Chef Vivian Howard, host of the PBS shows “ A Chef’s Life ” and “ Somewhere South ,” will begin weekend pop-up events at Chef & the Farmer, starting Saturday, Sept. 19, with Blueberry BBQ Chicken plates to kick things off.

Meals, cocktails and snacks will be available to enjoy on the restaurant’s patio, in the yard, or as takeout. For $15, customers will get Howard’s signature Blueberry BBQ chicken (leg quarter or breast), chilled shrimp succotash, Eastern North Carolina slaw with a Vivian twist, and smoked corn hush puppies. Iced tea, beer, wine and batch cocktails will be available for purchase at a counter-style bar, as well as apple jacks and rum cake for dessert.

“I’ve been going over and over what makes sense for a restaurant like ours at this particular moment and I keep coming back to memories of plate fundraisers at the fire department, at church or at school,” said Vivian Howard. “I thought going back to the roots of what we do best by celebrating Eastern North Carolina’s unique food culture combined with that sense of community might be a good place to start.”

The restaurant will serve plates from 5-9 p.m. or when sold out on Fridays and Saturdays. For this opening weekend, Howard has added Sunday hours from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The menu will change monthly and feature distinctly Eastern North Carolina fare, including fish stew, oyster roasts, chicken pastry, Tom Thumb and more.