Vivian Howard
{{Short description|American chef, restaurateur, author and television host}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Vivian Howard
| image = Vivian Howard (14106337877) - cropped.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Howard at the 73rd Annual Peabody Awards
| birth_date =
| birth_place =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality = American
| citizenship = United States
| other_names =
| education = Salem Academy
Virginia Episcopal School
| alma_mater = North Carolina State University
Institute of Culinary Education
| occupation = Chef
Restaurateur
Author
Television host
| years_active =
| known_for = A Chef's Life
| notable_works =
| awards = Peabody Award 2014
| website = {{URL|vivianhoward.com}}
}}
Vivian Howard is an American chef, restaurateur, author and television host. From 2013 to 2018, Howard hosted the PBS television series A Chef's Life focusing on the ingredients and cooking traditions of eastern North Carolina — using the backdrop of the Chef & the Farmer restaurant in Kinston, North Carolina, which Howard co-owned with her then-husband and business partner, artist Ben Knight.
In 2014, Howard was the first woman since Julia Child to win a Peabody Award for a cooking program.{{cite web|title = Deep Run Roots Food Truck Tour with Vivian Howard|publisher = Blue Bicycle Books|date = September 26, 2016 |url = http://bluebicyclebooks.com/2016/09/26/vivian-howard-food-truck-tour-tue-oct/https://www.wsj.com/public/article_print/SB110194232087888545.html}} In 2017, she authored the cookbook-memoir Deep Run Roots, and in 2020 This Will Make It Taste Good: A New Path to Simple Cooking.
In 2023, Howard wrote an opinion piece for the New York Times, outlining the foundational problems with the current restaurant business model, many that contributed directly to the post-pandemic temporary closure of The Chef and the Farmer — which she reopen in a re-envisioned format as a story-telling tasting menu seating.{{cite web |title=Vivian Howard reimagines Chef & the Farmer experience |url=https://www.neusenews.com/index/2024/4/26/vivian-howard-reimagines-chef-the-farmer-experience#gsc.tab=0 |access-date=2 January 2025}} {{cite web
|title = Foodie Fever Dreams Can't Keep Restaurants Afloat
|work = New York Times
|author = Vivian Howard
|date = January 20, 2023
|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/20/opinion/noma-restaurant-future.html}}
Background
Howard grew up in Deep Run, North Carolina, a small community near the town of Kinston. Her parents, John and Scarlett Howard, were farmers who raised hogs and grew tobacco, cotton, soybeans, wheat, and corn.{{cite web| url = https://www.agriculture.com/livestock/pork-powerhouses/john-howards-deep-run-roots| title = John Howard's Deep Run Roots| last = Freese| first = Betsy| date = 5 November 2018| website = Successful Farming| publisher = Tom Davis| access-date = 13 November 2021}} Her father owns J.C. Howard Farms, Inc., a pork production company with 27,000 pigs, and owns 5,000 acres of farmland, 5,000 acres in forestland, a timber production company, and fourteen John Deere dealerships. Howard's grandfather and great-grandfather were also tobacco farmers in Lenoir County.
At age 14, Howard attended Salem Academy, an all-girls boarding school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where she was classmates with Adrian H. Wood. She then spent two years at Virginia Episcopal School, a boarding school in Lynchburg, Virginia. In 2001, she earned her BA in English Language from North Carolina State University. During her time at NCSU, she studied abroad for a semester in Argentina, as part of a culinary-themed program.{{cite web|url=http://firstwefeast.com/eat/vivian-howard-career-changing-dishes/|title=The 10 Dishes That Made My Career: Vivian Howard of Chef & the Farmer|website=Firstwefeast.com|access-date=8 September 2018}} After graduating, Howard moved to New York City and began working in advertising for Grey Worldwide. She quit after 18 months and started working as a waitress at Voyage restaurant. Scott Barton, the restaurant's executive chef, became her early mentor.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/vivian-howard-lives-a-chefs-life-her-attempt-to-show-the-real-north-carolina/2014/10/06/b8e1d0b8-4a51-11e4-891d-713f052086a0_story.html|title=Vivian Howard lives 'A Chef's Life,' her attempt to show the real North Carolina|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=8 September 2018}}
Career
Howard graduated from the Institute of Culinary Education in NYC in 2004.{{cite web|url=http://www.ice.edu/profiles/alumni/culinary-arts-alumni/vivian-howard|title=Vivian Howard -Alumni Profiles - Institute of Culinary Education|website=Ice.edu|access-date=8 September 2018}} She completed an internship at Wylie Dufresne's wd~50 and trained as Chef de Partie at Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Spice Market.
Howard married Ben Knight, one of her coworkers at Voyage, and the two started a soup delivery business out of their apartment in Harlem, an effort that included chilling soup in the bathtub.{{cite web|url=https://www.ourstate.com/chef-and-the-farmer-kinston/|title=Chef and the Farmer in Kinston – Our State Magazine|date=27 January 2012|website=Ourstate.com|access-date=8 September 2018}} Despite offers from investors to open a brick and mortar location in New York, the couple agreed to accept Howard's parents' offer to buy a restaurant in Kinston.{{cite web|url=http://www.styleweekly.com/ShortOrderBlog/archives/2014/12/03/a-chefs-life|title=A Chef's Life|first=Brandon|last=Fox|website=Styleweekly.com|access-date=8 September 2018}} Howard and Knight moved to North Carolina in 2005 and opened Chef & the Farmer in 2006 in a downtown building, previously a print shop — and before that, a mule stable. More than 60% of the ingredients used in the restaurant come from within a 90-mile radius.{{cite web|url=http://charlestonwineandfood.com/personalities/vivian-howard/|title=Vivian Howard - Charleston Wine + Food|website=charlestonwineandfood.com|access-date=8 September 2018}}
The restaurant creates modern interpretations of traditional southern dishes, often collected from members of her family's Eastern North Carolina community. In 2018, Howard said "Older folks in our community teach me how to make something very simple. One of the things I like about A Chef's Life and dislike about modern media, in general, is that [our culture is] very young-person-new-ideas driven, and I don’t think people call on the wisdom of older folks very much. To learn from them and share has been wonderful."{{cite web|url=http://www.southernliving.com/food/vivian-howard|title=Vivian Howard|website=Southernliving.com|access-date=8 September 2018}}
In 2012, the Chef & the Farmer building caught fire and was rebuilt.{{cite web|url=http://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/kinston-restaurateur-vivian-howard-and-a-chefs-life-a-new-pbs-show/Content?oid=3716426|title=Kinston restaurateur Vivian Howard and A Chef's Life, a new PBS show|first=Jill Warren|last=Lucas|website=Indyweek.com|date=11 September 2013|access-date=8 September 2018}} In the summer of 2022, Chef & the Farmer closed with plans to reopen with a different conception.{{cite web |title=Chef & the Farmer |url=https://www.vivianhoward.com/chef-the-farmer#:~:text=After%2016%20years%20of%20business,Chef%20%26%20the%20Farmer%20so%20fiercely. |website=Vivian Howard}} Chef & the Farmer re-opened in December 2024 as the Counter at Chef & the Farmer and the Kitchen Bar at Chef & the Farmer.{{Cite web |last=Jackson |first=Drew |date=2024-12-11 |title=Vivian Howard opens a new casual restaurant in Chef & the Farmer space in NC |url=https://www.newsobserver.com/living/food-drink/article296832774.html |website=The News & Observer}}
In 2013, Howard and Knight opened the Boiler Room, which served oysters and burgers catty-corner from Chef & the Farmer,{{cite news|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/travel/2014/09/13/star-chef-raising-profile-her-town/urWqpOfyehdnoTATZjkwLO/story.html|title=Star chef raising the profile of her N.C. town|newspaper=The Boston Globe|access-date=8 September 2018}} until its closure in May 2020.{{cite news|url= https://carolinas.eater.com/2020/5/22/21267805/boiler-room-kinston |title=Celebrity Chef Vivian Howard Shuts Down Her Kinston Oyster Bar |website=carolinas.eater.com |date=22 May 2020}}
Howard authored the cookbook and memoir Deep Run Roots - Stories and Recipes from my Corner of the South {{ISBN|0316381101}}, released in October 2016.{{cite web|url=http://www.newsobserver.com/living/food-drink/article10078205.html|title=Chef Vivian Howard learns that attention has a price|website=Newsobserver.com|access-date=8 September 2018}} The book remained on the New York Times Bestseller List for 3 weeks. In 2017, the book won four IACP Cookbook Awards including: Cookbook of the Year, Julia Child First Book Award, Outstanding Restaurant Cookbook, and Outstanding Cookbook in the General Category.
Howard and Knight opened a restaurant called Benny's Big Time Pizzeria on December 12, 2017, in Wilmington, NC's Warehouse District.{{Cite web|url=https://www.eater.com/2017/12/7/16746612/vivian-howard-new-restaurant-bennys-big-time-pizzeria-wilmington-nc-open-menu-food-photos|title=Inside 'A Chef's Life' Star Vivian Howard's New Restaurant|first=Hillary Dixler|last=Canavan|date=December 7, 2017|website=Eater}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.starnewsonline.com/photogallery/NC/20171212/NEWS/121209986/PH/1|title=Photos: Opening night at Benny's Big Time Pizzeria|website=Wilmington Star News}}
In 2020 Howard released her second cookbook This Will Make It Taste Good: A New Path to Simple Cooking {{ISBN|9780316241908}}. The cookbook is built around a core collection of flavorful bases that become key components in the section of recipes that follow. She also began to write a column for the southern magazine Garden & Gun.{{cite web |title=More Vivian Howard |url=https://gardenandgun.com/author/vivian-howard/ |website=Garden & Gun |access-date=7 September 2023}}
In 2021 Howard opened Lenoir, her first restaurant in Charleston, SC, which includes a sister café Handy + Hot.{{cite news |last1=Raskin |first1=Hanna |title=Vivian Howard's hotly anticipated downtown Charleston restaurant announces opening date |url=https://www.postandcourier.com/blog/raskin_around/vivian-howards-hotly-anticipated-downtown-charleston-restaurant-announces-opening-date/article_52a2f086-9660-11eb-9246-af0f782e393b.html |access-date=2 June 2021 |work=The Post and Courier |date=6 April 2021}} In 2024, she opened The Kitchen Bar in the Chef and the Farmer space and The Counter in Kinston.{{cite web |title=Vivian Howard opens a new casual restaurant in Chef & the Farmer space in NC |url=https://www.newsobserver.com/living/food-drink/article296832774.html |website=The News & Observer |access-date=2 January 2025}}
Television
=''A Chef's Life''=
{{main|A Chef's Life}}
In 2011, after being concerned that certain food traditions would be lost without documentation, Howard contacted her friend Cynthia Hill, a filmmaker from Eastern North Carolina.{{cite web|url=http://www.eater.com/2014/1/21/6294499/chef-vivian-howard-on-southern-food-and-her-pbs-show|title=Chef Vivian Howard on Southern Food and Her PBS Show|website=Eater.com|date=21 January 2014|access-date=8 September 2018}} Together, Howard and Hill filmed a pilot. PBS and South Carolina Educational Television picked up the show, and Seasons 1 and 2 aired nationally from 2013 to 2015. Season 5 premiered in October 2017. After five seasons, the show ended with a one-hour finale, "Harvest Special."{{Cite news|url=https://www.newsobserver.com/living/article219733660.html|title=Vivian Howard's 'A Chef's Life' ends this month, and you're invited to the viewing party|work=newsobserver|access-date=2018-11-13|language=en}}
The show has attracted many fans to Chef & the Farmer, and has contributed to Kinston's increasing economic growth.{{cite web|url=http://wunc.org/post/chef-vivian-howard-works-revitalize-kinston-one-ingredient-time|title=Chef Vivian Howard Works To Revitalize Kinston 'One Ingredient At A Time'|first=Leoneda|last=Inge|website=Wunc.org|date=8 June 2015|access-date=8 September 2018}}
=''Somewhere South''=
In 2020, Howard returned to PBS to host Somewhere South. The six-part series explores dishes that are shared across cultures.{{cite news |last1=Jackson |first1=Drew |title=Vivian Howard's new show has a spring premiere date, but you can catch her this Friday |url=https://www.newsobserver.com/entertainment/article238196944.html |access-date=2 June 2021 |work=The News & Observer}}
Awards
A Chef's Life is a 2014 Peabody winner for Excellence in Broadcasting, a 2015 Daytime Emmy winner for Best Directing of a Lifestyle/Travel/Culinary program, and was a 2016 James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Culinary Host.
Howard in addition was nominated for James Beard Foundation Award for Television Program, On Location (2014, 2015, 2016), Visual and Technical Excellence (2015), Outstanding Personality Host (2015), and American Cooking: Deep Run Roots (2017).{{cite web|url=http://www.newsobserver.com/living/food-drink/mouthful-blog/article74106177.html|title=Vivian Howard of 'A Chef's Life' takes home a James Beard broadcast award|website=Newsobserver.com|access-date=8 September 2018}} Howard was named a James Beard Foundation Award semifinalist for Best Chef Southeast five consecutive times (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017). She was also nominated for two other Daytime Emmy's including: Outstanding Single Camera Photography (2015) and Outstanding Culinary Host (2017).
Chef & the Farmer has been given a AAA Four Diamond Award seven times (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016),{{cite web|url=http://www.themastfarminn.com/chef-and-the-farmer/|title=Chef & The Farmer • The Mast Farm Inn, North Carolina : The Mast Farm Inn|website=Themastfarminn.com|access-date=8 September 2018}} a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence (2009),{{cite web |url=http://chefandthefarmer.com/recognition/ |title=Recognition – Chef & the Farmer |website=chefandthefarmer.com |access-date=15 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110316051843/http://chefandthefarmer.com/recognition/ |archive-date=16 March 2011 |url-status=dead}} and was named an OpenTable Top 100 Restaurants in America (2011).
Personal life
Howard was married to artist Ben Knight, her co-owner at Chef & the Farmer and the Vivian Howard Restaurant Group. She confirmed in early 2023 the couple had divorced.{{cite web
|title = One on One: Vivian Howard Plans Her Return
|publisher = Chapelboro.com
|author = D.G. Martin
|date = January 30, 2023
|url = https://chapelboro.com/town-square/one-on-one-vivian-howard-plans-her-return}} The couple met while working together at Voyage restaurant in NYC. They lived on Howard's family homestead in Deep Run, North Carolina with their twins, Florence and Theodore.{{cite web
|title = Vivian Howard, a TV Chef, Offers Hope for Her Rural Hometown
|work = New York Times
|author = Kim Severson
|date = January 17, 2017
|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/17/dining/vivian-howard-north-carolina-chef-and-the-farmer.html}}{{cite web
|last1= Severson
|first1=Kim
|author-link1=Kim Severson
|date=January 18, 2017
|title=A Chef Looks Homeward
|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/17/dining/vivian-howard-north-carolina-chef-and-the-farmer.html
|department=Food
|newspaper=The New York Times
|edition=New England
|location=New York City, NY
|pages=D1,D4
|issn=0362-4331
|oclc=1645522
}}
Bibliography
=Cookbooks=
- Deep Run Roots: Stories and Recipes from My Corner of the South (2016, Little, Brown and Company; {{ISBN|9780316381109}} {{OCLC|1242328121}})
- This Will Make It Taste Good: A New Path to Simple Cooking (2020, Voracious / Little, Brown and Company; {{ISBN|9780316381123}} {{OCLC|1199991901}})
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- {{Official website|http://www.vivianhoward.com/}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Vivian}}
Category:American women restaurateurs
Category:American restaurateurs
Category:People from Lenoir County, North Carolina
Category:North Carolina State University alumni
Category:Virginia Episcopal School alumni
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:International Association of Culinary Professionals award winners