They Call ‘em ‘Bagas

(Intro Music plays) Unbeknownst to me, rutabagas are obscure.

Well, if you don't know rutabagas are the toughest root out there.

When everything else in your garden has died from the cold the rutabaga is still kickin' it.

(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.

(Theme Music plays) (Theme Music plays) 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.

So, I agreed to do this art show in Durham.

We have finally hired a chef at the Boiler Room.

So, I wouldn't be able to do this if we weren't lucky to find this new chef over there, Eric.

He's young.

He's 26.

It's really just allowed me to do this the last three weeks.

(music plays) Thanks, Viv.

Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas.

Mine says, Kenny you're cool and so is this restaurant.

(Laughter) Thank you, Chef.

Thank you, Chef.

Anyway, happy holidays.

Happy holidays.

So, do y'all want to sit down and talk about New Years?

Yes.

We always wrap up our December at Chef and the Farmer with a giant celebration on New Year's eve.

Not us celebrating, our customers celebrating and we develop a whole new menu for that night's service.

This year we're doing southern meets Italian because the two traditions align perfectly.

So I want to do like a sprouted field pea and rice salad with kind of, not pickled shrimp but marinated shrimp.

Yeah.

So, that would be the marinated seafood thing unless we wanted to do something else.

No, that sounds good.

What else do we have?

We have a rutabaga... Yeah, we had some sort of rutabaga concept.

The boiled peanut...

I was thinking about two things.

That we could do something like cool with like a sweet bread or something like that.

Then, we also have some jow bacon in there.

Crispy on top.

Yeah.

We can do that or we don't even have to do the sweet bread then.

So, I have this rutabaga relish that I've made and y'all can taste it and it's really really good.

It's a really startling nice color, but really I made it with the intention of spooning it onto a pot of, or a bowl of beans.

So, what if we did the boiled peanut thing like we were talking about, like creamy delicious boiled peanuts because they really are beans.

I'm gettin' excited now!

(Laughter) Yeah.

And then put the rutabaga relish on there as a condiment and then the crispy guanciale?

Yeah, so it would be like...

It would be like... Like a risotto.

Yeah, but like too cool for itself.

Yeah.

Okay, yes.

I just think that's so cool too because guanciale is Italian.

Jow bacon is like.. Is like country style.

Yeah.

(Laughter) But it's the same thing.

Country style guanciale.

Awesome, great.

I'm excited for this.

Yes, (music plays) I once described turnips as the least sexy vegetable out there but I must have lapsed in memory and forgotten about the rutabaga because it is for sure the lowliest of all the root vegetables.

So, it's funny that I'm going to make rutabagas, the least sexy vegetable out there, the focus of my New Year's meal.

Rutabagas are something that people turn to in the dead of winter because it'll last longer in the field than anything else and when the ground freezes rutabagas don't necessarily freeze.

So, people eat rutabagas when it's really cold outside.

Hey Lillie!

Hey!

What's the fire for?

Just warmth?

Just to keep your hands warm.

After you stick 'em in that water in that tub washing stuff.

You want to let's get right to it?

Yeah.

That is a muddy hog pit.

That is.

I feel so sorry for 'em.

Oh my gosh, it's like quicksand.

Just stay in the foot prints.

You'll be fine.

These sure will pull good.

Watch.

They just kind of shhheewww.

Woah!

O.S - Get on the row.

(Laughter) Step, step high.

Step high.

There ya go.

Stay right there.

(Laughter) There ya go.

I don't want to lose you out here.

(Laughter) Warren, did your mom cook rutabagas?

Oh yeah.

A lot of people call them 'bagas.

Baters, bagas, yeah!

(Laughter) So, rutabaga greens are like turnip greens essentially because rutabagas are a type of turnip.

To me it's more like a collard because they're thick.

They're not fuzzy.

It looks like a collard.

What's the difference between a rutabaga and a turnip?

They're supposedly a cross between a cabbage and a turnip.

Now, where the cabbage comes in, I guess the leaves are like a cabbage leaf, I guess.

In some cultures they call these and I'm really gonna butcher this, swedes.

S V E D E. Yeah, that sounds like Sweden.

In Sweden, Norway, that's where they love this thing because it can stand all that cold weather.

Okay.

You know I never grew up eating rutabaga greens but they clearly have edible greens.

Yeah.

Yeah, these looked a whole lot better before we had that eighteen degree weather.

You're always making excuses for stuff like that.

Well, it's the weather.

It's always the weather.

It's nothing I did.

Come and get this one.

Okay.

That one right there.

Get that one right there.

Oh wow, that's a good one.

That is.

That's good.

So, you don't know what you're doing New Year's Eve?

Y'all should come to the restaurant.

We're doing a whole Italian via eastern North Carolina style meal.

That will be a interesting mix.

You know, so we'll have like an antipasto course and a pasta course and secondi.

I sound ridiculous saying stuff like that.

Right.

That sounds interesting.

I'm gonna have to check that out.

(music plays) We have this tradition of cooking turnip roots and greens together.

Right.

I never have either.

I'm gonna show you how to do that.

Oh, you are?

I'm gonna show you how to do that.

What do you think, girl?

You think we got enough for a pot?

Yeah.

Most of the rutabagas you find in the grocery store are huge and they're covered in wax.

If you ever find a rutabaga in a farmer's market it will generally have greens attached to it and that is a good thing because rutabaga greens are surprisingly very tasty.

You're good with that knife.

So you're peeling them and just cutting them into... Small pieces so it won't take so long to cook.

Okay.

They have a very particular smell.

They smell like a cabbage.

It does smell like a cabbage.

Lillie is showing me today how to make stewed rutabagas.

Is that what you would call it, Lillie?

Yeah.

It's something I grew up seeing on our table but I've never made them this way on my own.

So Lillie's showing me and it looks like we're gonna throw the greens in there.

(music plays) Alright, so you got water in there?

Got water.

How much of this do we put in?

About half of it.

We gonna let it boil a few minutes and then we'll put the rutabagas in there.

They're gonna be last because they were frosted and everything.

Okay, so you're gonna do the roots before the greens?

Mmm hmm.

This whole like, cutting in your hand thing is something that is not what I usually do.

Oh lord.

Let me go back over here.

Let me go back over there.

(Laughter) You don't do it...

Pull it.

You break it.

Mmm hmmm.

See the way you was cuttin' it you gonna cut your hand.

Yeah, it seemed like I was going to.

Thank you.

Rutabagas and bacon.

Rutabagas in.

That's just bacon water?

Nothing else?

Nothing else.

Okay.

This is what Edna Lewis does.

Edna Lewis does country ham in the fat that she fries chicken in.

Yeah.

I don't fry chicken very often.

I believe it.

(Laughter) Because of that way I'm doing it?

I believe it.

Yeah.

What am I doing wrong?

Put it tighter in there than that.

You mean I can put some more chicken in here is what you're saying?

Mmm hmmm.

Lillie, are we gonna fry the corn bread in the same oil that we fried the chicken in?

Yes we can.

(music plays) Have you tried my relish?

Are we gonna have this as a side?

Well, I think it would be really good with the chicken.

You know, it's the acid component.

Are we ready to cook greens?

Alright, greens in the pot.

We haven't put any pepper... No, because of the salt in it.

No pepper at all?

Uh un.

I want to do it how you would do it.

Okay.

How about when you get back to the restaurant, Vivian?

Then, I'm going to do it how I would do it.

(Laughter) Do what you wanna do.

I fixin' to put my corn bread.

I love Lillie's corn bread.

Mmm hmmm.

What you got your hand up there for?

I thought you were through.

See, where I come from we don't waste.

We get everything out of here.

That's fine.

That's fine.

Because we didn't have a whole lot to eat we used everything we had.

That's right.

Thank you, Jesus.

Thank you, Lillie.

Thank you, Jesus.

Good job.

What a pile of corn bread.

Wooo!

Taste of your tops.

Hot, hot!

Here!

What are y'all doing?

It's hot.

It's hot but good.

Thank you.

So, how much am I draining off?

We're gonna drain it all off.

We're gonna get your green things out.

Okay, they're out.

The greens are separated.

It's bitter.

That's where sugar comes in I guess.

What about my greens?

Do I put them in here too?

Put them on top.

You can have them separate.

That looks awesome.

Rutabaga relish on the rutabaga.

Now in a fancy restaurant you would call this rutabagas three ways.

Three ways.

That's right, rutabaga greens.

Because you got the greens, you got the mash, you have the relish.

I love the rutabagas.

You see that sweetness in sugar.

Sugar sweeten it and make that bitter taste go away.

Told you I could cook.

Yep.

They're great.

Thank you, Lillie.

You're more than welcome.

(music plays) Look at you in your little bow tie.

Hey, it is New Year's.

It is New Year's.

A buche de noel.

Did I say it right, Michelle?

Did I say it right?

Buche de noel.

Buche de noel.

Give a little va va va to it.

I know Lillie showed me how to peel rutabagas with a knife but I'm much better with this guy.

Today is New Year's Eve and I am typically like a wild crazy stressed out person today, but this year Justise and John have participated in a big way and I'm just so thrilled.

I'm actually kind of enjoying it.

This year we're doing Italian inspired dishes with like our ingredients.

So, we're going to do a rutabaga relish on top of this boiled peanut risotto.

I hate quotation marks but sometimes you just need them.

We're also doing a root vegetable and green cannelloni.

That was all kind of inspired by Lillie's lesson on cooking the rutabagas and greens together.

That's gonna be finished with rutabaga and sorghum gastrique.

I'm gonna take sorghum syrup and sherry vinegar and kind of reduce it on top of my rutabagas.

The idea is to put just enough liquid in here so that it cooks the rutabagas but they don't lose their texture.

Then some thyme as well.

A little salt.

And never add water to something when you could add something that has flavor.

I'm going to add this tangerine juice.

So, all that liquid will reduce out.

The rutabagas will cook and we'll be left with a shiny glaze over top of these rutabagas, hopefully.

(music plays) Cool, that's good.

Chef and the Farmer is going into it's like 10th year of business and this is the first time ever that I've been able to collaborate on a menu with any of my cooks.

The beginning of this process was actually a little scary for me.

I guess I umm, am a little bit of a control freak.

You know, my experience is that no matter how organized and how ready you are there's just such a high volume of plates going out.

Mmm hmmm.

Especially now that we are trying to do an exceptionally high volume of people.

and we ended up doing 190 people on Tuesday.

On Tuesday.

On Tuesday.

You sounded real country.

I was trying to do my impression.

I just love that this is like not my battle anymore.

I'm sorry.

Thank you for abandoning me on the battle field.

I didn't abandon you.

It's like my general runs away.

(Laughter) It's like you guys got this.

I do my best.

(music plays) So, you're gonna do the amuse?

You're gonna need garlic oil on your station to roast the cauliflower.

Tangerine.

You got your pom, pickled red onion, your lemon juice, trout roe, and pickled dill.

Sweet.

Thank you.

You know, we change the menu all the time at Chef and the Farmer but we might change one or two dishes every night.

What happens on New Year's Eve is completely different in that we are putting literally 12 new dishes on the menu and teaching every line cook how to prep and execute that dish.

So this will be the vegetarian entree course.

It's rutabaga, turnips, sweet potatoes, and sunchokes all cooked together with their greens and some marscapone.

I'm just gonna roll them up.

We're gonna spoon this sage bechamel on top.

So, those are ready to go in the oven.

Just having 12 new dishes ready for the staff to taste before service is a lot to get done.

It's always, always a challenge.

Okay, so basically you know Hoppin' John is literally peas and rice.

A little bit of lemon juice and then you're going to take your shrimp.

How many shrimp is that?

It's six shrimp.

I'm just worried that we're not going to have enough.

Let them try this one and we can make it smaller.

I'm just trying to outdo you.

Slowly undermine you.

Slowly, yeah.

It's the theme.

That's the name of this episode, right?

(Laughter) Okay, there we go.

So, I just put peanuts in there.

Salt.

Okay?

And I'm going to finish it with a little bit of butter.

The idea is risotto but really and idea of like a bowl of beans with some chow chow on top and some corn bread.

Alright, happy New Year everybody.

Happy new year!

Okay, so we've got some really cool stuff to taste tonight.

We have a really fun take on pickled shrimp.

So, Hoppin' John is something we've served every single year here for New Year's because it symbolizes luck and good fortune in the new year.

But this is light, bright and refreshing okay and really super different and cool.

This is the boiled peanut risotto.

So, we cooked the raw peanuts like risotto in that they ended up creamy and we topped it with a rutabaga relish.

Then, the next thing that we have up here is our vegetarian entree for tonight.

So this is a cannelloni.

We made like our lasagna dough a sheet and then we stuffed it with a mixture of rutabagas, turnips, sunchokes, and sweet potatoes.

Then, on the side here you have your acid element.

It's a rutabaga gastrique and if you like it you should recommend it to non- vegetarians.

John, you wanna start from here?

Over there is the pork belly porchetta that we've stuffed with a sausage.

So, I made a agrodolce, which is a sweet and sour sauce out of blistered red grapes and apple cider vinegar based pickling liquid so that it's kind of like the eastern North Carolina barbecue sauce.

Okay.

Let's try these.

No matter what tonight when you ring an order in I would just stop by the pass, verify your order and just verbally check with John how many guests are at that table.

This is my first New Year's Eve service expediting one of these so confirm as much things as you want with me please so that everybody is on the same page.

I think you guys should give the kitchen a big round of applause.

(Applause and cheering) That is really good.

Yeah, that's fantastic.

It's like comfort food.

Mmm hmm.

Ben, do you have time to go to the Boiler Room?

Yeah, why?

Is he ready?

Yeah.

What was your favorite thing that you tasted tonight?

I really like the shrimp and the cannollini.

Oh, thanks.

So this is Eric.

He's our new chef at the Boiler Room and we are super excited to have him.

So, tomorrow we're doing a whole new brunch menu for New Year's day brunch.

What do you got here?

This is a winter vegetable salad with rutabagas, carrots, some grapefruit, chive, and then we have a chili vinegar dressing.

Rutabaga chips as well for crunch on top.

Okay.

I mean I think it's nice and bright and light.

I'm having a hard time getting it on my fork.

Yeah.

I like it.

Maybe a pinch of salt?

Okay, alright.

I'm fine.

I'm happy with this.

Yeah?

Okay.

Let's just let him do his thing and we'll just come in and eat it for real tomorrow.

Sounds good.

(music plays) So, how are we feeling?

I feel great.

I'm a little nervous about expediting but I think I'll...

I'll help you.

There's a tremendous amount of food going out because you know typically when you have 180 covers they get 2.1 dishes.

They're getting five.

Right.

How are you doing, Pat?

I'm alright.

How's it going?

Okay.

Happy New Year.

I feel good about these dishes.

The staff is liking them.

They all look good.

They all taste good.

I think this is going to be a very successful New Year's Eve and it might be the first one I've spent at home in about 20 years.

(music plays) Tonight we have our set course kind of New Year's Eve menu.

Kind of a trip to Italy.

The things on here that you might not go for are the thing to go for.

Let's get out of the comfort zone for a little bit.

What are you scared of?

I don't know?

I just got a bad feeling.

(Laughter) So ring in one amuse.

Okay.

For this table here I know that I need to bring five amuses because there's five entrees.

Alright.

Got me?

I think so.

Okay.

Alright, walking in I got two amuse followed by one shrimp, one ham.

Heard?

Heard.

I'll work your ham.

You do some amuses.

I'm selling the last two amuse that I have up here.

O.S.- Heard.

This is gonna be the longest night ever.

Alright, two amuse followed by a shrimp and a ham.

Alright, let's go runners.

Walking in third, one risotto, two gnocchi, one pasta followed by two trout, one pork, one quail.

Alright, two amuse followed by a shrimp and a ham.

Make sure you guys if you clear a course you let them know because we're plating food for tables that have food and tables are waiting for food that don't have it because we're not communicating with the kitchen.

Yes sir.

This is rough.

Walking in third.

A risotto, arancini, followed by a cannelloni and a steak.

This is not what we're set up for.

Five amuse followed by two shrimp, two ham, one sunchoke.

My hands are sweating.

My armpits are sweating.

My face is sweating.

And I'm just sweating.

I told you that the sheer number of plates is just like mind blowing.

It's not that.

It's the pacing of everything.

Okay, where would you like me to be?

I'm gonna need you to expedite and I'll come and help these guys.

So, I'm not going home for New Year's.

I'll be ringing it in right there at the pass.

Alright guys, so we are bringing a cannelloni, two trout, a steak med rare, and sides to match.

41 is now up from the table.

Alright, so we're bringing a pork with complete sides.

She needs to be working just like copious sides.

These have gotta go.

So that clears these two plates.

Alright, ordering two arancini, two gnocchis, followed by three steaks and a trout.

And Justin, I never want you to plate a pasta before a risotto.

Y'all are doing great.

Just keep it up and faster.

So we're just having a really hard time getting our groove this year and I'm questioning why in the world do I always have to make things so complicated, I'm sorry guys.

We're just figuring some stuff out up here.

We have a problem.

The food's starting...

Experience is why I was nervous.

It's starting to fall apart.

It's not falling apart.

It is out there.

It was here earlier.

It's out there now.

Blablablabla.

(Laughter) You've got five all day, Portland.

We'll take a trout please.

14 is halfway through their entrees.

Okay, okay.

Just give me the ticket.

We're bringing the quail right now.

For 31?

For 31, yeah.

We just cleared it.

Okay, we don't have to then.

We just cleared that food.

It's not how service should be conducted.

Seven minutes, right?

Seven minutes.

Okay, okay.

So, none of these are ready for their ticket?

Ordering one risotto and one arancini followed by a trout and a cannelloni.

Okay, so what we're gonna do is you're going to run 31 whether it's seven minutes or not.

Okay, what's that?

Alright, awesome.

Trout and three steaks.

You've got two mushrooms.

You got your salads.

She's got a big brussell.

Awesome.

This is our boiled peanut risotto.

It's amazing.

This takes it to a whole new level.

Okay, we're in the home stretch.

Let's make sure everything looks as good as it does...

I can't even put it together.

Alright guys, this is really the last ticket.

Treat them as you would like to be treated.

Happy new year!

(cheers) (music plays) Well, I didn't get off early.

(Laughter) But, I don't know.

It was fun to be here and be a part of this.

Just like old times, me and Ben fighting at the pass.

Wooo!

Happy new year.

I love you.

I love you too.

Have a good night.

The good news is is that there's very little danger of me having to cook New Year's Day brunch.

I don't know enough about the menu that he's executing that I could jump in and make a difference either way.

So, I'm gonna be having brunch with my family and my children.

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