A Chef's Life Season 4

[GlorifiedRice]

So I watched the first episode of the new season last night, and at one point I exclaimed "That is the point that the blush came off the rose!" to an empty family room. That happened twice last night.

Did anyone see the new episodes?

I hope Justice is getting a little something for her hard work and recipes that were added to Vivian's book.

I worry that Vivian will turn into Jennifer Lawrence. Love, Hate then Disappear...

Edited September 18, 2016 by GlorifiedRice (log)

[Thanks for the Crepes]

Hmmm. No, I haven't watched anything from the new season yet, but I love the series. Thanks for the heads up. I hope I won't be too disappointed.

[rotuts]

my local PBS   WGBH  starts the whole shebang on Oct 1   :  seven  new seasons  of established shows  ATK is season 16 

 

i also hope ACLife  is interesting

 

 

[Thanks for the Crepes]

Okay, I have now watched Season 4, Episodes 1 and 2. They are named "Onions and Avetts" and "My Watermelon Baby" respectively. I still love the series.

 

I didn't realize a new season has come out, because by the time I get a chance to watch on broadcast PBS, late at night, the episode has already aired during the daytime and is no longer marked new. It's just easier to watch them whenever it's convenient here at this free link. She offers up some recipes here too. I  PBS.

 

Southern people are very friendly, and known for their hospitality, but have a straightforward, honest way of communicating that might put people who aren't used to that off. Personally, I like the lady's personality. You always know exactly where you stand with most of us Southerners. No inscrutability here. Her humbleness comes out frequently when she is just as open about self-doubt.

 

Her restaurant, The Chef and the Farmer, still has a 4-1/2 star rating out of five on Yelp. It's got many five star reviews from folks who have traveled a long way to eat there. It's a destination restaurant. Sure, it's expensive for the kind of fare offered, and they get a few one star reviews, and most of the complaints are about the value/pricing.

 

I still recommend the series, but YMMV.

[Tere]

Interesting. PBS have very generously put up the episodes for free, which is great, and not just for the US as I'm watching them happily.

 

http://www.pbs.org/food/features/a-chefs-life-episodes/#season1 - and away!

[rotuts]

Id love to try the country style pork ribs with red-curry braised watermelon

 

the Rx is here :

 

http://www.pbs.org/food/features/a-chefs-life-season-4-episode-2-my-watermelon-baby/

 

 

[Tere]

Wow. Some of the local people she learns from are utterly delightful and remind me a lot of Shropshire folk. 

[blue_dolphin]

Thanks for the reminder that this series has started up again.

 

On September 18, 2016 at 1:42 PM, GlorifiedRice said:

So I watched the first episode of the new season last night, and at one point I exclaimed "That is the point that the blush came off the rose!" to an empty family room. That happened twice last night.

Did anyone see the new episodes?

 I watched the first 2 episodes of season 4 and spent quite a bit of time catching up older episodes that I'd missed.  Maybe I wasn't paying close attention but I don't recall anything terrible in the new episodes.  Over the years, I've heard a few cringe-worthy comments from Vivian and Ben when they've voiced frustration about restaurant staff related issues.  What in particular caught your attention?  

 

Vivian's cookbook, Deep Run Roots, will be out in a few weeks.  I enjoy cookbooks that explore individual ingredients, assuming it's well done and I appreciate that this her own book and not strictly a TV-series tie-in, although it will certainly benefit from her exposure.  I think she's very ambitious and comes close to biting off more than she chew so I hope she had the time to do a good job of the book.  

 

On September 20, 2016 at 1:23 PM, rotuts said:

Id love to try the country style pork ribs with red-curry braised watermelon

I thought that sounded interesting, too.  I wonder if there is still good watermelon around....

 

[Okanagancook]

GR, I too was wondering what you were referring to.  Maybe it was the comment when Rose (I think that is her name) was cutting watermelon rind off with a honking big knife pulling it TOWARDS her and Vivian made a comment on how bad this was.???

 

I was trying to find some reviews of the book but I guess because it is not out yet I didn't find much except from one person who had a copy.  The comments were good.

[GlorifiedRice]

On 9/22/2016 at 5:34 PM, Okanagancook said:

GR, I too was wondering what you were referring to.  Maybe it was the comment when Rose (I think that is her name) was cutting watermelon rind off with a honking big knife pulling it TOWARDS her and Vivian made a comment on how bad this was.???

 

I was trying to find some reviews of the book but I guess because it is not out yet I didn't find much except from one person who had a copy.  The comments were good.

 

Im avoiding all news lately to calm my anxiety so Ill watch it again and pause and take screenshots of her face.

There were 2 points in part 1 that annoyed me, one was the face she made and the other was a comment to a staffer about the veggie noodles.

[GlorifiedRice]

Okay I cant see it again. maybe it was something that just annoyed me at that particular point.

Ive watched part 1 3 times, and cant see it again/

 

 

[Okanagancook]

GF, she does make some strange faces at times.  She was pissed that the prep chef did not follow her instructions on the veggie prep and then she had to X the dish from the menu.  Must be frustrating.

there was another reference to the dish as written are not being executed to the letter so it bare no resemblance to the original dish.

 

cheers

[rotuts]

Id love to try the country style pork ribs with watermelon

[rotuts]

she also seemed to real ice that if the dish she was looking for ( prepped by others ) did not turn out as she hoped

 

i.e.   the veg. strips vs   veg  ' spaghetti '   it was her fault in both instructions getting through and checking

 

more or less.

 

so good for her.

[curls]

Vivian Howard is doing a book tour with a food truck. Sounds like a good idea. Wonder if it will actually be easier for her to cook this way vs. cooking in guest kitchens. Tour details here http://www.vivianhoward.com/deep-run-roots/#.

[blue_dolphin]

The last episode of season 4 is titled Mayo.  Sorry to see the season end.   They did a mayo-tasting with folks at the restaurant with Miracle Whip, Hellman's, Dukes and Blue Plate.  I thought it was curious that no winner or results were given but I learned the reason today in listening to an interview with Vivan on the Eater podcast.  Vivian says that there was a winner and it was initially included in the show but PBS asked them to remove it lest it look too much like a product endorsement.   She also said that PBS required that the Biltmore sponsor spot that appears at the end of the show be edited to remove the smiling people.  Again, sounds like it was looking too much lime a commercial.

 

It's a good interview.  Much more in-depth than some others I've heard.  You can listen or read the transcript at the link above.

 

Edited to add that in this episode, she made a dish for the restaurant that I would love to try if they share a recipe.  She cooked a local fish sous vide with a lot of oil (+ other seasonings) in the bag.  Picked the fish off the bones, made mayo with the poaching oil (and other seasonings) and used both in a fish salad, riffing on the classic tuna salad with mayo.  Sounds like a little dab of this was served on a cracker or toast as an amuse bouche. Sounds ever so tasty.  I'd imagine the fishy-ness of that oil will vary a lot depending on the particular fish with a fatty fish possibly being overwhelming but it seems like a brilliant way to concentrate the flavor of a lighter fish.

 

Edited November 15, 2016 by blue_dolphin (log)

[Smithy]

2 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

Edited to add that in this episode, she made a dish for the restaurant that I would love to try if they share a recipe.  She cooked a local fish sous vide with a lot of oil (+ other seasonings) in the bag.  Picked the fish off the bones, made mayo with the poaching oil (and other seasonings) and used both in a fish salad, riffing on the classic tuna salad with mayo.  Sounds like a little dab of this was served on a cracker or toast as an amuse bouche. Sounds ever so tasty.  I'd imagine the fishy-ness of that oil will vary a lot depending on the particular fish with a fatty fish possibly being overwhelming but it seems like a brilliant way to concentrate the flavor of a lighter fish.

 

That sounds brilliant.  If you ever do learn more about it, please let us know.  Meanwhile, it sounds as though some experimentation is in order. 

[Wayne]

12 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

The last episode of season 4 is titled Mayo.  Sorry to see the season end.

 

 

That was a bit of a surprise and disappointment. I assumed season 4 would have 13 or 14 episodes as did the previous 3 seasons.

 

 

[blue_dolphin]

5 hours ago, Wayne said:

That was a bit of a surprise and disappointment. I assumed season 4 would have 13 or 14 episodes as did the previous 3 seasons.

I was surprised as well and would be pleased to be wrong.  The video preview of the episode was posted on the PBS Food Facebook page with a comment describing it as the season finale and it was shared on the show's page.  In both places, a number of commenters echoed your surprise at the short season but so far, I haven't seen any info to the contrary.  I've got my fingers crossed for some sort of holiday special 

[rotuts]

there was a Christmas Special last year.  Indeed there are only 10 shows this tine around.

[Wayne]

 

There are only 10 episodes. The PBS Shop has the Season 4 DVDs for sale with 10 listed episodes.

C'est la vie. There will be a season 5.

 

 

[rotuts]

there seems to be a Christmas Special again this year.  in my area its broadcast on Dec 17 :

 

 

its not clear to me if this is a repeat of last years.   it might  be