I'm Francis Lamb and you're listening to The Splendid Table from APM.

Hey, Thanksgiving is right around the corner. And later in the hour, we're going to talk with Priya Parker.

She's an expert on gatherings on how to be a great guest

if you're going to someone else's house for Thanksgiving this year.

And first, we're going to get some expert cooking advice and inspiration

from chef Vivian Howard.

So about 10 years ago, a little documentary series

about a chef in a small town in rural North Carolina debuted on PBS.

It was called a chef's life.

And our guest Vivian Howard was that chef.

And it was special because this show had like no flash, no bang, just real stories of what it's like for a brilliant but unpretentious chef to run a restaurant and hang out with farmers.

And by the time the show ended, five seasons later, it'd been nominated for eight Emmy Awards, winning two, and won a Peabody Award.

And even with the cameras off, Vivian's continued to champion her farmers and run a restaurant, called The Chef and the Farmer.

That's in Kinston, North Carolina, and she has new restaurants, too, in Charleston, South Carolina.

She's also the author of Deep Run Roots, and this will make it taste good.

She joins us now.

Hey, chef, it's great to see you.

Hi, how are you? I'm well, thank you. Hey, tell. It's great to see you. Hi, how are you?

I'm well, thank you. Hey, tell me if I'm wrong about this. But I think when it comes to Thanksgiving, most chefs I know are basically in one of two camps. Like one camp is, oh my God, I absolutely love it. I love to cook at home for friends and family. You know, I'm always cooking the restaurant for guests. And the other camp are people like, all I can think about is how to keep 200 gallons of

mashed potatoes warm during service.

I can't even think about anything else.

Do either of these descriptors fit you?

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