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Charleston Recap, What I found in Charleston and how to get it in Atlanta, part one
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It's been almost two weeks and a vacation to Puerto Rico since my trip to the Charleston Food and Wine Festival, but my mind is still fresh with new ideas and memories of delicious food.
In the heart of Downtown Charleston, on one of the nicest weekends of the year, I stood among giants in the food and restaurant world. Bigger names like Bobby Flay, Alexandra Guarnachelli, and Wylie Dufrense, to our very own hometown heroes like Kevin Rathbun, Richard Blais, and Linton Hopkins all stood side by side for four days of great food and fun.
First off, my hat goes off to the organizers of the young festival. Only four years old, Charleston Food and Wine Festival was a star studded event with non-stop action, from sun up to sun down.
Since there was so much going on, of course I couldn't make it to all of the events, but I would like to recap a few I thought memorable. And in this series of posts I'll share with you a little insight that I learned about the culinary world and Atlanta.
First up, The Festival Vendors.
Staged in Marion Square in downtown Charleston, Festival goers arrived early and lined up at the tasting tents. Visitor from Charleston, Atlanta, and as far as D.C. stood beside me. In the tents is where I had my first revelation, Many of these vendors I recognized. Sugah Cakes, Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka, and Callie's Biscuits are just a few. Many of the Charleston based vendors have ventured outside of South Carolina and made it to shelves in and around Atlanta. Callie's Biscuits, a pre-made biscuit dough made to be baked in the comfort of your home is available at Star Provisions. Sugah Cakes, specializing in a variety of cakes, has a take home batter placed inside a complimentary recipe box-recipe for the cake included. And let's not forget the Vodka. Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka, a blend of tea and vodka make for a real southern treat and southern staple. I had a wonderful Firefly Vodka cocktail at Parish this winter, so I already knew it was good. Little did I know that one part Firefly and one part water really made a strong iced tea, but smooth.
One of my favorite parts of the tasting tents was to find that almost anything I tasted there was made available to me though a local Atlanta store. Star Provisions being the top named carrier. My advice, visit a homegrown store and explore some of the local options made available to us through them, you won't regret it.
Stay tuned for more on the Festival, including what I learned about the Richard Blais empire and let's not forget the amazing food, including lots of grits, seafood, and barbecue.
