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Chef Vivian Howard has had a lot on her plate in recent years, pardon the pun. In the first two seasons of her PBS cooking/documentary series "A Chef 's Life," she and husband Ben Knight dealt with a devastating kitchen fire in their Kinston, N.C., restaurant, opened a second eatery in the same town and lived the roller-coaster daily existence that is restaurant ownership. So as Season 3 opens on Thursday, Sept. 3 (check local listings), Howard takes on something of a less stressful task as she works to write and get a cookbook published. "I'm actually getting ready to deliver the manuscript on Oct. 1 – well, theoretically Oct. 1. I think it's going to be more like the 15th," Howard says with a laugh. "So, yes, and Season 3 kind of tracks my progress doing that and my struggles and trying to carve out time for that work." "It's called 'Deep Run Roots' ... and it's massive. I imagine a lot of it is going to get edited down because I've never seen a cookbook this big in print. But I mean I know that it will and I'm prepared for that." But the restaurant business being what it is, there are always problems. This season, the chef at the Boiler Room, their second concern, quits, forcing non-chef Ben to step into the kitchen and prepare meals from Vivian's recipes – without Vivian around. "I'm not watching over him," Howard says, laughing. "I collaborate with him. "What I've learned," she continues, "is that I'm really kind of a one-restaurant chef. And I think it's really hard for a chef who's very involved in the food of their restaurant to really be the head chef of several different restaurants. So most of the time, we know chefs who have a bunch of different restaurants, they're really most connected to one of those restaurants and the other restaurants have a chef. I'm the guiding principle and guiding creative force over at the Boiler Room but I don't work in that kitchen on a daily basis." What book are you currently reading? "I'm not reading anything right now (laughs). ... I just recently read Dan Barber's 'The Third Plate,' which I found very enlightening. It took me a long time to get through it but it's definitely a worthwhile read. I just reread on vacation 'Garlic and Sapphires,' which is a Ruth Reichl book that I love. I love the way she talks about food." What did you have for dinner last night? "A tomato sandwich (laughs) with broccoli sprouts." What is your next project? "Well, I try to deliver this book Oct. 1. We're going to be full throttle filming Season 4 of the show and we've pitched an idea about the food of the Civil War to PBS and hopefully we'll be able to produce that." When was the last vacation you took, where and why? "My family beach vacation. We go to Emerald Isle, which is just a North Carolina beach about an hour from here. We go for one week every summer. It's not incredibly exciting." 'A Chef's Life' is an open book for Vivian Howard in Season 3 Vivian Howard BY GEORGE DICKIE Page 8 August 31 - September 6, 2015 Don't Miss Monday's Food Page You'll find Great Recipes and Food Advertisements only in 574-533-2151 Nobody Knows Our Hometown Better! • Carpet • Vinyl • Ceramic Mon.-Fri. 8-5 • Sat. 9-1 65669 US 33 East • Goshen 642-4770 TOLL FREE 1-877-642-4770 Area's Largest Selection of Remnants Large Inventory of Carpet, Laminate, Vinyl, and Luxury Vinyl Tiles! Kercher's ... the name you've trusted for 93 years. Mon.-Fri. 9am-5:30pm • Sat. 9am-4pm • Closed Sundays GOSHEN, IN • 533-6311 1/2 Mile West of SR 15 on CR 38 at the Orchard www.kerchersorchard.com From our orchard to your table... Apples: Lodi - Great for sauces and pies! Paula Red - Great for sauces and baking! Ginger Gold - First of the great eating apples! and Bisco Peaches . . . One of our favorite varieties of the year! Great for canning, eating, and baking! On or Off-Site Catering All Occasions Dine under the glow of gas lanterns Breakfast and Lunch Meals also available Open Tuesday through Saturday OEC Super Buffet 4024 Elkhart Rd Goshen IN 46526 Tel: 574-875-1298 Elk Lunch Monday-Friday 11am-3pm Adult $7.25 Children 2 years old $1.99 3-6 years old $3.50 7-10 years old $5.00 *Saturday Lunch $7.75 Dinner Monday-Friday 3pm-9:30 pm Adult $10.75 Children 2 years old $2.99 3-6 years old $4.50 7-10 years old $6.00 *Sunday Dinner Price ALL DAY $10.75 SENIOR DISCOUNT 10% PRICE

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