A Chef's Life

- Season 3

(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 Johnna over a Southern classic: squash and onions.

Mrs. Scarlett teaches Vivian the secrets of Gramma Hill's canned peaches and shares memories from her own childhood. Vivian sweats through a Thanksgiving-in-July photo shoot while a major mix-up leaves the restaurant team scrambling.

Vivian is under the gun to pen an entire book chapter on figs in three days. The stress inspires a fig and honey bourbon slushie tasting and a fig preserves session. After much debate, Vivian and Ben decide to charge for bread at the restaurant.

Vivian visits her friend Nancy for a surprisingly comforting combination of homemade pickles, chicken salad and chocolate cake. Ben and Vivian audition a new chef to offer Ben some relief and much-needed time to focus on his art.

Vivian's mentor, Scott Barton, stops by the restaurant and shares the African roots of okra. Vivian learns that picking okra is a prickly business and gets a crash course in food styling during a photo session for her upcoming cookbook.

Matt from Crooked Fence Produce shows Vivian how to make "the best pickled beets she ever ate." Vivian incorporates beets into an unconventional chocolate cake in honor of Ms. Mary's 89th birthday. There's no telling how Ms. Lillie will respond.

The Boiler Room welcomes a new manager, much to Ben's delight. A family reunion brings out long-lost relatives, the warmth of fellowship and an impressive spread of home-cooked casseroles.

After a visit from "The Honey Man," Vivian turns up the heat on a dish of chicken livers drizzled with hot honey. While Ben preps for his art show in Durham, Vivian descends on the "Bull City's" restaurant row to sample sweet, honey-themed dishes.

Lillie shows Vivian three ways to bring out the bitter and the sweet in rutabagas. Vivian showers her team with gifts as they prepare a holiday menu. A hectic New Year's Eve at the restaurant ends in a toast and a smile, despite brewing tension.

Travel with Vivian to Charleston's Wine and Food Festival, the South's premiere gathering of world-class chefs and food folk. A clamming trip with low-country legend "Clammer Dave" adds a bit of adventure.

Continue the visit to Charleston, especially the popular Waffle House Smackdown. Frank Lee, "Mayor of Charleston," invites Vivian to his home and schools her in the proper way to open a clam and reveals the secret to his aunt's decadent clam hash.

Find out how Vivian's whole-cow program, after some initial hiccups, finds its groove. Mrs. Scarlett makes a classic cubed steak, inciting an epic tantrum from Flo. Vivian heads to New York to meet her new editor as work on her cookbook continues.

Find out how Vivian's whole-cow program, after some initial hiccups, finds its groove. Mrs. Scarlett makes a classic cubed steak, inciting an epic tantrum from Flo. Vivian heads to New York to meet her new editor as work on her cookbook continues.