(Music plays) Fried chicken, chicken and dumplings, chicken and rice, chicken casserole, chicken salad, almost nothing shows up more on our tables than chicken.

Boc boc boc boc boc boc boc boc.

Okay anyway.

Ummm I have absolutely no shame, no integrity.

(Theme Music plays- The Avett Brothers "Will You Return") 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.

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.

Kim, do you know who's coming tonight?

Ben and Karen Barker from Magnolia Grill.

What's up my brother?

Great to see you.

I'm about to have a nervous breakdown.

It's frightening to cook for one of your, you know, "Culinary Gods."

Thank you.

(Music plays) Parrot Brothers is this very cool authentic hardware store right down the street from here.

And you can get anything there from candy, fertilizer, everything.

I'm hoping to get some baby chicks for my children.

Their birthday is next Saturday.

They're awfully small.

How long will it take before I get an egg?

About 5 and a half to 6 months.

Oh Lord.

(Laughter) Well, this will be an experience.

Yeah.

(Music plays) May I touch one?

Yes.

Do you have chickens?

I do.

I got six pullets.

Pullets are female but why do they call something a pullet egg?

Well it would be when it was young, when it first...

Right.

It's just, they're like smaller.

So, you don't have a rooster?

If you had a rooster it would fertilize the eggs.

Right.

I have a lot to learn.

(Laughter) There's not a whole lot to it.

Thank you very much.

I'll see you Thursday.

Okay.

(Music plays) I'm getting the impression you guys are running a little behind.

You mean on the line?

We'll be ready.

I was up front and he came and said something about if everybody is going to be ready on time.

He looked concerned essentially.

Everything should be fine.

We've been having someone other than Ben manage the floor quite a bit because we've been very very busy and people now a days want to either talk to me or Ben so if I'm expediting Ben generally isn't managing.

He's just here like lurking and tonight we have two new dishes on the menu so I'm just crossing my fingers that it goes well.

When winter turns into spring things are definitely growing but most of the produce is not ready for use so we are depending on other things that make you think of spring like chicken.

You know the term spring chicken?

I guess that means something?

I'm working on a really modern spin on chicken salad.

I have taken chicken legs and confited them.

We're making basically a chicken rillette.

A rillette is when you take meat that has been cooked in its own fat and whip it with some of that fat and you create a spread with it.

This chicken has been poached in duck fat and then what's gonna make this really cool are all the accompaniments to it.

We're basically gonna take all the things that people put in their chicken salad like pecans and grapes and make a little salad out of that and put it on top.

In the place of mayonnaise I'm gonna put this duck fat, which is gonna make this extremely rich and creamy.

(Music plays) (Blending) The idea is to process this so it's kind of homogenous but not to over process it because you don't want the fat to further render and be like, greasy.

(Blending) Can I try it?

No.

Dang!

I just want it all to be together.

I'm a little self conscious about it.

It looks like premium cat food.

(Laughter) Chicken has been a product we have been able to get locally and at a very high level the whole time we've been open.

I've been getting most of my poultry from Christy for about three years now and I love working with her.

She knows a ton about her product.

So, this is where the chickens are right here?

This is where some of the chickens are and this is what you call a redneck door.

(Laughter) (Music plays) The ones that are sitting in those boxes why are they sitting there?

They are sitting in the box because they're actually gettin' ready to lay an egg.

Ohhh!

So, like that one over there just laid an egg.

Really.

(Rooster crows) And he heard it so...

So he's like yes, I am awesome.

So my children's third birthday is coming up and we have commissioned my friend to build a chicken coop.

We're gonna get little baby chicks... Because I want my kids to participate in that process, Right.

but tell me when you hear this term like pastured chicken, what does that mean?

Technically they are supposed to have access 51% of the day to be called free range or pastured.

So yours can all get outside...

Yes.

But they just prefer to be in here right now because it's hot.

Well right now, this time of the day most chickens are going to be inside because it's cooler in here.

So, what are these, Christy?

These right here would be a cornish cross meat chickens.

These birds here are roughly 3 weeks old which they're getting ready to be moved out of here and they will go to the pasture in the next day or so.

But they have to stay inside when they are babies?

Correct.

Yeah, they're babies.

First week 95 degrees, second week 93.

You drop down 5 degrees each week.

So this would be what you would call a young chicken?

Yes.

Yes.

Let's see if I can find... Like this right here if we would process it it would probably sell like a cornish hen.

So are there any of these that we can see on pasture?

There are.

(Music plays) Alright Christy, so these are full grown cornish crosses.

These are your full grown cornish crosses.

And they run around and eat that clover?

They love clover.

Early morning and late afternoon they go to the pasture.

These will be some of the ones that we'll actually be processing today.

Okay.

Hey, I haven't met you.

I'm Vivian.

Johnny.

Johnny, nice to meet you.

Alright these are our meat chickens and these are called killing cones.

Okay.

And you're basically going to stick your meat chicken in there and his head comes out down here.

Okay.

I think I have an idea of what's going to happen next.

Alright.

You're probably going to want to step back because it's going to kind of squirt.

So, this is basically what we call the bleed out process.

You're just waiting for the blood to drain out.

So, we just wait for em.

When do they stop?

Most of the time in a minute, a minute and a half.

This is like what you heard.

You've always heard this folklore about ringing a chickens neck and then it would keep running around the yard so I guess that's a real possibility.

Right.

Okay, now they will come to the scalder.

And we have this set at 150 degrees so we're going to pick em up and we're going to put em in the plucker.

It is going to sling some so... Oh my god!

Put a little water around em'.

Okay, basically this is what you're going to come out with.

I know understand why you've always heard these stories or I've always heard these stories about Grandma going in the back yard, ringing a chickens neck and then it being on the table for dinner.

It is theoretically easy enough to do in a short period of time with just two hands.

Much different than the experience I've had slaughtering and processing hogs where it takes ten people two days to put up meat for winter this is relatively easy as long as you're comfortable doing it.

It's Vivian.

Vivian who?

Vivian Howard, the person who you're building a chicken tractor for.

I have been somewhat avoiding you.

I just keep adding things and adding things to it.

It's getting kind of big, man.

Well, what I'm really concerned with at this point is that it's ready by Friday and you can bring it down on a tractor.

And we'll just deal with what it looks like later.

See, that's the complete opposite of what I'm thinking.

All I'm thinking about is what it looks like, what it's going to look like.

I'm like, going to bed thinking about, I don't know, maybe I'm overthinking it.

It's a chicken house.

It's a chicken coop.

I know that but you know I'm sensitive.

I don't know, man?

I know you're sensitive.

I know.

I know.

It will be fine.

Just make sure it's ready by Friday.

(Music plays) Chicken's one of these funny things where people see a lot of value in the breast, not so much in the leg or thigh but we're buying the whole bird so we need to make sure we sell the whole bird.

So, what we do here a lot of times is debone the chicken, stuff it, roll it back up, roast it, and then slice it into portions as folks order it.

That way instead of two servings per bird we get four.

Alright, Lilly.

So, we've got the broccoli working, the bacon, scallions, and pecans.

The bacon hits the pan first.

So this dish is actually another take on a popular southern salad, the broccoli salad.

Broccoli salad has raw broccoli, bacon, onions, sugar, mayonnaise, you know all the typical southern ingredients.

And so we have made this a chicken dish using that flavor profile and people love it.

So, I would start two of these whole rolls at like 5:20.

Hey.

Yep.

I just wanted to give you a little heads up about the party.

You know, it was gonna be family and then I invited the class.

What's the total?

I'm not really sure.

Amelia and I are gonna count it up tonight.

But I just want you to know that we're gonna take care of it.

I just want you to try and enjoy yourself.

That's my specialty.

(Laughter) (music plays) Hey.

Hi.

Thank you for doing this, Charlotte.

My pleasure.

When people anywhere talk about southern food one of the first things that comes up is fried chicken.

Charlotte used to take care of my grandmother and I saw her one day basically butcher a chicken with one hand in the sink, with such ease it seems like she could do it in her sleep.

Aunt Linda, my moms baby sister is the one responsible for connecting me with Charlotte.

It's been a long time.

It has been a long time.

You look good.

Yeah I thought I was getting old.

And I brought mayonnaise, white bread, and bananas because I remember Grandma Hill always eating banana sandwiches with fried chicken.

(Laughter) Yep.

So what, how do we get started?

(Music plays) You cut that little tip off?

Yeah that's nasty.

I do mine like that.

I have never cut my hand.

Well, don't say that because we'll cut it on camera.

You go in like that?

And you do that so all the pieces are about the same size and they cook evenly.

That's right.

What do you do with the back?

Fry it.

Oh, you're gonna fry it.

See what I'm doing?

Mmm hmm.

I can cut up a chicken.

You know, I've got a cutting board and you know I'm not as confident as you.

I do it right here.

(Music plays) Oh, I see what you're doing.

I'm not used to salt.

I'm used to salt.

Use all you want.

No, it will be too salty.

So, do you put anything in the flour?

Wait a minute now and I'll show you.

I'm rushing you.

I'm sorry.

I hear that lard bubbling over there.

It's making me hungry.

(Laughter) Sometimes people will season their flour but you just season the bird?

Mmm hmmm.

Alright.

That's the way I've always done.

I always did it at the cafe.

I had to do it that way.

So, you cooked at a restaurant?

Yeah.

I say cafe.

I'm old timey.

My mom used to say cafe too.

(Music plays) Whoo!

Don't burn your finger.

So, this way in a skillet you have to really watch it because it's just sitting on that heat.

When I cook I stay around it all the time.

I don't never sit down.

I'm very interested in that fried back.

I don't normally you know, eat the back.

A lot of people like back.

They call for back.

Who taught you how to fry chicken?

Well, I just learned on my own.

My mama showed me how before she died and so I've been doing it ever since.

So, how can you tell when it's done?

I mean it's brown but how do you know it's done all the way through?

I can just tell.

You just know.

I'm going to have to introduce Theo and Flo to the art of the banana sandwich.

I mean we ate these... All the time.

At least once a day growing up.

The way that I grew up eating fried chicken was after church it was at room temperature along side banana sandwiches.

It's really historically been picnic food and for whatever reason it pairs beautifully with some white bread, mayonnaise, and bananas.

Is it too hard?

Nuh un.

It's great.

I love the back.

It's got a lot of crispy.

I didn't think you were going to have enough salt on it.

It's perfect.

This is good.

This is good.

Delicious.

Hey.

Hey.

Will you be available tonight to go speak to a table?

Yeah, I'm expediting tonight until Justise gets done.

Okay, well I've got a few folks that were traveling and would love to meet Vivian so I'm gonna go ahead and get you a list.

Okay.

Get me some menus to sign.

(Music plays) Alright Tony, so basically you're gonna build a little canale with this and it looks really nice.

And then your salad.

You got grapes, pickled relish.

You want all that juice drained down on here.

Okay?

And then cracker.

Okay?

And that's it.

That's it.

Yes.

Okay, so we've got a few new things tonight.

The first one is a little bit of a reach so we'll see what happens.

I love chicken salad.

I thought we would have some fun with the idea of chicken salad.

And I think when you're describing this to tables you should say this is kind of a riff on chicken salad.

Please do not use the word deconstructed chicken salad.

The next dish is our stuffed chicken.

You know we take a chicken and stuff it with roasted garlic and herbs and roll it back up.

The sauce on the bottom really brings it all together.

(Music plays) Cheers.

Cheers.

Is it like a deconstructed chicken salad?

Yeah, but Chef said don't call it that.

She said don't say that.

(Laughter) Y'all can say what you want.

I love it!

It's salty.

It's sweet with the fruit.

Yeah, there's a lot of different...

There's a lot of stuff going on.

What do you think, Ben?

It's good.

I thought you were gonna say something other than that.

You know I prefer a mayonnaise based chicken salad.

Alright, we gotta get going.

It's 5:20.

(Music plays) We make a broccoli salad with mayonnaise and bacon.

That's what this whole take is.

I think that be my first choice hands down.

I would like the garlic herb stuffed chicken.

So great.

Alright, order fire.

Pork chop, chicken, shrimp med rate, and halibut.

Right after that we're gonna bring another chicken and a hamburger steak medium.

We don't have another chicken.

Get another chicken working.

Yes.

We have a couple that says we are flying into Durham from Chicago and New Jersey to come to the restaurant.

That's awesome but it's like so much pressure.

You know it's just a restaurant.

We're just like normal people.

The expectations are so high I just don't even know what to do with them honestly.

(Music plays) Alright, ordering another salsa and a fried collard.

That's two salsa.

Ordering a pork belly followed by a lasagna and a chicken.

Have you sold any chicken salad?

Not yet.

But I will.

The garlic and herb stuffed chicken is amazing.

What do you think?

It's hard to make chicken that good.

This is as good as a steak.

I know you're only semi available tonight but the gentleman at the kitchen bar would like to meet you.

Okay.

I love hearing your tv show because I hear North Carolina and you know when you're away from home I hear your voices and it's like home.

(Music plays) Our show has connected with people in such different ways.

I had this woman come up to me in the restaurant the other night and say that her mother has Alzheimer's and she barely knows her own name but the one thing that she wants to do every time she visits her mother is watch that show where the young woman, she called me young, makes chicken and rice with her mother.

That literally brought me to tears.

Alright ordering a fried collard and a chicken salad.

(Music plays) Alright, so do you know where that chicken salad goes?

Any of those you clear tonight just want you to let me know how much of it is eaten.

(Music plays) Oh, I could eat all of that.

Oh, good.

(Laughter) What did you get?

Chicken salad.

It almost tastes like chicken pate.

That's what it kinda tastes like.

It's really good.

Surprisingly enough all the staff said they loved the chicken salad and it sold well but in my opinion it was definitely not the best idea I've ever had.

(Kids playing) Today is the big party and we're waiting for Ben to get back with the chicken tractor.

Our friend uhh built it and I think he was probably up all night finishing it.

Umm I really could use Ben but as he said this is all my doing.

He said I'm gorging on life.

He's like stop gorging on life.

I can't take it.

You only get one though.

I know and I'm ruining his.

Oh my god!

There's a crane!

What is Dad doing?

(Laughter) There's no children out there are there?

What is he doing?

(Music plays) We got a ton happening for the twins' third birthday.

We got the chicken coop coming with the baby chicks, a petting zoo with farm animals.

Happy birthday!

Oh God!

We're cooking barbecue chicken and that's actually the one smart thing that I did was have my friend Al come and cook the chicken for me.

Is this your special sauce?

Yeah.

Can we do some blueberry barbecue too?

We can use some of that blueberry stuff if you're trying to get rid of it.

Oh shut up!

(laughter) About 50 guests are joining us.

I mean, I know it's too much.

Believe me I feel it.

(Music plays) There's the tractor Oh my God!

It's pulling in.

Ben is cursing me right now.

I can feel it.

I can feel it in the air between the chicken coop and me.

It's not the first time.

It's going now.

It's on it's way now.

Dear God.

My word.

This is so amazing.

Oh my God!

Okay, so check it out.

Wow.

So you come down, hey let's get some eggs.

You know Theo or Flo can check one side.

You check the other one.

But it's all customizable and what I wanted to put like on the front of it but I didn't have time, I wanted to carve, carve in, "if the coop is a rockin', eggs are a droppin'."

(Laughter) I just didn't have time but uhh but that's in the future.

We'll figure that out.

Mommy, can I see them?

Yeah, we're gonna bring them out so everybody can see them.

Yeah!

You want to pet him?

(Music plays) Ahhhhhh!

(Laughter) You have to be gentle with it.

I think he is going to try and fly.

It's not ready to fly.

You wanna pet one?

Okay Flo, we're gonna put the chickens in the coop.

(Music plays) Ready?

Wanna pet him?

Hang on.

(Music plays) In prehistory women kinda ruled the world.

It's probably a better place at that point.

You think?

Yeah.

What do they call that?

A matriarchal society.

And how has it changed?

Well, the men have taken over and we like to run it in the ground.

(Laughter) Don't you think?

Yeah, that birthday party was over the top.

I have promised Ben that all of the birthday parties from here on out will not be that much of an extravaganza.

Flo, I think this might be the best birthday party you ever have.

I'm afraid.

It's gonna be all downhill from here.

Oh my God.

(Music plays) For more information on A Chef's Life visit PBS.org/food A Chef's Life is available on DVD.

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