(Music plays) Growing up my Aunt Pluma had a...

Sorry, yes I have an aunt named Pluma.

Sorry.

Okay, let me go back.

Sometimes you don't think about peoples' names until you say them.

Anyway, Aunt Pluma had a veritable forest of blueberry bushes.

And I loved running over there, picking a shirt full and taking them home to mom and making a cobbler with.

(Theme music plays) I'm Vivian and I'm a chef.

My husband, Ben and I were working for some of the best chefs in New York City when my parents offered to help us open our own restaurant.

Of course, there was a catch.

We had to open this restaurant in Eastern North Carolina, where I grew up and said I would never return.

(theme music) (theme music) So this is my life.

Raising twins, living in the house I grew up in, and exploring the south, one ingredient at a time.

Previously on A Chef's Life.

We were approached about opening another restaurant in town.

We're still gonna do this.

It will be a strain.

This has been one wild year.

It started out with a fire that nearly destroyed our business.

My children are not babies anymore.

They're toddlers.

They have personalities.

I can't wait to see what next year brings.

(Birds chirping) (Music plays) Hey media hound.

(Laughter) Oh wow!

That's awesome.

Hey dad.

Where do they go?

Just put them on the table.

Okay, alright.

Thank you.

Are y'all coming to eat tonight?

Yeah.

Probably will.

We'll be here.

Thank you, dad.

Thank you.

My dad, you know, he wants to help.

He doesn't understand doing things in small quantities so he has this friend who is a blueberry farmer and he got us 500 pounds of blueberries.

I'm very grateful but we're busy as it is so now we kind of have to stop everything and find a place and a dish for these blueberries.

Some fruits like figs or peaches lend themselves to savory applications very easily, but the blueberry is a little more tricky.

You know, we often think of blueberries in pies or cobblers or even ice creams but here at Chef and The Farmer we always try to work them into savory dishes as well.

Okay, Ted, um so, have you ever made this before?

I think once before, yeah.

Okay, so this recipe is wrong.

Three quarts blueberries, three quarts cider vinegar... Mmm hmm.

And two and a half quarts of sugar, not cups.

That's why it comes out tasting like aaaahhh!

Yeah.

You're going to blend this again because... You want a very smooth puree?

Yeah.

It needs to be totally smooth.

Totally smooth.

And if you need to pass it through the shinwa then we'll do that as well.

(Music plays) When dad first brought me the blueberries several years ago, this is the first time I've had the idea to do something like this, turning Eastern North Carolina style barbecue sauce into something made with blueberries.

How do you feel about the seasoning?

I think it's better.

Okay.

I mean I tasted some a few weeks ago and I'm like, God, why's it so?

Very vinegary.

Yeah.

The blueberry barbecue chicken is really where I found my voice as a chef.

I started reinventing Eastern North Carolina classic dishes for a more modern audience and people went wild for this chicken.

Because this blueberry barbecue sauce was such a big part of our early identity at Chef and The Farmer I wanted it to be represented at The Boiler Room.

So, we're going to do wings with blueberry barbecue sauce when we open as a way to kind of bridge the gap between the two places.

Should have put some salt on them when they came out but whatever.

These really just need to look good because they're for a photo but they still taste pretty good.

Year after year our customers are always asking when is the barbecue chicken coming back?

When's blueberry barbecue chicken coming back?

So Ben and I decided to bottle it.

(Music plays) When you start a process like this I sent them a recipe with the amounts and weights and everything and then a method.

And the method is to blend the berries a little bit just to open them up and then cook the sauce with the sugar and the vinegar and the spices and then blend it again so that it's smooth.

Definitely more.

I don't know if that part, if it cooked would break it down or not.

I can tell you that it will not.

We'll have to strain this out.

It's something that gets brushed on at the end of the cooking process and it can't have little granules.

It will be unappetizing.

So that's why the recipe in the end says blend.

I realize that's more labor and everything.

Now they are pureeing the berries partially and then they are going to put it in a big kettle and cook it down with the sugar and the vinegar and the spices and then they are going to have to puree it in the end.

But I know the issue is that the whole puree in the end is what they don't want to do because that is a whole other set of labor and that will affect the price of the sauce that I'm paying them and on and on and on.

We're going to do whatever we need to do to get your sauce right.

Okay.

Like it needs to be.

So...

It's not the end of the world either way.

It's just barbecue sauce.

(Music plays) Is that the salt?

So, I would put half of that.

You want me to use all the sugar?

Yeah, I think so.

You want me to put the cinnamon sticks in now?

Yes.

They'll bring it up to a simmer and then let it cook for like 45 minutes and it should reduce and thicken up and then we'll taste it.

I think it just needs to cook down more.

Alright.

It's vinegary!

It tastes good.

Is this us?

Oh, wow, that's so cool.

When we first opened Chef and The Farmer Ben and I said we would never open another restaurant because it was so stressful and then when we reopened Chef and The Farmer we also said we will never open another restaurant because this is just way too stressful.

But, I think you must forget those things pretty quickly because we are once again opening another restaurant.

(Rapid shutter on the camera) That looks pretty good.

One of my biggest fears is how The Boiler Room will affect Chef and The Farmer.

So, the thought of taking our resources here, whether that be staff or customers and stretching them across two restaurants is very scary to me.

(Music plays) Will you put that thing down for a couple of seconds?

Sorry.

(Laughter) They're gonna paint that white.

And then, I'm kind of thinking we just leave the rest of it.

Well, I think we just need to see or you know, or are we not trying to make it look like an old white washed boat.

(Camera shutter going off) I think we've kind of accomplished that.

(Camera shutter going off) I'm just hoping this all comes together, you know what I mean?

I mean, it would be really hard to screw it up at this point.

The development of the menu over there has required my undivided attention for some time.

So when I come back over to Chef and The Farmer and things are not running smoothly, the food doesn't look the way I want it to going out, my line cooks are not performing the way that I would like for them to, it is extremely stressful to me and at moments I wonder how long I can actually do this?

(Music plays) Berries, (Laughter) berries, berries.

Drop them in the bucket.

Can you drop them in the bucket, buddy?

See those?

Great job.

Flo, are we going to make a blueberry pie?

No.

Not yet.

Look Mommy.

Did that come from the ground?

No.

Thank you.

Okay, you need to swallow some before you put any more in your mouth, okay?

Not off the ground, Theo.

Let's just pick them off, whooo!

Be careful.

Alright, are y'all ready to go?

Not yet.

I'm picking blueberries.

Yea, you're picking blueberries.

Typically I have a really close relationship with the farmers who grow my produce, but dad has always picked up the blueberries so this will be the first time I have actually met my blueberry farmer.

So, um tell me this, are blueberries a bush or a tree?

We've always considered them bushe.

And they would continue growing in height if you didn't trim them back every year?

Yeah, we trim them back because if you're hand harvesting they have to able to reach the fruit.

The fruit that's going to be on them the next spring, they set that fruit in the late summer and fall so when they shed all their leaves you can come out here in the winter and see the fruit buds on there.

Some people can tell you about what kind of crop you're going to have the next year just by doing that.

Do you love to eat blueberries or are you kind of over it?

Yeah, I eat a few about everyday.

I don't get gorged on them but..

I'm going to have a stomach ache.

I eat enough that I get those... Antioxidants Free radicals or whatever it is.

(Laughter) Does your wife make a nice blueberry cobbler?

Yeah, she's got a blueberry yum yum you'll kill for.

A blueberry yum yum?

Tell me what that is.

I, well I don't know exactly the ingredients.

It's sort of a cake type.

So there's not fruit at the bottom?

All I know is it's good.

Yeah.

I don't know what's in it outside of blueberries.

Well, thank you so much... You're quite welcome.

For letting us do this.

Come back any time.

I know we've been a nuisance.

Well... (Laughter) (Music plays) So what's going on over there right now?

Where?

At the, at The Boiler Room?

Yeah.

Friday I thought we would just get people comfortable shucking even if we waste a couple bushels of oysters.

Yeah, I mean they have no idea how to do it.

Right.

We've been searching for this signature oyster dish at The Boiler Room, a baked oyster, something along the lines of an Oyster Rockefeller but not that at all so I had the idea to make compound butters.

Ben's not crazy about the idea but I'm going to push for it anyway.

You have your soy ginger, chili butter, bloody mary, and then your bacon with caramelized onions.

This is good.

I like this one.

That's really good.

This is a spicy tomato.

The two tomato ones I'm not too crazy about.

Yeah it's not great.

It doesn't translate.

I mean, it tastes good but that's just the butter.

What do you think of the bloody mary?

I like this a lot.

It's good.

It tastes like a bloody mary.

It's an oyster.

Yeah, it's an oyster and you want those two things to work together.

I think that the bloody mary would be great if you had a little bit of fresh grated horseradish right on top and I love celery salt on top of my bloody mary... We have celery salt in there.

Okay.

It has it.

I mean I'm just trying to keep this like, simple so it's not like oh we don't have... Yeah but you gotta...

These all kinda tasted the same to me.

This one was a little bit different but I didn't get enough Worcestershire.

Okay we'll put some more celery seed in there and definitely some more Worcestershire to get some more intensity.

I think you get too much spice in there and then you have this mouth full of just like, toasted spice.

On site, when we get there and we make our first batch we can tweak it a little bit but I think they're good.

If I got that in a restaurant I would think that is creative and tasty.

Is this a debate?

I mean, I think I get a say in it, don't I?

I'm not saying...

I just gave you my opinion.

I wasn't... Let us do our thing...

I know you're going to do whatever you want.

I mean, I mean if you're going to do a spicy tomato..

I think you just wanna argue with me about it.

Here you go.

Taste the butter.

(Music plays) My mom's getting ready to come over and we're going to make the blueberry cobbler that I grew up eating.

My mom recently got a smartphone so that she could share her critiques or advice to me via text because recently she's been coming over to my house every morning and we've been getting into little verbal confrontations about things that are wrong with the restaurant or my life in general.

So my sister bought her a smartphone so that she could share these with me.

One of my favorites is, "I feel the chicken was not cooked enough, which made it a little tough and red at bone."

Boy, you sure are dressed up to make a blueberry cobbler.

(Laughter) Oh, you brought me a hair brush?

Yeah.

(Laughter) I know that today you planned on making a cobbler with you know, flour and making it from scratch but what I remember is the Bisquick box.

Ahh yes.

I cooked for seven people back then.

Good ol' Pam.

Then, I'm gonna just spread it.

Get it Scarlet!

(Laughter) You never thought that this would be something that you would have to do.

I sure didn't but I'm glad I'm able to.

How's that?

I'm glad you are too.

(Music plays) Alright, squeeze the lemon.

Yeah, squeeze the lemon.

Alright, sugar.

Looks like a lot of sugar.

Well, you know, that's another thing about doing it this way.

If your family doesn't want a lot of sugar you can use less.

I hope you don't get any blueberry on that dress.

I sure hope not too.

I haven't seen you get this dressed up in a while, not even for church.

(Laughter) Okay.

Let's put our cinnamon in there.

About a teaspoon of cinnamon.

Okay, we put our milk in.

You have to cook these pies enough to know who consistency you like.

You know, I give you a lot of free advice.

(Laughter) I know.

Okay, what do you think?

Just kind of sprinkle it....

I felt this was really good because I didn't measure anything.

I just did it to our taste and it always was eaten.

Sprinkle a little sugar.

Alright I'm going to turn the oven on to 350.

Mmm hmmm.

(Music plays) I really taste the cinnamon.

Just what I expected.

Very good.

As Mr. Food would say, "Mmmmmm so good."

(Laughter) (Music plays) So I'm working on a blueberry chutney to pair with a fried green tomato and kind of like a goat cheese mousse.

The green tomatoes in general have a sweet tartness that I think can lend itself to sweet or savory so we're like going right to the edge of being a sweet dish.

Chutneys typically have a number of spices in them and one thing you want to keep in mind when you're adding spices to anything is that you want to make sure you're adding it to a somewhat dry pan.

You know, I have onions and ginger and citrus zest in here but there's no liquid.

So I'm going to add my spices and let them toast.

That's going to make them really aromatic and make them reach their full potential.

This time of year I feel a tremendous amount of pressure.

We just got 200 pounds of sour cherries.

We just got a ton of blackberries this morning.

You have the same responsibilities in the summer.

You're still serving just as many people but you add to that workload trying to put up and save all these fruits and vegetables.

It can get pretty stressful.

The first thing I want to talk about is the fried green tomato.

We've got a blueberry chutney.

Does anybody know how would they would describe a chutney?

Like a compote kind of with like spices.

Right.

It has coriander, cumin, some curry spice, vinegar.

So it's all that, those things at once.

Over here we have, you know people are always saying, y'all need a signature dish.

I hate that word or that term but I guess if we had one it would be the blueberry barbecue chicken.

Where did the blueberries come from?

Um, the blueberries are from a guy in between Pink Hill and Beulaville.

My dad got them.

He got 500 pounds at one time.

(Laughter) And please take a bite of the blueberry stuff.

I'd also like to talk to everybody about Monday.

Y'all know we're having a family fun day.

So I really want everybody to come.

It will be a lot of fun.

We're going to have a pig pickin.

And alcohol?

And alcohol.

We've got 15 minutes so let's do this quick guys.

Benny Bummer over here.

Wah wah.

(Laughter) (Music plays) Hello.

How are y'all?

Good.

Alrighty.

Right this way.

(Music plays) That would be one of the dishes that we are most famous for.

It's the blueberry barbecue chicken.

You can get white or dark meat.

We actually have that barbecue sauce for sale in our wine shop.

I'm going to do that with white meat.

White meat.

You got a white chicken, a burger, and a pig.

Order fire.

He's got chicken, like burning back there.

Okay, you got too much wood in the oven.

I didn't put that in there.

Who put that in there?

Ben threw two more pieces up in there.

Because that flame is just like, burning the chicken.

We can't cook anything in the oven now.

Turn the gas element off.

It will help cool the oven down.

It's not the fact that the oven is too hot.

It's the flames from all the wood.

I'm sorry.

Just turn the gas element off.

Alright, let's try to get everything out that we can.

So when it cools down a little bit we'll refire a dark.

Just put that...

He needs to stay out of the kitchen.

(Music plays) Alright, in four minutes we're going to bring that first white chicken.

There you go guys.

Thank you.

You guys enjoy.

Thank you.

So as you can see things are stressful here tonight.

We're very busy during the summer.

We have a lot of new people and it's just one of the challenges of running this restaurant, maybe every restaurant.

I don't know.

I know that our whole restaurant culture is about to go completely berserk with the opening of the oyster bar so we wanted to do something for everybody that was kind of like a team building, letting off steam exercise.

So we planned for the whole staff to go spend the day at the water park and then have a barbecue.

(music plays) So are those tart cherries.

Tart cherry juice with rum and simple syrup and lime.

That's really good.

That right there will have you sideways real quick.

And you won't even know it.

It will just be like, BAM!

So we've actually never done this.

This is the barbecue sauce we use in the restaurant on chicken.

It's really good but we've never actually never sauced it up Eastern North Carolina style like this.

Get a little more in there.

One of these got a little burnt.

We're going to bring it out anyways.

(Guy playing music) Oddly enough, on the day of our barbecue, waterpark, extravaganza this Australian food writer wanted to interview me so I told her she was going to have to come to the party.

Did you always have the concept of utilizing the farm to table type thing?

Um, tobacco kind of became the dying um, commodity crop about ten years ago and so our region has become increasingly poor and so one of the things we try to do at the restaurant is take some of these displaced tobacco farmers and transition their small allotments into more sustainable crops.

So, with your oyster bar what's happening?

We want this to be, our town is umm... there's nothing in our town, really.

So, we thought um, our town needed a cool bar.

Mmmm hmmm.

And our restaurant now doesn't attract people in town both because of the price point and the style of food, I think, in part.

So we wanted... Something more accessible?

Right, we wanted to build a restaurant that was really something that people in town would enjoy.

(Laughter) Hey, wait!

I would like to do a picture of everybody if we can, of our whole staff.

(Laughter and chatter) Say cheese.

Cheese!

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To order visit PBS.org or call us at 1-800-PLAY-PBS