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 17th 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 raised more than $1.6 million for cancer research and treatment conduct at Hollings Cancer Center, bringing the total amount of funds raised since the event’s inception to more than $9 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 30, 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, Heaven Hill Distillery, wowed the crowd with tasting notes on four select bottles from their range. Bidding wars provided an opportunity for connoisseurs to add highly sought bottles to their collections.

An Epicurean Affair
On Friday for An Epicurean Affair, guest Chef Soo Ahn of Adalina in Chicago served a stunning four-course meal paired with Louis Latour Burgundy wines to a black-tie gathering assembled at The Ocean Room. The pro golfer turned Top Chef contender rendered inventive interpretations of classic Korean-Italian fusion fare.

Wine Odyssey Gala
After a day of fun culinary-themed activities, the weekend concluded on Saturday evening with a Wine Odyssey Gala, a cocktail reception and silent auction that evolved into a highly spirited live auction offering extravagant items, highlighted by a five-liter bottle of Gran Patron Burdeos tequila – one of only two bottles like it on earth. The bidding was fueled by stations hosted by 14 wineries and 16 chefs, including culinarians from across the resort.