TLP Editor Erin Byers Murray speaking at a panel event at Charleston Food + Wine.

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Recap: TLP x Charleston Wine + Food

By: The Local Palate

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It’s hard to believe more than a month has gone by since the 2024 Charleston Wine + Food festival filled our weekend. We’re already looking forward to 2025, when the event will celebrate its 20th year. To prepare for the milestone, the organization has worked to fine-tune its mission, broaden its support of the Charleston community, and is looking to do more year-round programming, while also expanding its education and workforce programs. To date, the festival has contributed $170.5 million in economic impact to the region. In the meantime, we’re fondly looking back at the events we participated in as a festival partner—and look forward to much more to come.

Happy Hour with Toni Tipton-Martin

Cocktails being poured at Charleston Food + Wine

Anytime we can sit down with Toni Tipton-Martin is a good time. To celebrate her most recent book, Juke Joints, Jazz Clubs, and Juice, TLP editor-in-chief Erin Byers Murray moderated a panel discussion with Tipton-Martin, as well as Tiffanie Barriere (The Drinking Coach) and Rhonda Mitchell of The Drizzled Pear, who provided the food and drink for that day’s affair, set inside the Hospitality Hub at High Wire Distilling. We learned about Tipton-Martin’s ongoing friendship with Barriere and how it contributed to the book, as well as about all the ways she researched this cocktail-focused project. Barriere treated everyone to a classic French 75 while Mitchell’s snacks and small bites fueled our lively discussion.

Catch of the Day

Light breezes and a cloudless sky set the scene as we convened at Bowens Island for Catch of the Day, an annual, seafood-focused event that celebrates the bounty of the water. Chefs like Ricky Moore, Amethyst Ganaway, Jamie Davis, Blair Machado, and more filled the air with the scent of smoky, roasted seafood. Our top bites included the shrimp roll from Co-Hog food truck and Moore’s vegan Sea Island white rice and peas.

Gullah Geechee Goodness

Don’t sleep on the hands-on classes that Charleston Wine + Food offers each year—they inevitably provide some of the most educational and intimate experiences of the weekend. This year, we were honored to host Gullah Geechee Goodness, featuring chef Amethyst Ganaway and Miss Charlotte Jenkins, a long-time restaurateur, caterer, and teacher. Ganaway took the opportunity to both teach and be taught by Jenkins, who showed us how to properly make a pot of rice and how to prepare a classic conch stew. Watching these two women share their cultural history and listen to their stories was a highlight of the weekend.