A Chef's Life Episode Rating Graph
Sep 2013 - Dec 2017
Sep 2013 - Dec 2017
6.1
Browse episode ratings trends for A Chef's Life. Simply click on the interactive rating graph to explore the best and worst of A Chef's Life's 60 episodes.
S3 Ep6
10.0
10th Oct 2015
Vivian learns to make pickled beets. She also incorporates beets into an unconventional chocolate cake for Ms. Mary's 89th birthday.
S1 Ep2
9.2
14th Sep 2013
Vivian and Ben rebuild their restaurant against the backdrop of the Southern harbinger of spring, the strawberry. Their twins go on their first strawberry-picking excursion, and Vivian and a friend develop a recipe for coconut cornbread strawberry shortcake with basil whipped cream.
S5 Ep8
9.0
25th Nov 2017
Vivian plans a respite from the road during the holidays, but finds herself equally busy at home. She volunteers at a soup kitchen and does one last book signing in Kinston before the holidays. Vivian also visits Sunburst Trout Farms and prepares a Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner at the restaurant where trout — from roe to filet — shines.
S5 Ep7
9.0
18th Nov 2017
On a short hiatus from the book tour, Vivian takes the twins to pick persimmons off Mrs. Betty's tree and learns about the different varieties of the fruit. She then takes that knowledge to Atlanta where an event called "Hired Guns" pits chefs and their dishes against each other. Back in Kinston, Vivian gets a pudding lesson from chef Bill Smith of Crook's Corner in Chapel Hill.
S5 Ep6
9.0
5th Nov 2017
What begins as a dinner at Maker’s Mark in Vivian’s honor ends as an American history lesson. A tour of Maker’s Mark and Jefferson’s distilleries illuminates the differences between whiskey, scotch, and bourbon for Vivian who also learns how Frank and Jesse James fit into Kentucky’s boozy biography.
S5 Ep2
9.0
14th Oct 2017
With Summer heat high and rain levels low, Vivian struggles to scrounge up enough green beans to add to the menu at Chef & the Farmer. Her kitchen capers continue as she stumbles to find her rhythm with a new chef firmly in place. Mrs. Tessie Mae offers levity by giving Vivian a golf cart tour of her garden, an intro to pickled pork, and a lesson in snapping pole beans.
S4 Ep10
9.0
12th Nov 2016
Vivian holds a mayo blind taste test and a surprise brand takes top prize. After a new chef takes the reins, her diminishing role at the restaurant becomes clearer. Vivian’s long-held vacation plans are stifled by a series of strange events.
S3 Ep12
9.0
21st Nov 2015
After some initial hiccups, Vivian’s whole cow program finds its groove. Mrs. Scarlett shows her how to make a classic cubed steak, inciting an epic tantrum from Flo. Vivian nervously heads to New York to meet her new editor as work on her upcoming cookbook continues.
S3 Ep11
9.0
14th Nov 2015
Conclusion. Charleston, S.C., is visited. Included: the Waffle House Smackdown; the proper way to open a clam; and clam hash.
S3 Ep2
9.0
12th Sep 2015
Vivian's mother shares the secrets of Gramma Hill's canned peaches as well as memories from her childhood. Vivian also sweats through a Thanksgiving-in-July photo shoot, and there's a major mix-up at the restaurant.
S3 Ep1
9.0
5th Sep 2015
With squash season in full effect, trouble with the twins, staffing issues at the Boiler Room, and a new cookbook overloading her plate, Vivian seeks motherly advice from Mrs. Scarlett and her sister Johna over a Southern classic: squash and onions. Despite nerves, Vivian plays it cool on camera, as Ben and all of Kinston anticipate her appearance on The Today Show.
S2 Ep10
9.0
28th Dec 2014
Late winter brings “run-up” turnip greens, which Vivian sees as central to her approach to southern food, capturing both the spirit and the letter of what Chef and the Farmer is all about. Miss Scarlett helps out by procuring greens from a local produce stand, washing them four times, and discussing the how-to of buying and cooking good turnips to satisfy her "southern people."
S2 Ep8
9.0
23rd Nov 2014
It’s November ya’ll and that means it’s busy at Chef and the Farmer. Vivian is feeling the stress of both work and home as she juggles running the restaurant after suspending her sous chef and preparing for her own Thanksgiving feast. She and Ms. Scarlett head to Ms. Scarlett’s family farm where they source their pecans and have a run in with Uncle Dwight’s wild boar.
S1 Ep13
9.0
5th Dec 2013
Vivian visits Broad Slab Distillery, where they talk about the art and soul of white lightning. The restaurant’s mixologist works moonshine into several new drinks, while the restaurant staff struggles through the holiday party season. They end the season with a party of their own at Ben and Vivian’s new house, with AppleJack Moonshine cocktails making a guest appearance.
S1 Ep3
9.0
1st Oct 2013
The restaurant gears up for a practice service when the new equipment and new menu will be tested in real time - but nothing is going as planned. One of the big changes to the restaurant's menus is the addition of a section called "Pimp My Grits," where Vivian exalts the lowly, quintessentially Southern ingredient in four distinct ways.
S1 Ep5
8.6
15th Oct 2013
Vivian preps for a Southern Foodways Alliance luncheon. Food enthusiasts from around the country are coming to study BBQ & Vivian plans to serve them the ultimate tomato sandwich. She weighs the risk of serving something so simple to this discerning crowd, but in her gut she believes it will be the highlight of their trip.
S1 Ep9
8.5
12th Nov 2013
Vivian visits neighbor Marty Harper's peanut farm just before and during harvest. Vivian's dad introduces Ben and Vivian to the old school break snack, a pack of salted peanuts dumped into a Pepsi in a glass bottle. At the restaurant, Vivian translates the snack into Pepsi glazed pork belly with country ham braised peanuts. Vivian reinvents the popular Southern snack, boiled peanuts, for the local farmers' market.
S1 Ep7
8.5
29th Oct 2013
Ben, Vivian and the twins pick muscadine grapes at a small local vineyard while learning the history of this native grape. Vivian visits Mike and Gator, her grape suppliers, and makes homemade wine. Back at the restaurant, Vivian makes a pizza with mulled muscadines, and Ben tests this new creation during their first stressful pizza night in the wine shop.
S2 Ep12
6.0
18th Jan 2015
Vivian hunts for ramps—an Appalachian wild leek—with renowned bacon purveyor Alan Benton near his home in the Tennessee countryside. The restaurant world goes wild over ramps, after a winter of few fresh vegetables. Vivian’s “ramp dealer” brings her his freshest stash, foraged from the North Carolina mountains. Theo and Flo show off a piglet and a baby goat at the ag show.
S5 Ep1
6.3
7th Oct 2017
Vivian’s plate is full of everything. Except tomatoes. As Chef & the Farmer turns 10 years old, Vivian embarks on a fruitless search for the season’s first ripe tomatoes to serve at the restaurant’s birthday party. For the celebration that brings back familiar faces and dishes, she concocts a menu that represents a decade of professional growth, and then seeks the wisdom of Mrs. Mary and Ms. Lilli.
S4 Ep7
6.4
22nd Oct 2016
Vivian learns about farm-raised catfish; and a staff member's last day at the restaurant arrives.
S3 Ep7
6.5
17th Oct 2015
A new manager signs on at the Boiler Room; and a family reunion features an impressive spread of home-cooked casseroles.
S2 Ep1
7.0
5th Oct 2014
After a year recovering from a restaurant fire and re-opening Chef and the Farmer, Vivian and Ben go all-in to open a burger/oyster bar called The Boiler Room. Vivian boils over with the stress of staffing adjustments, testing new menu concepts, and the enormous task of putting 500 pounds of blueberries to good use.
S2 Ep5
7.0
2nd Nov 2014
Excitement turns into heightened emotion and real nerves for Vivian as she faces one challenge after another in the prep kitchen before her big SFA luncheon. Vivian is glad to have Chef Jason Vincent to lend some street cred. Rice almost brings Vivian to her breaking point but everyone pulls together for the big event and her parents join her on stage for an emotional and watershed moment for her.
S2 Ep13
7.0
25th Jan 2015
Vivian finally makes good on a promise to cook for a friend’s supper club, and she seizes the moment to experiment with an egg dish that she hopes to wow New York City’s James Beard House crowd in a few weeks. She visits with her egg producer and learns the ins and outs of egg varieties, from chickens to ducks to guineas to partridges.
S3 Ep9
7.0
31st Oct 2015
Vivian learns to bring out the bitter and sweet in rutabagas. She also showers her team with gifts while they prepare a holiday menu and, despite brewing tension, a busy New Year's Eve at the restaurant ends in a toast and smile.
S4 Ep6
7.0
15th Oct 2016
Vivian demonstrates rabbit processing during a visit to the Carolina Meat Conference; and is depressed at the prospect of losing a cherished staff member at the restaurant.
S5 Ep10
7.3
9th Dec 2017
While enjoying some time at home, Vivian films a segment for a morning TV show where cornbread takes center stage. She then stops by a Kinston institution that merges cornbread with another Southern signature to create a handheld delicacy called “the pig and a puppy,” and creates her own version for a charity dinner. Back in the kitchen, Mrs. Scarlett & Ms. Lillie team up in a cornbread cook-off.
S4 Ep5
7.3
8th Oct 2016
Vivian explores Portland, Ore., prior to preparing the BBQ cabbage for Feast Portland.
S4 Ep2
7.3
17th Sep 2016
After a summer away, Vivian returns to the restaurant and a staff of new faces. She also asks a favor of an avid home chef: test her cookbook recipes.
S4 Ep3
7.4
24th Sep 2016
As a visit from her editor accelerates book preparations, Vivian reckons with handing over the restaurant reins to John and Justise. A tutorial in “beatin’ peas” delivered by a 92 year-old expert is an entertaining and therapeutic history lesson.
S1 Ep8
7.5
5th Nov 2013
Vivian travels to Columbia, South Carolina, to meet with Glenn Roberts of Anson Mills and learns about Carolina heirloom rice growing in fields on the Savannah River. Glenn explains Anson Mills' efforts to save heirloom grains and discusses the importance of ingredient biodiversity. Glenn's passion inspires Vivian to host a "rice dinner" at Chef & the Farmer, where each course centers around this grain. Scarlett, Vivian's mom, schools her daughter on how to make the chicken and rice she grew up eating.
S1 Ep11
7.5
21st Nov 2013
Vivian spends the morning with her neighbors, the Mills brothers, participating in their 100-year-old, all-male family tradition of making collard kraut. Vivian visits Warren at Brother’s farm to talk about the Eastern Carolina ingredient with a cult following, the Cabbage Collard.
S1 Ep12
7.5
28th Nov 2013
Vivian and Ben go to Maple View Dairy to pick up product for the restaurant. They talk buttermilk with the dairy’s manager, and the noise Ben makes while savoring his cup of the thick liquid annoys his wife.
S2 Ep4
7.5
26th Oct 2014
Vivian, Ben and the entire Chef and the Farmer staff hustle to complete the mammoth preparations necessary for her big luncheon at the Southern Foodways Alliance symposium in Oxford, Mississippi. Vivian take the women in her life as inspiration for her menu, honoring those who have made her the woman she has become.
S2 Ep7
7.5
16th Nov 2014
Vivian presents a few of the many ways fish makes its appearance in Southern cooking, from dried mullet roe to a friendly fish stew competition with Warren Brothers’ buddies. Vivian gets schooled on the rules of a good Eastern NC fish stew: Make it a social event. Use whole hog bacon. Resist your urge to stir! And most importantly, start crackin’ eggs and don’t forget a side of white bread.
S1 Ep1
7.7
7th Sep 2013
Chef Vivian Howard and her husband Ben leave New York to open a restaurant in her small North Carolina hometown. Vivian revisits the Southern tradition of “putting up” corn and shares her method for making smoked corn relish. As the episode concludes, a devastating setback threatens their new life.
S1 Ep2
9.2
14th Sep 2013
Vivian and Ben rebuild their restaurant against the backdrop of the Southern harbinger of spring, the strawberry. Their twins go on their first strawberry-picking excursion, and Vivian and a friend develop a recipe for coconut cornbread strawberry shortcake with basil whipped cream.
S1 Ep3
9.0
1st Oct 2013
The restaurant gears up for a practice service when the new equipment and new menu will be tested in real time - but nothing is going as planned. One of the big changes to the restaurant's menus is the addition of a section called "Pimp My Grits," where Vivian exalts the lowly, quintessentially Southern ingredient in four distinct ways.
S1 Ep4
8.4
8th Oct 2013
Vivian goes about christening the restaurant's new "whole animal, no waste" program with two little pigs from Warren Brothers' farm. She uses everything - including the skin - and, on her father's recommendation, demonstrates how to make sweet potatoes with cracklins.
S1 Ep5
8.6
15th Oct 2013
Vivian preps for a Southern Foodways Alliance luncheon. Food enthusiasts from around the country are coming to study BBQ & Vivian plans to serve them the ultimate tomato sandwich. She weighs the risk of serving something so simple to this discerning crowd, but in her gut she believes it will be the highlight of their trip.
S1 Ep6
8.5
22nd Oct 2013
Vivian goes to Cedar Island to explore the new culture of farm-raised oysters in the Southeast. She and Ben share plans of opening an oyster bar across the street from Chef & the Farmer in hopes it will be a place that adds character and variety to the tiny town's "dining scene." Vivian and her dad orchestrate their family's first-ever oyster roast and are blown away by how much everyone enjoys it.
S1 Ep7
8.5
29th Oct 2013
Ben, Vivian and the twins pick muscadine grapes at a small local vineyard while learning the history of this native grape. Vivian visits Mike and Gator, her grape suppliers, and makes homemade wine. Back at the restaurant, Vivian makes a pizza with mulled muscadines, and Ben tests this new creation during their first stressful pizza night in the wine shop.
S1 Ep8
7.5
5th Nov 2013
Vivian travels to Columbia, South Carolina, to meet with Glenn Roberts of Anson Mills and learns about Carolina heirloom rice growing in fields on the Savannah River. Glenn explains Anson Mills' efforts to save heirloom grains and discusses the importance of ingredient biodiversity. Glenn's passion inspires Vivian to host a "rice dinner" at Chef & the Farmer, where each course centers around this grain. Scarlett, Vivian's mom, schools her daughter on how to make the chicken and rice she grew up eating.
S1 Ep9
8.5
12th Nov 2013
Vivian visits neighbor Marty Harper's peanut farm just before and during harvest. Vivian's dad introduces Ben and Vivian to the old school break snack, a pack of salted peanuts dumped into a Pepsi in a glass bottle. At the restaurant, Vivian translates the snack into Pepsi glazed pork belly with country ham braised peanuts. Vivian reinvents the popular Southern snack, boiled peanuts, for the local farmers' market.
S1 Ep10
8.0
19th Nov 2013
Vivian introduces us to Rob and Amy Hill, proprietors of one of the largest sweet potato farms in the country and two of the restaurant’s best customers. Vivian and her mom, Scarlett, make her grandmother’s candied yams and Vivian later re-imagines these for the restaurant with texture, sorghum and pecans.
S1 Ep11
7.5
21st Nov 2013
Vivian spends the morning with her neighbors, the Mills brothers, participating in their 100-year-old, all-male family tradition of making collard kraut. Vivian visits Warren at Brother’s farm to talk about the Eastern Carolina ingredient with a cult following, the Cabbage Collard.
S1 Ep12
7.5
28th Nov 2013
Vivian and Ben go to Maple View Dairy to pick up product for the restaurant. They talk buttermilk with the dairy’s manager, and the noise Ben makes while savoring his cup of the thick liquid annoys his wife.
S1 Ep13
9.0
5th Dec 2013
Vivian visits Broad Slab Distillery, where they talk about the art and soul of white lightning. The restaurant’s mixologist works moonshine into several new drinks, while the restaurant staff struggles through the holiday party season. They end the season with a party of their own at Ben and Vivian’s new house, with AppleJack Moonshine cocktails making a guest appearance.
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The first episode of A Chef's Life aired on September 07, 2013.
The last episode of A Chef's Life aired on December 09, 2017.
There are 60 episodes of A Chef's Life.
There are 5 seasons of A Chef's Life.
No.
Canceled