Kiawah’s Premier Culinary Event Took the Fight to Cancer
Kiawah’s premier culinary event took the fight to cancer at the beginning of February. Celebrating its 18th anniversary, Gourmet & Grapes is an annual event for which the resort partners with MUSC Hollings Cancer Center to present delicious culinary creations from renowned chefs as well as the finest wines and spirits from around the globe.
The four-day weekend is much more than an epicurean extravaganza. This year, the event broke last year’s record-breaking $1.6 million to reach the $1.65 million mark for cancer research and treatment conduct at Hollings Cancer Center, bringing the total amount of funds raised since the event’s inception to nearly $11 million.
Below are three highlights of the amazing weekend that demonstrates the power of collaboration between local and national culinary talent, fine wineries and distillers, the Lowcountry medical community and businesses, and compassionate individuals and patrons who all gathered for a noble cause.
Gourmet & Grain
The event kicked off on Thursday, January 29, at Mingo Point for Gourmet & Grain, where guests feasted on barbecue from leading regional pit masters and spirits from distillers from around the country. Bourbon experts from this year’s featured distiller, Dixon Dedman of 2Xo, while guests reeled to live tunes from The Bluestone Ramblers. Bidding wars provided an opportunity for connoisseurs to add highly sought bottles to their collections.
An Epicurean Affair
This year’s Epicurean Affair featured a pair of Nicos—Nico Abello and Nico Romo—two celebrated French chefs who teamed up to deliver a superb wine-paired multicourse dinner to a black-tied audience in The Ocean Room.
Wine Odyssey Gala
After a day of fun culinary-themed activities, the weekend concluded on Saturday evening with the highlight of the weekend: the Wine Odyssey Gala. The evening began with wine and food stations helmed by Kiawah Island Golf Resort chefs and a stroll around the east wing of The Sanctuary to bid on silent auction items. Guests then assembled in Grand Oaks Ballroom to see some of their favorite chefs from Charleston and beyond before settling in for the evening’s very lively live auction featuring bucket-list excursions, rare spirits, highly sought wines, and more.
