Caviar Nights and Rosé Days: CHSWFF Recap

For those who spent the past five days in a Charleston Wine + Food haze, the Monday after the festival is always the worst. Gone are the days spent lounging in the Culinary Village with the sun shining and bloody mary in hand. Gone are the nights of dancing while slurping a never-ending supply of oysters (and champagne).

While Charleston Wine + Food won’t be here for another year, we can look back on the weekend of Top Chef sightings, barbecue consumption, and celebrity dinners.

The weather was practically perfect every day of the festival. Look at that blue sky.

Attendees ate many, many, many oysters.

And drank gallons and gallons of rosé.

And of course, after mass wine consumption comes photos on a boat (or half a boat in this case).

Crawdads climbed into a Lowcountry boil.

Some really esteemed bartenders (Jayce McConnell, Jerry Slater, Gary Crunkleton, Alba Huerta, and Megan Deschaine) took over classic dive Salty Mike’s for a BevCon event.

William Sonoma and Top Chef judge Gail Simmons hosted a ridiculously lavish after party at The Dewberry, complete with giant lobsters, bowls of caviar, uni, kobe beef, oysters, champagne, and shaved truffles all over the place.

All the Top Chef faces were there.

The biggest names in the food world, Nancy Silverton, Ruth Reichl, Danny Meyer, and Charleston’s own Mickey Bakst, showed up to honor the legendary Daniel Boulud.

Chefs honoring Boulud, including Andrew Carmellini, Mike Anthony, Gavin Kaysen, Conor Hanlon, Remy Funfrock, and more, captured a legendary Lowcountry sunset from the People’s Building.

Andrew Cebulka

What the Pho? showed that good noodles can make anyone dance.

Chef Vivian Howard charmed the crowds in the Culinary Village.

The weekend ended with pounds and pounds of meat at the annual Toasted event.

That’s it until next year!

• Charleston Wine + Food [Official]