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Arts & Culture

SOMEWHERE SOUTH

Vivian Howard holds up a bitter melon while shopping at an Indian grocery store in Cary, N.C.
Courtesy of Josh Woll
Vivian Howard holds up a bitter melon while shopping at an Indian grocery store in Cary, N.C.

Airs Mondays, March 30 - May 3, 2020 at 10 p.m. on KPBS TV + PBS Video App

Celebrity chef, author and restaurateur Vivian Howard, who previously hosted the award-winning series A CHEF’S LIFE, returns to PBS on SOMEWHERE SOUTH. The new six-part series is a culinary tour, exploring dishes that are uniting cultures and creating new traditions across the American South.

“Shooting SOMEWHERE SOUTH has made me look at what we call Southern food with a new set of spectacles. The home kitchens I learn in, the stories I hear people share, the food I watch them make — it has lit a fresh fire under me,” Vivian says. “I’m excited that, as Southerners, we can tell these complex stories through food and culture, and not shy away from our past or present.”

EPISODE GUIDE:

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Episode 1: “American As Hand Pie” airs Monday, March 30 at 10 p.m. - See how Vivian’s crash course in mass producing hand pies inspires her to revisit the applejacks of her youth. Her journey includes a trip to West Virginia for a taste of pepperoni rolls and a look at the world’s most popular hand pie – the empanada.

Episode 2: “Porridge for the Soul” airs Monday, April 6 at 10 p.m. - Join Vivian at a dinner honoring pioneering chef Edna Lewis. Vivian gives porridge the royal treatment and learns about African American contributions to Southern cuisine.

Chefs B.J. Dennis and Vivian Howard talk with Safia Huger at her restaurant, Hannibal’s Kitchen, in Charleston, S.C.
Courtesy of Rex Miller
Chefs B.J. Dennis and Vivian Howard talk with Safia Huger at her restaurant, Hannibal’s Kitchen, in Charleston, S.C.

Episode 3: “Dumpling Dilemma” airs Monday, April 13 at 10 p.m. - Accompany Vivian on a trip to the Mississippi Delta and farther south to learn that not all dumplings are the same. But whether filled with minced meat, chopped veggies or nothing at all, they stretch our ingredients and our imaginations.

Chef Ed Lee shows chefs Ashleigh Shanti and Vivian Howard how to make dumplings.
Courtesy of Markay Media
Chef Ed Lee shows chefs Ashleigh Shanti and Vivian Howard how to make dumplings.

Episode 4: “What a Pickle” airs Monday, April 20 at 10 p.m. - Hear Vivian's lecture on chow chow, a quintessentially Southern relish, at Asheville's first ever Chow Chow Festival. Her preservation education dives into Indian and Sri Lankan pickles, Puerto Rican escabeche, and Korean kimchi.

Chef Vivian Howard talks Indian pickles with (L to R) chef Farhan Momin, Eater editorial direcotr Sonia Chopra, and chefs Meherwan Irani, Cheetie Kumar and Samantha Fore at Chai Pani restaurant in Asheville, N.C.
Courtesy of Jeremy Seifert
Chef Vivian Howard talks Indian pickles with (L to R) chef Farhan Momin, Eater editorial direcotr Sonia Chopra, and chefs Meherwan Irani, Cheetie Kumar and Samantha Fore at Chai Pani restaurant in Asheville, N.C.

Episode 5: “It's A Greens Thing” airs Monday, April 27 at 10 p.m. - Travel with Vivian to the Lumbee tribe's annual homecoming, where she samples their famous collard sandwich. On a trip to Georgia, Vivian meets a group of refugee farmers growing greens that remind them of home.

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Chef Vivian Howard (right) talks to farmers with the help of translator Jack Mpigiri at The Burundi Women’s Farm, a project of the Global Growers Network in Decatur, Ga.
Courtesy of Blaire Johnson
Chef Vivian Howard (right) talks to farmers with the help of translator Jack Mpigiri at The Burundi Women’s Farm, a project of the Global Growers Network in Decatur, Ga.

Episode 6: “How Do You Cue?” airs Monday, May 3 at 10 p.m. - Follow Vivian on a journey to learn how other Southerners cook and eat barbecue. She travels to Florida for smoked mullet and Texas for barbecue with Japanese and Mexican twists.

Watch On Your Schedule:

With the PBS Video App, you can stream your favorite and local station shows. Download it for free on your favorite device. The app allows you to catch up on recent episodes and discover award-winning shows.

Episodes will be available for streaming on demand for a limited time after each broadcast. Extend your viewing window with KPBS Passport, video streaming for members supporting KPBS at $60 or more yearly, using your computer, smartphone, tablet, Roku, AppleTV, Amazon Fire or Chromecast. Learn how to activate your benefit now.

Credits:

Produced for PBS by Markay Media in association with member stations South Carolina ETV and UNC-TV, with support from the ETV Endowment of South Carolina. The series is created by Vivian Howard and Cynthia Hill with Howard also serving as a producer and Hill as the series director. Pamela A. Aguilar serves as the executive in charge for PBS.