Strawberry Stay at Home

Intro Music plays

Chef Vivian- When I was a kid we had a small strawberry patch

around our pump house.

I cared for, picked, sugared, crushed,

all the strawberries that came out

of that little garden.

Strawberry shortcake made from those berries

is something I will always remember

and the benchmark for every strawberry dessert I try.

The Avett Brothers perform "Will You Return"

Chef Vivian-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.

[Music plays]

Chef Vivian- So this is my life.

Raising twins, living in the house I grew up in,

and exploring the south, one ingredient at a time.

Chef Vivian- Previously on A Chef's Life

[Sirens ring]

Chef Vivian- We had a fire in the kitchen.

The kitchen is pretty much demolished.

You know, everything starts running through your mind.

You know, What if we have to close?

What if we can't reopen?

What if we haven't kept up on our insurance?

What if our staff gets other jobs?

Everyone who works here works paycheck to paycheck.

It's really hard to look at something that you have

put your whole being into and it's so destroyed

and you know.

It's really overwhelming.

There's a lot to like, wrap your mind around.

Just, you know, we're basically having to start over.

So....

[Tools working]

[Music playing]

Painter-This is killing me.

Ben-Alright, you guys cutting those side slats?

Really, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.

I'd like to get this done today.

Did you guys happen to have that sandwich prep

that we ordered on that truck?

Why don't you start drilling there?

Why don't you start drilling there?

Put a level on it.

Hit the sides.

You can go ahead and crank this out in ten minutes.

Crank it out.

Ben-Let me show you what's going on back here.

This, they've already set this.

This has to come out and then they can lay the tile.

But these guys have to get access up there

on either side of this.

They're not going to finish that.

Chef Vivian-So, will they work this weekend?

Restaurant people are the only people

who work on the weekends.

Ben-We're the only people who work on the weekends.

Chef Vivian laughing

Chef Vivian-You know, everyone in the community,

every time we see them,

they say, oh, I'm so sorry about the fire.

You must have hated that

but you know, it could have been worse.

It could have been worse

but it could have been better too haha.

Ben-It's January 7th.

The fire was about 9:26 in the morning yesterday.

This is what our kitchen looks like.

This is the next room over.

These were glass racks.

The heat from the next room was so strong

that it just melted those off the wall.

Then you get in here and you know,

you hear your condenser on your cooling unit sound like that...

there ain't no way to clean that soot off that.

I mean, it's caked everywhere

and it's been sucking in that soot

through the whole smoke period.

It's gonna be unsalvageable.

Chef Vivian-This is where the fire started.

We still don't actually know what caused it.

I hate telling people that

cause they all have the same reaction.

It's suspicion.

Ben-Right.

You don't know what caused that fire?

Chef Vivian-Right.

But it did start right here in a trash can

and it was probably something

like spontaneous combustion of towels.

Ben-It has been learned that's one of the biggest causes

of kitchen fires.

Chef Vivian-Initially after the fire we thought

it may take a month before we could reopen.

Turns out, it took over a month to just clean the building,

much less rebuild the kitchen and dining room.

Ben-So where we at this morning?

Worker-Uhhh just getting everything out of the way

so we can start tearing out this sheet rock.

Chef Vivian-Right after the fire Ben and I didn't really know

what to do and we had all this staff wondering

when they were going to see their next paycheck.

Chef Vivian-I was just going to say,

we don't know how long it will be

and we're not going to make any assumptions

but it will be longer than 3 weeks.

Ben-We'll make sure everyone has what they need.

All this stuff is covered by the insurance

in terms of the labor to help you guys.

Chef Vivian-We were very lucky that we had

what's called business interruption insurance

so we continued to keep our staff on board

throughout this rebuilding process.

[Laughter]

Ben-Look at that.

B.A.

Baracus, back in action.

Jamie-We got the offices set up in the back

and we got some of the wine shop done

but as you can see,

I think there is still a little bit more to go.

Staying home, ummm we are getting paid

but it's not like making cash money.

Ben-How's this week been for you guys?

Female employee-Busy.

Ben-It's been busy.

Female employee-I think we've gotten a lot done though.

Ben- We've gotten a lot done.

Chef Vivian-Ever since the fire Ben has been dying

to get the restaurant reopened.

So, before we even knew when we would be ready

he went ahead and booked parties to kind of like,

set a deadline and we just aren't looking like

we're gonna be quite ready to open.

Chef Vivian-So next week, no parties?

And then, starting on the 23rd we have a party?

Ben-We have a party on the 23rd, the 24th.

Both of those I can cancel.

Chef Vivian-Can we?

Ben-Not right now we're not going to cancel.

[Laughter]

Ben-I mean if you guys have to work Friday,

Saturday, and Sunday to get ready

for the party on Monday and Tuesday...

people haven't freaking worked for four months.

I don't care if they gotta work 15 hour days for that week.

They've been getting paid for four months.

They got four months of vacation.

Chef Vivian-If things go as planned we will be opening

in about three weeks and my extended vacation,

putting my children to bed, putting myself on the couch,

and being at home every weekend will be over and fast.

I'm having quite a bit of anxiety about it

and although I'm looking forward to the restaurant reopening,

I'm really torn.

[Music playing]

Chef Vivian-Pick the berry.

Pick the berry.

Come on, let's pick a berry.

She's eating the green top off of it.

Thank you.

Okay I gotta take the green part off of it.

Ooooooh haha.

What do you think Flo?

Oh, she's going to take it away from him.

Chef Vivian- One of the greatest things

about moving back home and being here in the south

is being able to come out to a strawberry farm like this

and pick strawberries

and I'm thrilled that they're just now

being able to pick them and stuff them in their mouths.

Chef Vivian-There's a big fad in high end restaurants

all over Europe right now serving green strawberries.

So what you would do is balance them against some

of the sweet strawberries and serve them in a salad

or pickle them and serve them

with rich meats like duck or pork.

I'm not quite sure Lenoir County is ready for that

but we'll see.

Chef Vivian-I know we're going to open in May

and May in North Carolina is like a strawberry bonanza.

Now when you buy strawberries in the grocery store,

they're huge and when you bite into them

there's like a hole there.

What is that?

They're fiberous.

They aren't sweet and they're certainly not tender.

My strawberry farmer, Steve Putnam

from Putnam Family Farms

grows a strawberry called a Sweet Charlie

and they're like pure sugar.

Chef Vivian-Steve, you're the expert,

so can you show me what would be the perfect Sweet Charlie?

Steve-Traditionally, earlier in the year

I like to have one that's a little bit riper.

But even in the middle to late part of the season,

these berries tend to be sweet

even when they have a little green on the end

and I actually tend to prefer them at that point in time.

If they'll have a green tip similar to this berry,

it seems like the little sour on the end

with the tremendous sweet part

gives it a great flavor, a great bite.

Chef Vivian-Wow, that's like a Chef talking.

I mean you got the balance of flavor in one berry.

Steve- It's got a little more...

it's got a little firmer texture to it that way.

Chef Vivian-Uh huh.

I like that.

Steve-I do too.

Chef Vivian-I think something like this would be great

in a green salad with some nuts and maybe some goat cheese

where as these really sweet ones... that's dessert.

So, we go to the farmer's market, we get strawberries.

Do they go into the refrigerator?

Steve-How quickly you are going to eat them is the key there.

Refrigerator will stop the ripening process and so,

a berry that continues to ripen at room temperature

can get over ripe.

Chef Vivian-If I were going to make a jam or preserves,

what type of strawberry would you recommend?

Steve-I would recommend some of the firmer berries.

We found that when you make those we this particular berry

that the sugar content is so high

that they're actually too sweet.

The folks that make jams and jellies out of these

will back their sugar off at least a half.

But the texture is not there either.

If you're making a jam or a preserve

you want some texture in it and so we will usually suggest

that they use some of the other varieties.

Chef Vivian-I love working with you and using your produce

and you always have it before anyone else

and that's important for me.

Although, right now I don't have anyone to serve it to haha.

[Music plays]

[Tools being used]

Chef Vivian-Sorry, I thought that was tea.

Ben laughs

Chef Vivian-I woke up this morning.

Well, actually I hardly slept.

I had anxiety all night long.

We've got 2 and a half weeks before we are supposed to open.

Our equipment is not here.

Our staff is all over the place

and I'm feeling a lot of pressure.

Ben-We gotta get the construction guys outta here

Monday or Tuesday next week

and then we'll start setting up the kitchen.

Chef Vivian-Making sure all the new stuff is gonna work.

Making sure our staff still remembers how to work.

Ben-We got about two months worth of work to do

in about 14 days or 15 days.

Have you ever had to put one in like this before?

Worker-Nope

Ben-That doesn't make me feel good.

[Laughter]

Ben-I had planned on working all weekend.

I don't think it would be a bad idea

to get the baby-sitter in for a little bit.

Chef Vivian-I don't want to do that.

You know we had a babysitter Monday through Friday all week.

We had a babysitter over night last night

and you see where that got us.

I'm not going to just totally stop seeing my children

and I don't see the reason for you

to work all weekend either.

It just makes you really grumpy.

Ben-Not all weekend.

It's gonna be a lot grumpier if it's more chaotic.

Chef Vivian-Awesome.

Don't ya'll wanna open a restaurant?

Sorry.

Music plays

Chef Vivian-Running a seasonal kitchen,

I'm always trying to think of

how I can extend the growing season.

I feel like I really have to take advantage

of the strawberry harvest.

So making preserves is something

that we do a lot of in our restaurant

but it's also something that housewives in the south

have been doing for generations and generations

and they're the true masters of it.

Today, we're going to make strawberry preserves

with Annette Brothers, the mother of Warren,

one of my favorite farmers.

Chef Vivian- So, Mrs. Brothers,

can you tell me a little bit about this recipe?

Mrs. Brothers-This is my grandmother's recipe.

It was written down on the back of this old Joy of Cooking.

Chef Vivian-Oh wow, this is so neat.

Right here.

Four cups berries, five cups of sugar, start on low.

Berries need to be on the bottom so the sugar doesn't burn.

We're going to boil them 12 to 15 minutes

and pour it into a platter over night.

And when I read that I thought,

oh this will all take about 30 minutes.

Mrs. Brothers- Yeah, that's what I thought

you were going to think when you saw it said cook them

for 12 to 15 minutes.

Chef Vivian-And I started about nine o'clock last night

and I was barely done by 11.

Mrs. Brothers-Haha yeah, it takes longer than you think.

Chef Vivian-It does have to go slow.

You have to really follow the directions.

Warren's always coming to the restaurant

and I'll be doing something with some of his vegetables

and he will come and look over my shoulder and say,

uuhhh well now that's not the way Mama would do it.

Mrs. Brothers-Oh shoot.

[Laughter]

Mrs. Brothers-I wouldn't believe anything from him.

Chef Vivian-So now I often ask him,

what would your Mama do?

[Laughter]

Mrs. Brothers- He doesn't know.

He doesn't stay around long enough to find out.

Chef Vivian-So, tell me about this.

Mrs. Brothers-This is the real wax paraffin

that you melt and put on top of the jar

when you leave them over night and put them in the jar.

Chef Vivian-So you bring it to a boil and let it boil

for like 12 to 15 minutes and then it sits

in this platter over night.

What does that accomplish?

Mrs. Brothers-It lets the berries soak up the juice.

See those berries plumped up after they cook.

Chef Vivian-Personally, I've made jams

and I've never made jelly per say but this is,

I think, way easier and it looks so much better

than like a crushed down jam.

Mrs. Brothers-Why don't you just take the paraffin

and put on it.

Chef Vivian-So it just seals it in?

Mrs. Brothers-It just seals it, yeah.

Chef Vivian-Well if that's all there is to it

then let me just tell you that beats

the hell outta pressure canning.

Mrs. Brothers-It really does, yeah.

[Laughter]

Mrs. Brothers- So that's it.

Chef Vivian-Well almost anyone can do that.

[Laughter] Mrs. Brothers-That's right.

Chef Vivian-Thank you so much Mrs. Brothers.

Mrs. Brothers-You're quite welcome.

Glad to do it.

Ben-Smell that.

Chef Vivian-I mean, it's terrible.

Ben-It's terrible.

All my furniture really smells.

There's no way that he was running the ozone over there.

All of it really smells.

There is no cleaning it.

We've cleaned some tables five or six times

and they just flat out wreak.

Chef Vivian-This whole time we've had the tables

and chairs stored off site.

We moved them out the day after the fire.

We wiped them down.

We just assumed that they were fine

and now that we start moving them in here

they smell like smoke.

Ben-Sitting in there for five months.

If he had been ozoning it we wouldn't have this problem.

The fact of the matter is I don't think he ozoned it

and all the molecules sat on this finish for five months.

Food is gonna smell.

Everything...

Chef Vivian-I feel as though the tables

definitely have to be addressed.

Definitely, no doubt.

They smell terrible.

The chairs, I don't' smell anything.

Well, in my opinion I'd rather have

to refinish the tables than the chairs.

Ben-We wouldn't be able to open next week if we had

to refinish all these...

Chef Vivian-Yeah, so this is not the worst case scenario.

Ben-I'm sorry.

This whole situation that's happening today

is as close as the worst case scenario

to be right now, for us.

Keep that in mind.

We can probably go rent a couple of sanders.

Sand this out.

Twenty four tables will probably take a day.

To coat, you're going to need four or five coats

of urethane and sanding.

Sanders going.

Chef Vivian-So what do you feel about possibly...

I mean pushing the opening date back?

Ben-Ummm I'd like to wait to see how much progress

we make in the kitchen next week to decide that.

Chef Vivian-Okay, I just feel a lot of pressure.

I know I don't act like it.

[Laughter]

Chef Vivian-I just feel like, you know,

we're not going to have any of this equipment

until it seems like, two days before we are going to open.

Two pieces of equipment I have never worked on.

Ben-Well I kind of would like to hold it as scheduled

because if we don't start taking revenue days in

then we are going to have a cash short fall

so that's why I've been trying to push these jokers out of here

because every day that they're in here

and we can't do what we need to do....

Chef Vivian-I understand.

I understand.

I'm just saying that I feel pressure.

Ben-Yeah.

Yeah.

[Music plays]

Chef Vivian- We reopen in May

and there will be a ton of strawberries in the area

and every year we do some kind of strawberry shortcake

and every year I say,

okay if we're going to serve strawberry shortcake

it needs to be the best strawberry shortcake

this person has ever tried.

And I don't think we've ever quite accomplished that

so I've been using this time at home

to try and develop a strawberry shortcake

that represents the true aroma, taste, flavor of a strawberry.

Chef Vivian-Today we are at my house

making the babies birthday cake.

I don't like to miss an opportunity to work

on something for the restaurant so the babies birthday cake

is actually gonna be something that we may use

when we reopen.

I love the combination of strawberries and basil

so we're making a coconut cornbread

with basil whip cream and marinated strawberries.

I have my friend here, Cynthia Wong

and she's a real life pastry chef.

She works in Atlanta at Empire State South.

I am not a pastry chef so to invite her in here to see

all my little weaknesses in this area

is making me feel a little naked.

Chef Vivian-Cynthia, what types of things

do you do with strawberries?

Cynthia-I really like strawberry sorbet

because you can really let the fruit shine

and just do it's thing.

I just really do simple things with them.

Chef Vivian-So we're just gonna stir a little bit

of this sugar in here and let it hang out.

Then we're gonna mix our cornbread

but instead of using buttermilk

or regular milk I'm gonna use coconut milk.

In here I have corn mill, obviously, a little flour,

shredded coconut to give it some texture,

some baking powder, and salt.

Cynthia, I think I'll let you explain

why we are putting salt in a dessert.

Cynthia-Even though it's something sweet

and it doesn't seem like it would need salt,

salt really rounds out the flavor.

When you don't put it in sweet things

they taste kind of flat.

Chef Vivian-That's a much better answer than I give my cooks.

I say, because I said so.

For the wet we have eggs and some vegetable oil.

We always use grapeseed.

Coconut milk, coconut extract,

and some secretish ingredient, coco lopez.

Ummm do you ever use coco lopez?

Cynthia-I love coco lopez.

It's delicious.

Chef Vivian-Good, I was embarrassed actually

that you were gonna see I was using it because it's ummm...

Cynthia-I love it.

Chef Vivian-It gives everything that you are trying

to make taste like coconut more coconut flavor

than anything else.

Cynthia is going to add the wet to the dry

and it's really as simple as that.

I am going to start our basil whipped cream.

In my pot I have heavy whipping cream

and some basil leaves and basically I'm just going

to bring that up to a really low simmer

and then turn off the heat

and let the basil steep in there

so that this cream tastes like basil

but it's not going to turn green or anything.

Once it steeps we will have to then cool down the cream.

So basically I'll strain it and then sit my bowl

in an ice bath just to chill it down before we whip it.

So whenever you're making corn bread of any kind

you wanna pre heat your pan in the oven

so that it has less of a tendency to stick.

In the oven for about 15 minutes.

Cynthia and I have chilled the cream.

You can not whip the cream with it being warm, can you?

Cynthia-It will turn to butter.

Chef Vivian-Okay good, I didn't actually know that.

So, Cynthia will you put this in this mixer?

Cynthia-Sure

Chef Vivian-This is really cool.

It's my grandmother's from the 70s.

You might wanna back up

because this is serious stuff here.

[Blending]

[Music plays]

Chef Vivian-Now we're going to build our little cakes.

I'm going to have filling in here

and stack another corn bread and have filling in there

and then some whipped cream on top.

Cynthia-Awesome.

Chef Vivian-I think mine actually looks

better than yours.

[Laughter]

Chef Vivian-Alright well I take that back,

what I said earlier.

Yours definitely looks a little better than mine.

We've got coconut cornbread shortcake

with strawberries and basil whipped cream.

It's been pretty fun.

Cynthia-It was really fun.

Chef Vivian-And the birthday party will be more fun.

Cynthia-The babies are going to love it.

Chef Vivian-They will.

They will.

And if they don't, I'll eat it.

Cynthia-Yeah.

Laughter

Ben-Woooooo

Chef Vivian-There we go

Ben-Look at him.

Laughter

[People singing Happy Birthday]

[People singing Happy Birthday]

Chef Vivian-Blow it out.

Ben-Woooo

[Cheering]

Ben-He's scuba diving

[Laughter]

Chef Vivian-I think the babies loved

the little strawberry shortcakes.

I mean, it was really the first cake

that they had ever had.

I think I can tweak it slightly and have it

as one of the opening desserts on our menu.

Maybe we finally gotten that awesome shortcake.

Time flies and I can not believe they are a year old

and my time as a stay at home mom is over pretty much.

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