Vivian Howard facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Vivian Howard
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Howard at the 73rd Annual Peabody Awards
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| Nationality | American |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Education | Salem Academy Virginia Episcopal School |
| Alma mater | North Carolina State University Institute of Culinary Education |
| Occupation | Chef Restaurateur Author Television host |
| Known for | A Chef's Life |
| Awards | Peabody Award 2014 |
Vivian Howard is a well-known American chef, restaurant owner, author, and TV host. From 2013 to 2018, she hosted the PBS television show A Chef's Life. This show explored the ingredients and cooking traditions of eastern North Carolina. It was filmed at her restaurant, Chef & the Farmer, in Kinston, North Carolina. She co-owned this restaurant with her former husband and business partner, Ben Knight.
In 2014, Vivian Howard made history. She was the first woman since Julia Child to win a Peabody Award for a cooking program. She has also written popular cookbooks. Her first book, Deep Run Roots, came out in 2017. In 2020, she released her second cookbook, This Will Make It Taste Good: A New Path to Simple Cooking. In 2023, she wrote an article for the New York Times. It discussed the challenges faced by restaurants.
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Vivian Howard's Early Life and Education
Vivian Howard grew up in Deep Run, North Carolina. This is a small community near Kinston. Her parents, John and Scarlett Howard, were farmers. They raised hogs and grew various crops. Her family has a long history of farming in Lenoir County.
When she was 14, Howard attended Salem Academy. This was an all-girls boarding school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She later spent two years at Virginia Episcopal School. In 2001, she earned her degree in English Language from North Carolina State University. During college, she studied cooking in Argentina for a semester. After graduating, she moved to New York City. She first worked in advertising. Then, she became a waitress at Voyage restaurant. The chef there, Scott Barton, became an important mentor to her.
Vivian Howard's Culinary Career
Vivian Howard graduated from the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City in 2004. She gained experience working in famous restaurants. She interned at Wylie Dufresne's wd~50. She also trained at Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Spice Market.
Howard married Ben Knight, who she met at Voyage restaurant. They started a soup delivery business from their apartment. Even though they had offers to open a restaurant in New York, they decided to move to North Carolina. Howard's parents offered to help them buy a restaurant in Kinston. In 2005, they moved to North Carolina. They opened Chef & the Farmer in 2006. The restaurant is in an old building that used to be a print shop. Most of the ingredients they use come from farms nearby.
Chef & the Farmer creates new versions of traditional Southern dishes. Many of these recipes come from older people in her community. Howard believes it's important to learn from the wisdom of older generations. In 2012, the Chef & the Farmer building had a fire. It was rebuilt and reopened. In the summer of 2022, the restaurant closed again. It reopened in December 2024 with a new concept. It is now called the Counter at Chef & the Farmer and the Kitchen Bar at Chef & the Farmer.
In 2013, Howard and Knight opened another restaurant called the Boiler Room. It served oysters and burgers. This restaurant closed in May 2020.
Howard's first cookbook, Deep Run Roots - Stories and Recipes from my Corner of the South, was released in October 2016. It was a New York Times Bestseller for three weeks. In 2017, the book won four awards from the IACP. These included Cookbook of the Year.
Howard and Knight opened Benny's Big Time Pizzeria in Wilmington, NC, in December 2017. In 2020, Howard released her second cookbook, This Will Make It Taste Good. This book focuses on flavorful bases for simple cooking. She also started writing a column for the magazine Garden & Gun.
In 2021, Howard opened Lenoir, her first restaurant in Charleston, SC. It also has a sister café called Handy + Hot. In 2024, she opened The Kitchen Bar and The Counter in Kinston. In 2025, she opened Theodosia at the Outerbanks, North Carolina.
Vivian Howard on Television
A Chef's Life
In 2011, Vivian Howard wanted to make sure that old food traditions were not forgotten. She contacted her friend Cynthia Hill, a filmmaker. Together, they filmed a pilot episode for a TV show. PBS and South Carolina Educational Television decided to air the show. Seasons 1 and 2 were shown across the country from 2013 to 2015. Season 5 started in October 2017. The show ended after five seasons with a special one-hour finale.
A Chef's Life brought many fans to Chef & the Farmer. It also helped Kinston's economy grow.
Somewhere South
In 2020, Howard returned to PBS to host Somewhere South. This series had six parts. It explored different dishes that are popular across various cultures.
Awards and Recognition
Vivian Howard's show, A Chef's Life, won several awards. It received a Peabody Award in 2014 for being excellent in broadcasting. In 2015, it won a Daytime Emmy for Best Directing of a Lifestyle/Travel/Culinary program. In 2016, it won a James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Culinary Host.
Howard herself was nominated for many James Beard Foundation Awards. She was also nominated for two other Daytime Emmy's. Chef & the Farmer restaurant also received many honors. It won a AAA Four Diamond Award seven times. It also received a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence.
Vivian Howard's Personal Life
Vivian Howard was married to artist Ben Knight. They were business partners in Chef & the Farmer and the Vivian Howard Restaurant Group. In early 2023, she confirmed that they had divorced. They met while working together in New York City. They lived on Howard's family farm in Deep Run, North Carolina. They have twins named Florence and Theodore.
