An Interesting Path To Stardom

Issue: July 2023

Vivian Howard

At Highlands’ Skyline Lodge, the guest chef dinner series Under the Stars, On the Rocks offers a singular chance to get up close and personal with a celebrated chef. And in that stratified universe, there are few more celebrated than Vivian Howard. Fans of Howard have a chance to meet her and sample the food that has garnered legions of admirers by reserving a spot at her upcoming dinner on Tuesday, July 11.

Vivian Howard describes herself as “just a storyteller, a storyteller who cooks.”

Of course, we all know that she is much more than that. Besides having published two cookbooks, she is the owner of four restaurants in the Carolinas, host of the erstwhile Emmy award-winning PBS show, A Chef’s Life, and has been awarded numerous James Beard Awards.

She’s had an interesting path to stardom. From the very beginning, all she could dream of was getting out of Deep Run, the small town near Kinston, North Carolina, where she grew up. After boarding school, she attended North Carolina State where she dreamed of becoming a journalist. She moved to New York City and went to work for an advertising agency, but after flaming out there she got a job waitressing at Voyage, a globally inspired Southern-style restaurant in the West Village. It was there that she fell in love with and eventually married a co-worker and artist.

She and her husband were cooking and selling soup out of their NY apartment when her brother-in-law asked the couple to come home and open a restaurant. They did and lived rent-free in the small house on the river that her father called his Nap Shack. The pair opened the Chef & Farmer at a time when the community was still suffering the ravages of Hurricane Floyd, at first serving fancy city-food. It wasn’t long before Howard decided to embrace the local foods she had grown up eating. Encouraged by the popularity of those regional dishes, she persuaded the documentary filmmaker Cynthia Hill to produce a TV show. The rest, as they say, is history.

The outdoor Pavilion at Skyline Lodge is the ideal setting for Howard’s dinner. Tickets are $175 each and include a signature welcome cocktail and dinner with beverage pairings. Additional a la carte drinks are available for purchase. Limited availability and advanced reservations required – visit oaksteakhouserestaurant.com/event/under-the-stars-on-the-rocks-july.

Also on Skyline Lodge’s agenda is their second annual Fourth of J’Luau event on Monday, July 3, starting at 6:00 P.M. Located in the pavilion, this festive occasion features a Hawaiian-themed barbecue feast featuring Kalua Pork, Huli Huli Chicken, accompanied by authentic luau sides, appetizers, signature tiki drinks, and tropical beers. Tickets are $85 per person.