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A Chef's Life
Persimmon Style
Season 5
Episode 7
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.
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24:40
Vivian and Ben go to Maple View Dairy to pick up buttermilk for the restaurant.

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24:40
Vivian gets a lesson in a 100-year-old tradition of making collard kraut.

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24:40
Vivian visits one of the largest sweet potato farms in the country.

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24:40
Vivian visits neighbor Marty Harper’s peanut farm just before and during harvest.

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24:40
Vivian travels to meet with Glenn Roberts to learn about Carolina Heirloom Rice.

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24:40
Ben, Vivian and the twins pick muscadine grapes at a small local vineyard.

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24:40
Vivian goes to Cedar Island to explore the new culture of farm-raised oysters.

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24:40
Vivian preps for a Southern Foodways Alliance luncheon with the ultimate tomato sandwich.

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24:40
Vivian launches the restaurant’s new “whole animal, no waste” program with two pigs.

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24:40
The restaurant gears up for a practice service — but nothing is going as planned.

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24:40
Vivian and Ben rebuild their restaurant against the Southern harbinger of Spring.

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24:40
Chef Vivian and her husband leave NYC to open a restaurant in her North Carolina hometown.