Setting an alarm for 3 a.m. is never fun. But Durham chefs Phoebe Lawless of Scratch and Ricky Moore of Saltbox Seafood Joint are up at the crack of dawn prepping for service.

Fresh seafood comes at a high price and a painstaking preparation before it gets to the plate. Chefs Ricky Moore (Saltbox Seafood Joint) and Michael Lee (M Sushi, M Kokko) guide us through the beautiful process.

For Gray Brooks, opening a modern yet rustic pizzeria meant driving across country with a very pregnant wife and two cats. Next is building a team who can help realize your vision in an ever-changing food town.

Chef says, “I don’t want to talk to all those people.” Front-of-house replies, “I don’t want to make all that food.” A perfect combination — for business and marriage. Get to know Billy and Kelli Cotter of Durham’s Toast Paninoteca, a couple who has worked together in restaurants through dating, married bliss and business partnership.

Immediately after lunch rush, the early-riser chefs call it day. For other restaurant owners, the day is just beginning. During that afternoon golden hour when everything seems shut down downtown, chefs are behind the scenes either cleaning and closing up shop, like Ricky Moore at Saltbox Seafood Joint, or hustling in the kitchen to square away dinner service, like longtime chef Scott Howell.

Caught in a flurry of plates and a tipsy cloud of cocktails, night out can be an escape from the doldrums of real life, if you need it. Dinner and drinks with three chefs at their newest Durham restaurants — Nanasteak, Littler, M Sushi — give a taste of the behind-the-scenes action of Southern restaurant hospitality.

As the moon rises over baseball stadium fireworks, veteran chef Scott Howell stands outside one of his restaurants and reflects on what makes Durham such a special food town. Gray and Cara Brooks, newbies to the scene, talk about why they’re in it for the long haul.