hated the south (her huh huh laugh here), serves entrails, and coopts southern culture when it suits her needs. Everything is tortuous for her. I cannot imagine how her parents and husband feel having to hold their tongue while the titanic sinks. Anyway watch it if you want. She isn't super likeable so that makes it fun to laugh at the problems. Also the restaurant closed down in a mountain of debt despite the parental efforts and her and her husband got divorced because of arguing over money/debt. Chef's kiss...
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