Deep Run Roots

A landmark work of culinary storytelling with 250 recipes celebrating the flavors of North Carolina's coastal plain by Vivian Howard, star of PBS's A Chef's Life and Somewhere South. 

New York Times bestseller • IACP Cookbook of the Year 

This new classic of American country cooking proves that the food of Deep Run, North Carolina—Vivian's home—is as rich as any culinary tradition in the world. Organized by ingredient with dishes suited to every skill level, from beginners to confident cooks, Deep Run Roots features time-honored simple preparations alongside extraordinary meals from her acclaimed restaurant Chef and the Farmer. Home cooks will find photographs for every single recipe, alongside a storytelling voice that “will keep your soul fed for weeks” (Garden and Gun). 

In 2006, Vivian opened Chef and the Farmer and put the nearby town of Kinston on the culinary map. But in a town paralyzed by recession, she couldn't hop on every new culinary trend. Instead, she focused on rural development: If you grew it, she'd buy it. Inundated by local sweet potatoes, blueberries, shrimp, pork, and beans, Vivian learned to cook the way generations of Southerners before her had, relying on resourcefulness, creativity, and the traditional ways of preserving food.

Deep Run Roots is the result of years of effort to discover the riches of Eastern North Carolina. Like The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, The Art of Simple Food, and The Taste of Country Cooking before it, this is landmark work of American food writing.

Recipes include family favorites like Blueberry BBQ ChickenCreamed Collard-Stuffed PotatoesFried Yams with Five-Spice Maple Bacon CandyChicken and RiceCountry-Style Pork Ribs in Red Curry-Braised Watermelon And show-stopping desserts like Warm Banana Pudding, Peaches and Cream Cake, and Pecan-Chewy Pie. You'll also find 200 more quick breakfasts, weeknight dinners, holiday centerpieces, seasonal preserves, and traditional preparations for all kinds of cooks.