{History}          {Chefs}          {Exhibitors}          {Vintners /Brewers}

Palmetto Bluff – A Rich History of Eating Well
Southern food, perhaps more than any other regional cuisine in America, has long been recognized for its diversity and history, and for the stew pot of cultural influences which that history has brought to it. Its primary influence has undoubtedly been African. From the early Colonial period, beginning with the rum and sugarcane plantations of the West Indies and the Creole French and Spanish inhabitants of the Deep South, food was interpreted through African hands.

They harvested the fields, cleaned the game, ground the spices and cooked the meals. They brought with them staples such as peanuts and okra and adapted immediately the Native American’s predilection to corn.

Thus evolved a tradition of food selection and preparation that has withstood 400 years of cultural assault. Moreover, though it has clung tenaciously to the underpinnings of its heritage, southern food has adapted gracefully to new and creative interpretations of its time-tested methods and ingredients.

A quick review of the history of Palmetto Bluff shows that people have eaten well here for a very long time. The earliest Native Americans, the Altamaha and Yemassee, found sustenance in the remarkable bounty of fish and game. Their shell middens on the high bluffs are testament to the first oyster roasts – a social and culinary tradition still carried on with great relish here today.

Shortly after the turn of the twentieth century, R. T. Wilson Jr. entertained lavishly in his magnificent “Palmetto Lodge”, which burned in 1926. One can only imagine the elegance and bounty of the meals served there, with the freshest of ingredients harvested from the surrounding waters and woods, and the produce of his extensive farms.

In the 1950’s, Union Camp Paper Company build a rustic but charming hunting lodge overlooking the May River. In the long, wood-paneled “Trophy Room”, sumptuous game dinners and feasts of local seafood were presented nightly. Prepared by lifelong Lowcountry cooks, an evenings’ meal might include quail, venison, boar, shrimp, crabs and oysters – all harvested on the property or from the adjacent waterways. As many as 28 guests would visit the 14-bedroom lodge at one time.

Presently, as a residential community and resort, Palmetto Bluff continues to bring people together through food and drink. Join us at our table and become a part of our tradition.

CHEFS

Tyler Florence
Celebrity Chef, Food Network Star and Author
Dynamic and personable, Tyler Florence incorporates both tradition and innovation in his culinary creations, while redefining the concept of celebrity chef. Florence is the charismatic star of numerous Food Network shows ñ Food 911, How to Boil Water, and Tyler’s Ultimate, frequent contributor to national television, radio and Internet programs and acclaimed author of “Tyler Florence’s Real Kitchen”, “Eat This Book” and most recently “Tyler’s Ultimate”. With his affable, humorous and practical approach to the culinary arts, as well as the personal appeal that led him to be named the “Sexiest Chef Alive” by People Magazine, Florence is one of the most popular young chefs in the world.
www.tylerflorence.com

Donald Barickman, Founding Executive Chef / Vice President
Magnolias, Blossom, Cypress Lowcountry Grille
A 1985 graduate of theCulinary Institute of America, Donald Barickman made an indelible mark on the American culinary scene with the 1990 opening of Magnolias Uptown Down South in Charleston, SC. Magnolias delighted diners bringing upscale versions of favorite Southern dishes such as shrimp and grits and collard greens to the white table cloth restaurant.  

With the restaurant’s overnight success, Barickman became a respected ambassador for “Lowcountry” cuisine and has appeared as a guest chef at prestigious culinary programs across the United States including Cakebread Cellars American Harvest Workshop, La Varenne at the Greenbrier, the James Beard House and the Inn at Blackberry Farm. 

Over nearly two decades in business, Barickman and his partner at Hospitality Management Group, Inc., Thomas Parsell, have also opened Blossom restaurant (1993) and Cypress Lowcountry Grille (2001).  These restaurants have furthered Barickman’s reputation for excellence, and like Magnolias, they are the recipients of numerous industry awards and accolades.  Barickman is the author of Magnolias Southern Cuisine (Wyrick & Co./1995) and Magnolias Authentic Southern Cuisine (Wyrick & Co./2006).

In the foreword of Magnolias, Celebrity Chef Tyler Florence names   Barickman as the creator of Lowcountry cuisine, at the forefront of this culinary revolution.  In turn, Barickman was featured in the Tyler Florence Chefography as his mentor.  Chef Barickman’s talents have been recognized by media far and wide including Esquire, The Food Network, Gourmet, Smithsonian Magazine and Southern Living, and as a featured chef in the Discovery Channel’s Great Chefs or the South cookbook and television series, among others.

Christopher Blobaum, Executive Chef
The Inn at Palmetto Bluff
A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Chef Blobaum oversees all culinary aspects of The Inn at Palmetto Bluff, including the River House Restaurant and Buffalo’s Café. 

Chef Blobaum has worked in kitchens all over the country, cultivating his interest and expertise in melding global dishes and food styles. He has a national reputation for his creative, unpretentious approach to new American cuisine and the use of handcrafted, organic, sustainable and small farm food sources, all of which have become signatures in the industry.

Before joining Palmetto Bluff, Blobaum served as Executive Chef and Partner for the acclaimed Wilshire Restaurant in Santa  Monica, California. He has also served as Executive Chef at Surf & Sand Resort and Spa in Laguna Beach, Le Merigot Beach Hotel & Spa in Santa Monica, and the Beverly Prescott Hotel and Beverly Pavilion Hotel, both in Beverly Hills.

Donald Drake, Executive Chef
Magnolias
Executive Chef of Magnolias, Don Drake is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America. He began his professional career at the Quilted Giraffe in New York City under Chef Barry Wine while attending classes in Hyde Park. Upon graduation, Drake embarked on a culinary world tour, making stopovers in London, Australia and Hawaii. Circling the globe, he worked in several outstanding restaurants including Honolulu’s famed Roy’s with Chef Roy Yamaguchi. Drake is versed in a variety of international cooking techniques and ingredients, many of which can be found in the cuisine he creates for Magnolias. Drake put down roots in South Carolina in 1991 and became an integral part of the team that has grown Magnolias into one of the city’s finest dining establishments.

Chris and Idie Hastings, Chef and Co-owners
Hot and Hot Fish Club
Christopher Hastings is Chef and co-owner with his wife Idie, of the Hot and Hot Fish Club in Birmingham, Alabama.  The restaurant is located in a historic building on Birmingham’s Southside and has earned a reputation for serving some of the finest, freshest dishes in the region.  Chris developed his love for and relationship with food during family vacations spent in the low country of South Carolina: “As a creek boy, I harvested oysters, clams, shrimp, flounder, crab, spot tail bass, all manner of seafood that my mother and aunts would serve up with fresh, seasonal vegetables.  As a restaurant, customers’ food is prepared at the peak of its season and at the height of quality, freshness and flavor.” 

A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, Chris graduated from the Johnson & Wales Culinary School in Providence, Rhode Island, and moved to Atlanta in 1984.  His experience as sous chef at the Ritz Carlton led him to win a gold medal in the 1985 Atlanta Culinary Show.  In 1989, the Hastings moved to San Francisco where Chris worked with Bradley Ogden to open the Lark Creek Inn and Idie attended the California Culinary Institute and worked for Jeremiah Towers and Wolfgang Puck.

In 1995, the Hastings returned to the South and opened the Hot and Hot Fish Club.  In the restaurant’s early days, while Chris focused on the dinner menu, Idie used her pastry experience to develop the dessert menu.  Today, although the menus change daily to highlight the best possible products available, several signature items remain; the Hot and Hot Shrimp and Grits made with Country Ham, Fresh Thyme, Tomatoes and Ver Jus is always a favorite among the locals and Elton’s Chocolate Soufflé with Fresh Cream continues to be a favorite ending to many meals at the restaurant. 

Since it’s opening, they have won numerous awards and accolades.  Chris was a 1998 recipient of the Robert Mondavi Culinary Award of Excellence for Best Restaurant and was voted Birmingham’s best chef in Birmingham Magazine’s Readers’ Poll.  In 2003, the Birmingham Business Journal listed Idie Hastings as one of the top Birmingham Women.  This year she was listed in the Women’s Issue of Birmingham Weekly that promotes women in business. 

John Havens, Executive Chef
Jazz Corner
Chef John Havens of the Jazz Corner on Hilton Head started his career in Denver under the close direction of Chef Keith Josefiak. He has worked in resorts in Scottsdale and Washington D.C., as well as the Smithsonian Institutions, the Kennedy Center and the National Gallery of Art. John first came to Hilton Head in the late 90's, working with his mentor, Josefiak, at The Starfire Wine Bar and Grill. After a brief hiatus, John returned to the area where he worked for the Lowrey Group at Celebration Events, catering parties both large and small. He joined The Jazz Corner in May 2007 and has been offering an American eclectic menu to match the premier jazz club’s live music offerings, which include international, national and regional jazz artists.
www.thejazzcorner.com

Brooke Parkhurst, Novelist and ABC Contributor
James Briscione, Chef and Institute of Culinary Education Instructor
Brooke and James’ romance began at 4th grade summer camp. But they had to wait fifteen years, and for Brooke to walk into James’ Birmingham, Alabama restaurant for their love affair— in and out of the kitchen—to begin…

Brooke Parkhurst is a Southerner living in New York City. Her debut novel, with recipes, Belle in the Big Apple, will be published by Scribner in September 2008.Brooke is the host of the James Beard House and ABC News Now’s, Eat & Greet, as well as a food writer for ABC News.com. Her culinary and fish-out-of-water musings have also been featured on television and in such national and international media outlets as the Big Idea with Donny Deutsch, New York Post, Corriere della Sera, BBC, Salon.com and Gawker. In 2007, Brooke was the lifestyle/cooking correspondent for Conde Nast’s debut web network. The webcast featured Brooke as a foodie-about-town, a girl who searches out Manhattan’s hottest chefs and then adapts their big city fare for the home cook.

Ted Huffman, Pit Master
Bluffton Bar-B-Q
Ted Huffman, pit master of Bluffton Bar-B-Q, has been perfecting his BBQ cooking techniques for the past twenty years. His philosophy is low and slow - allowing patience to really be a virtue. A mixture of hardwoods are a part of the secret recipe and pulled pork and ribs are two of Ted’s specialties.  Ted opened Bluffton BBQ almost three years ago and the pork and ribs became famous. He won best ribs and best pulled pork in the first cook-off he ever entered and decided to retire a champion - competitively anyway.  Bluffton Bar-B-Q is located in the little red caboose in historic Bluffton but is expanding and will soon occupy space in the new Bluffton Promenade.  Anticipating the new space Huffman says, "We know you love our butts now you need to come in and check out our racks."

Julia Rutland, Senior Food Editor
Coastal Living
In every issue of Coastal Living, Julia Rutland shares her passion for food (and its origin) with some 625,000 subscribers and 4 million readers on the shores of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. Along the way, Julia packs magazine pages with scrumptious recipes and the zesty spirit of friends and family at the table. Knowing that readers are short on time but long desire for flavor, nutrition, and excitement, Julia dishes out recipes with style: In columns called Seafood Primer, Dinner in a Breeze, and In the Coastal Kitchen, she gets to the bottom of their food questions and to the top of their to-do lists.
www.coastalliving.com

Minette Rushing, Pastry Chef
Minette Rushing Custom Cakes
An artist at heart, Minette has been crafting award-winning custom cakes for over 12 years. †Lauded by her wedding industry colleagues as the only choice for discerning brides who demand †beauty as well as delicious cakes, her designs have been commissioned by many celebrities and personalities who have chosen the Savannah area as their wedding destination.

A proud member of International Cake Exploration Societe and the Retail Bakers Association, Minette has trained under the master, Nicholas Lodge (cake designer for Princess Diana). She is also a charter member of Savannah Wedding Professionals, an elite membership of premier wedding vendors in Savannah. Her designs have been featured in such publications as In Style Weddings, WE Platinum Weddings, Savannah Magazine, Atlanta Bride, etc.

Minette has been sharing her talent for years as a presenter at the ICES conventions and as a guest instructor at Johnson & Wales Culinary institute. Grateful for her blessings, Minette has begun sharing her talent locally through her "Sugar Seminars" so that others can know the joy of creating edible art.
www.savannahcustomcakes.com

{top of page}

EXHIBITORS

Carolina Plantation Aromatic Rice
Family owned and operated, Carolina Plantation Aromatic Rice is produced at Plumfield Plantation, one of the few historical working plantations in South Carolina. When the cotton market fell in the 1990ís, owners Campbell and Meredith Coxe looked for a way to diversify their plantation’s production. An avid South Carolina history buff and outdoorsman, Campbell looked to rice as a means to attract ducks for hunting while honoring South Carolina’s rich history and tradition. What began as a small personal endeavor has become nationally renowned Carolina Plantation Rice.

Carolina Plantation Rice has been featured on Food Network’s “Food Finds”, PBS’s “America’s Heartland”, and will be showcased on PBS’s “Harvest Eating” with chef Keith Snow in January 2008. Their products have also been shown in Southern Living, Living in South Carolina, Edible Lowcountry, Edible Atlanta, and Gourmet Retailer.
www.carolinaplantationrice.com

Coastal Chic
Reg and Susan Tygret moved to their favorite waterfront spot for some R&R— in their case, “retirement and retail.” Walking the streets in nearby Bluffton, South Carolina armed with magazine clippings and a passion for decorating, the couple scoured shops for accents to fill their new home. But options fell far short of their expectations. So, they decided to create a solution. Three years later, the Tygrets opened the doors to Coastal Chic furniture boutique which features coastal themed furnishings and accents.
www.coastalchic.com

Firefly Vodka
Introduced in April 2006, Firefly is the Lowcountry’s first official and only vodka and world’s only muscadine wine flavored vodka. †Born on Wadmalaw Island, the grapes are grown, hand harvested, and made into wine. The wine is then sent to the distillery in Lake Alfred, Florida, and a small amount is infused with the best five times distilled vodka, the finest vodka. The infusion of the wine with the vodka makes the customary heat associated with vodka fly away, and it is also the secret behind FireFly’s original taste and smoothness of the spirit. The infusion makes the “FIRE–FLY” away and creates a truly “Southern Flavored Sipping Vodka.”
www.fireflyvodka.com

Palmetto Pepper Potions
Palmetto Pepper Potions began in the South Carolina kitchen of Mark and Julie Riffle after a friend had gifted them with a surplus of chile pepper plants. The peppers were eagerly planted all over the yard, along the driveway and among the wildflowers. When the peppers ripened, they experimented with herbs, seasonal fruits and fresh vegetables to create a rainbow of vibrant, fresh-tasting sauces. Friends, family, favorite musicians and a surprising number of strangers clamored for more. In just three years, Palmetto Pepper Potions has earned 11 international awards in the world’s top fiery foods competitions, the Scovie Awards and the Golden Chile Awards.
www.pepperpotions.com

The Savannah Bee Company
The Savannah Bee Company is internationally admired for its rare specialty honeys. Savannah Bee Company is dedicated to creating only the most desirable floral varietals, including Tupelo and Sourwood. Our honeys are spun purely out of the comb and into the bottle---without blending them or processing them in a way that could compromise their taste or quality. We also have a beeswax based body care line that is as natural and pleasant to use as possible. It is our mission to provide pure, rare delectable honey and beneficial hive products while educating people about the wonder of honeybees. We hope you will enjoy our delicious honeys and hive products!
www.savannahbee.com

{top of page}

VINTNERS/BREWERS

The Global Brewers Guild
Global Brewers Guild represents a portfolio of hand crafted artisan brews from around the world. They specialize in offering quality, freshness, and variety and bring beers such as: Allagash (Portland, Maine), Victory (Downingtown, Pennsylvania), De Koninck (Antwerpen, Belgium) and Great Divide (Aspen, Colorado) to the Lowcountry.

Gruet Winery
The award winning Gruet Winery is located in Albuquerque, New Mexico and produces seven different sparkling wines: Brut NV (non-vintage), Blanc de Noirs NV, Rosé NV, Demi Sec NV, vintage Blanc de Blancs, vintage Grand Rosé, and Laurent's latest bubbly creation – an homage to his late, great father, and the Gruet Winery's luxury tîte de cuvée – the vintage Gilbert Gruet Grande Reserve. Gruet also produces two excellent Chardonnays and two Pinot Noirs, both with a regular bottling and an unfiltered barrel select reserve bottling.
www.gruetwinery.com

Silver Oak & Twomey Cellars
In the early 1970s, Silver Oak & Twomey Cellars of Oakville, CA emerged as a dream tied to an intrepid idea. The founders – Ray Duncan, an entrepreneur with a sense of adventure, and Justin Meyer, a former winemaker with Christian Brothers – dared to devote every effort toward the pursuit of a single wine, Cabernet Sauvignon. What’s more, they resolved to create a wine with a style all its own – not another hard, tannic red wine requiring years of aging to enjoy, but a wine of fully developed flavors and a velvety soft texture on the day it is released for sale.
www.silveroak.com

Thomas Creek Brewery
Thomas Creek Brewery is situated in the heart of Upstate, SC creating an array of micro brewed ales, lagers and bocks. Brewer Tom Davis’ goal is to make the finest hand crafted beers and to please every beer lover that tries a Thomas Creek brew. Award-winning Thomas Creek beers are made using only the finest American barley, hops and yeast. Hand crafted beer since 1998 and family owned and operated, Thomas Creek is distributed throughout South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee, winning the hearts and taste buds of beer lovers across the Southeast.
www.thomascreekbeer.com

Vineyard Brands
Vineyard Brands represents over 60 growers of estate-bottled wines in Burgundy, Chablis, the Rhône, Loire Valley, Alsace and Southern France as well as some of the best wines available from Spain, Portugal, Chile, Argentina, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Italy.
www.vineyardbrands.com

Interested in Participating?
A select number of regional chefs and exhibitors are invited to participate in the Culinary Festival & Tasting during this exclusive event. Interested in joining us on Saturday, November 22 where chefs, growers, vintners, and brewers from around the Lowcountry will showcase their signature products and dishes? Complete the attached application form and fax to 843.757.3307.

{History}          {Chefs}          {Exhibitors}          {Vintners /Brewers}

{top of page}