Distinctively Charleston Food & Wine Festival
Making Charleston a Premier Culinary Destination
October 11, 2005 -Rotarians today were left salivating after hearing about the mouth-watering plans for upcoming Distinctively Charleston Food and Wine Festival scheduled for the first weekend in March. Television personality and author, Nathalie Dupree along with Angel Postell, the Director of the executive committee for the festival, spoke to the Rotary Club of Charleston to tell us about the background and evolution of this festival.
Ms Dupree, a 1999 winner of the esteemed James Beard Award, told us how she became involved with this event. She talked about a group of young Charlestonians who are passionate about launching a festival dedicated to the one feature of our city that they believe has somewhat neglected by the media. The group intends to address this oversight by positioning the city to become a premier culinary destination with a top-tier festival dedicated to the culinary arts featuring the food which is characteristic of our rich cultural history. They envisioned an occasion on par with Spoleto, where experts could gather to share, learn and celebrate their skills along with those who merely enjoy them and do so against the backdrop of our elegant and historical city. The city’s many exceptional restaurants, outstandingly talented chefs, and dishes unique to the lowcountry will be showcased as they are joined by celebrity chefs and authors and wine experts and vendors to enjoy the four day weekend.
The Executive Director of the event, Angel Postell, then gave us a tiny preview of the schedule and activities which are already in place for the weekend. There will be more than 65 interactive events which include cooking demonstrations, wine seminars, a restaurant “dine-around”, book signings, a champagne and dessert with noted pastry chefs, and all throughout the festivities there will be a massive “culinary village” located in Marion Square where the many vendors will display and demonstrate. There will be a gala on Saturday night to benefit the two selected initiatives sponsored by the festival. One of the beneficiaries will be the new Culinary Institute of Charleston at Trident Tech. The weekend will culminate in a gospel brunch to be held on Sunday morning.
You can access more information by going to the festival web site: http://www.charlestonfoodandwine.com/ . Surely, this festival is destined to become one of the country’s premier destinations for food and wine enthusiasts .
Reported by Helen Harloe, Keyway Committee