WEBVTT - Chef Vivian Howard on New Cookbook, 'Deep Run Roots' (Audio)

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<v Speaker 1>This is taking stock on Bloomberg iyme pim Fox my

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<v Speaker 1>co host Kathleen Hayes. Let's turn our attention now to

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<v Speaker 1>the world of food with Vivian Howard, the chef and

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<v Speaker 1>owner of a restaurant in Kinston, North Carolina. It's called

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<v Speaker 1>Chef and the Farmer and also the Boiler Room restaurant

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<v Speaker 1>in Kinston, and also the author of a forthcoming book.

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<v Speaker 1>It is entitled Deep Run Roots, Stories and Recipes from

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<v Speaker 1>My Corner of the South. Vivian, thank you very much

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<v Speaker 1>for being with us. Thank you for having me. When

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<v Speaker 1>you say my Corner of the South. Tell people a

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<v Speaker 1>little bit about your personal history, because you've come from

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<v Speaker 1>North Carolina. You're currently in North Carolina, but you've had

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<v Speaker 1>a sojourn in New York City in which you managed

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<v Speaker 1>to get married and start a soup business. I understand,

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<v Speaker 1>and then decided to go back to North Carolina. Tell

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<v Speaker 1>us a little bit about you. Yeah, I grew up

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<v Speaker 1>in eastern North Carolina, which is um we call it

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<v Speaker 1>the coastal Plain, is in between Raleigh and the Beach.

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<v Speaker 1>And then I always wanted to leave. I ended up

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<v Speaker 1>in New York. I worked here, cooked here for about

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<v Speaker 1>five years and then moved home and opened a restaurant

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<v Speaker 1>in the town that I said I would never return to.

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<v Speaker 1>And um, we've been there for about ten years now

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<v Speaker 1>and have a two restaurants and uh PBS series based

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<v Speaker 1>on that kind of experience. And this is my first book.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, it's so funny because as a girl grew

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<v Speaker 1>up in Olympia, Washington, lovely town in Washington State, but

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<v Speaker 1>wanted to come to New York. Um, it's funny how

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes you can you can go home again. I haven't yet,

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<v Speaker 1>but that really touches a court I think with a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of people tell us about Let's start with the PBS.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a hit show, a chef's Life. Um yeah, so

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<v Speaker 1>a chef's Life. We're in our fourth season and it

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<v Speaker 1>is a show about family and place and tradition told

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<v Speaker 1>through the lens of food. I like to say it's

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<v Speaker 1>not a cooking show, um, but it is definitely. Our

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<v Speaker 1>medium is food, and every episode is about an ingredient

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<v Speaker 1>and we explore that ingredient past and present and farmer

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<v Speaker 1>or produce an example of one ingredient profiled. Um. So

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<v Speaker 1>in this season we do uh watermelon, so we um,

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<v Speaker 1>we have a backyard barbecue with my family. Um, we

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<v Speaker 1>make watermelon ron preserves with a woman in my community

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<v Speaker 1>who taught me how to can. And then I'm writing.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm writing my cookbook during the show, and so they

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<v Speaker 1>follow me on that journey. And one of the recipes

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<v Speaker 1>I'm um including in the book is uh watermelon braised

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<v Speaker 1>pork shoulder. And so we we kind of uh explore

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<v Speaker 1>all those threats. Tell us a little bit about this

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<v Speaker 1>idea of sourcing your ingredients within a geographical area of

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<v Speaker 1>the restaurants. Yeah, so eastern North Carolin, Wanna is formerly

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<v Speaker 1>a tobacco growing region, and tobacco is not really a

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<v Speaker 1>thing anymore, and so we have all these small farms

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<v Speaker 1>and one of our goals with our restaurant is to

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<v Speaker 1>help make eastern North Carolina region of small family farms again.

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<v Speaker 1>So we try to source everything within about a hundred

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<v Speaker 1>mile radius in an effort to improve the economic uh

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<v Speaker 1>status of our community. So deep run roots stories and

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<v Speaker 1>recipes from my corner of the south. What kind of

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<v Speaker 1>what's unique about your roots where you're from, the kind

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<v Speaker 1>of cuisine I think a lot of people think Southern.

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<v Speaker 1>They might think of black eyed peas and smothered chicken

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<v Speaker 1>and pulled pork. I expect there's a lot more to

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<v Speaker 1>it than that, right, So I grew up in deep run,

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<v Speaker 1>That's why it's called that. And um, I think that

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<v Speaker 1>the South is much like think of it like Italy

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<v Speaker 1>or France, and we never think of Italy as all

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<v Speaker 1>the food being the same. And there's very stink regions,

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<v Speaker 1>and I think the American South is very much the same,

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<v Speaker 1>um idea. And so eastern North Carolina we have very

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<v Speaker 1>specific things like we make this fish stew there that uh,

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<v Speaker 1>the last step is to drop whole eggs over the top,

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<v Speaker 1>and so they perch on top of the stew. Uh

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<v Speaker 1>we Um. Our country ham is actually air dried sausage,

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<v Speaker 1>So that's our charcouterie. Um. Sweet potatoes. We grow more

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<v Speaker 1>sweet potatoes in Eastern North Carolina by like ten times

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<v Speaker 1>than anywhere else in the world. So sweet potatoes are

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<v Speaker 1>a staple in our diet. So we have a very

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<v Speaker 1>distinct cuisine. And um, that's kind of one. That's one

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<v Speaker 1>of the main focuses of the book. Did you always

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<v Speaker 1>know that you were going to cook? No, I always

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<v Speaker 1>knew that I love to eat and I wanted to

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<v Speaker 1>be a storyteller, and so I started cooking UM as

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<v Speaker 1>a means to get behind the scenes look at restaurant

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<v Speaker 1>work so I could write about it. And then what

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<v Speaker 1>ended up happening was I loved cooking, I was good

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<v Speaker 1>at it. I liked the team kind of experience, and

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<v Speaker 1>so I fell into it. I guess yeah. I spent

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<v Speaker 1>many years in the front of the house, waiting tables,

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<v Speaker 1>tending bar and it is definitely teamwork, and it's intense.

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<v Speaker 1>I think that's one of the things that's fun about it.

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<v Speaker 1>You're busy, and you get through the rash and you

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<v Speaker 1>move on. What would you what advice would you have

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<v Speaker 1>for somebody who wants to start a restaurant. I'd say,

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<v Speaker 1>definitely work in one, because, as you know, it's a

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<v Speaker 1>certain type of personality that enjoys it. You either love

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<v Speaker 1>it or you hate it. I'd say, if you want

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<v Speaker 1>to UH, either work or in or own a restaurant,

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<v Speaker 1>you need to be prepared to work when everybody else

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<v Speaker 1>is relaxing or celebrating UM. And not to turn anyone

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<v Speaker 1>away from it, but that is a reality for sure.

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<v Speaker 1>The training that you received or that you managed to

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<v Speaker 1>get yourself not only from other chefs, but from culinary institutes.

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<v Speaker 1>What did you learn that you didn't know about cooking

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<v Speaker 1>as a result of all this? Not all of them,

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<v Speaker 1>but I mean, was there something about the way that

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<v Speaker 1>that food is then prepared in a restaurant setting that

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<v Speaker 1>is different than the way you came to it as

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<v Speaker 1>a not working as a professional? Um? Absolutely, you know.

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<v Speaker 1>I I kind of learned to cook classically in in restaurants,

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<v Speaker 1>and then I moved home and then started to go

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<v Speaker 1>into more home kitchens and and learn from home cooks.

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<v Speaker 1>And I went into that situation thinking that I knew

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<v Speaker 1>everything already, and it was so surprising to kind of

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<v Speaker 1>figure out that, um, not all uh food genius is

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<v Speaker 1>born in the restaurant kitchen. That there's so many, um,

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<v Speaker 1>little nuggets of wisdom and and tricks and delicious dishes

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<v Speaker 1>that are done in the home kitchen. And it really

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<v Speaker 1>I think takes both uh to build you know, your

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<v Speaker 1>personal style as a cook women chefs. Once upon a

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<v Speaker 1>time that was such a rarity many women working as

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<v Speaker 1>chefs now oh yees' um. You know, it's so interesting

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<v Speaker 1>that in our culture we always think of women, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>the matriarch being the cook in the family, but never

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<v Speaker 1>in the restaurant kitchen. But that's definitely changing and women

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<v Speaker 1>over the past few years have have, uh, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>taken you know, major platform in restaurant kitchens and I

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<v Speaker 1>think I think it's good. Well, Vivian Howard, good to

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<v Speaker 1>have you with us on taking Stock. Vivian Howard chef

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<v Speaker 1>an owner, Chef and the Farmer and the boiler Room

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<v Speaker 1>restaurants in Kinston, North Carolina. The host of PBSS hit

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<v Speaker 1>show A Chef's Life, and coming out with her first cookbook,

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<v Speaker 1>Deep Run, Roots, Stories and Recipes from My corner of

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<v Speaker 1>the South in the Fall. This is Bloomberg Radio.