PBS Series A CHEF'S LIFE to Return for Second Season This October

This fall, the popular series A CHEF'S LIFE returns to PBS stations with a highly-anticipated second season. More than a cooking show, A CHEF'S LIFE is a half-hour character-driven documentary series that takes viewers inside the life and kitchen of Chef Vivian Howard. The series will return to find Vivian with a new list of local ingredients, each one starring in its own episode. Vivian juggles a full plate, with the opening of a second restaurant with husband Ben Knight and a bustling young family to manage. Season two premieres Sunday, October 5 at 7:30pm on WNET Thirteen in New York (check local listings for additional PBS stations).

Vivian Howard originally made a name for herself in the competitive Manhattan restaurant world and with her own gourmet delivery service. As she and Ben considered job offers and contemplated their next step, her parents made an offer to help them build their own restaurant - with one catch. She had to open it back home in Eastern North Carolina, where she swore she would never return. With that, the famed restaurant Chef and the Farmer was born, and Kinston, NC has never been the same.

The premiere season of A CHEF'S LIFE followed Vivian and Ben as they recovered from a devastating fire in the restaurant, adjusted to life in a small-town, and juggled a busy and stressful career with raising a young family. Much more dynamic and personal than a typical cooking show, A CHEF'S LIFE celebrates modern Southern cuisine, seasonality, farmers, food artisans, and family - all through the lens of a working restaurant. Instantly beloved by viewers across the country when it premiered in 2013, the series' first season was recognized as a James Beard Award finalist and honored last month with a prestigious Peabody Award.

In the upcoming second season, A CHEF'S LIFE takes Vivian out of the Chef and the Farmer's kitchen and on the road with a new roster of Southern ingredients. From blueberries to turnips to butterbeans, Vivian explores Southern cuisine with a chef's modern sensibilities. As they introduce viewers to the farmers and cooks of the American South, Vivian and Ben also celebrate their twins' third birthday and open a new second restaurant, the Boiler Room.

This December, A CHEF'S LIFE will also bring viewers a special holiday treat. Vivian will create modern interpretations of family food traditions, including fudge, peanut brittle, and old-fashioned caramels, in a one-hour holiday special airing on PBS stations this December.

A CHEF'S LIFE is produced by Markay Media in association with SCETV Presents. The series is directed and produced by Cynthia Hill with Rex Miller as co-producer and cinematographer. Derek Britt is the Executive Producer, and the series is edited by Tom Vickers. The opening title song, "Will You Return," is written and performed by the Avett Brothers. Amy Shumaker is Executive-in-Charge for SCETV Presents.

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