Charleston Wine & Food Festival: Opening Night Party

Last weekend was the sixth annual Charleston Wine & Food Festival.  I was really excited to get to help out at the opening night gala.  It took place in Marion Square, and much like last week's Chef's Feast, about twenty local restaurants had tables set up with small plates for the partygoers to dine on while they drank and mingled.

Blake, John, me, and Chef Ramon 

We had time to snap some photos before the crazy influx of people happened.  There were over 1,000 attendees there, which made for a busy night, to say the least.

John and me

Blake and me

Chef Frank Lee and his Chef de Cuisine, Russ Moore

our dish

I was happy that, unlike at the Chef's Feast, our plate was cold rather than hot. There were so many people, we were busy enough as it was without having to actually cook or heat the food to order.

gorgeous tuna, fennel and radish salad, blood orange puree, 

crispy beet chip, olive oil powder, and micro greens

The crudo tasted really great, too. All the flavors together made for a very refreshing, light couple of bites. I think it was a nice contrast to some of the other heavier (but still delicious) charcuterie-oriented dishes I saw.

 I tried to get a crowd shot to show how many people were there

After the crowd started to die down, we enjoyed tasting some of the other restaurants' dishes.  Chef Bacon from Oak was doing a gorgeous homemade (oxtail? not quite remembering...) ravioli, while Chef Brock from Husk was putting out pig's ear sliders which were pretty much amazing.  Overall, it was a lot of fun, and I've enjoyed getting to go to so many exciting events in the past few weeks.

Chef's Feast

Last night, I was able to help out at the 12th annual Chef's Feast, organized by Peninsula Grill's Chef Bob Carter.  The event raises charity money for the Lowcountry Food Bank.  Around 1,000 people attended, wearing tuxes and cocktail dresses, and over 25 chefs were there to represent their restaurants.

Each chef had a little station where his team could put out a small plate, and the guests came up to the stations as they wanted.  There were tables all over the auditorium for the guests to sit and dine.

Blake, Chef Ramon, myself, and Chef Lee

The four of us, plus Jeff, a cook from SNOB, represented High Cotton and Maverick Southern Kitchens.

What we cooked.

Needless to say, with that many guests attending, we stayed very busy, especially for the first hour.

Our plate. 

I thought our plate turned out nicely. It tasted good, and lots of guests came back for more.

Ramon and David Marconi, one of MSK's owners.

We saw lots of friends and familiar faces all night long.  Blake and I ran into tons of students and teachers from our respective culinary schools (she goes to Art Institute, I go to C.I.C.).  Of course, there were lots of industry people there who we knew just from working in food and beverage in Charleston.

Me and Chef Stefanelli from school. Love him.

While we didn't taste every dish, it was definitely fun to taste what the different restaurants were putting out. Chef Stef's braised oxtail and polenta was delicious, and I also really liked the sauteed calamari in tomato sauce from the Wild Olive, the restaurant we were stationed next to.  A couple cold beers at the end of the night (of course) helped wash it all down. Overall, it was a blast, and I was happy to step outside of my usual realm to participate in something so big and exciting.