Sustainable Chefs Showcase!

By Ron Aiken
Columbia, SC
April 12, 2013

Indie Grits, the independent film festival put on by our very own Nickelodeon Theatre (South Carolina’s only non-profit art-house theater, by the way), is in its seventh year and continues to get bigger and better every year as it cements its status as a big-time regional event.

This year, the wonderful – and I mean that sincerely – slow food folks in town have partnered with Indie Grits for a Sustainable Chefs Showcase that will take place this Sunday, April 14, from 4-7 p.m. at 711 Whaley, which is just beside the 701 Whaley building.

Fourteen of Columbia’s best chefs will be participating, and if you haven’t been paying attention, this roster is as good as it gets and one I’d put up against any city, anywhere. Showing off their creativity with local ingredients will be Mike Davis of Terra; Kristian Niemi of Rosso Trattoria; Tim Peters of Motor Supply; Benoit St. Jacques of Rosewood Market; Joseph Jacobson of The Oak Table; Scott Hall of Bone-In Artisan BBQ; Sean McCrossin of Drip Coffee; Alex Suaudom du Monde of Baan Sawan; Blake Fairies of Saludas; Jessica Shilatto of Spotted Salamander Catering; Brian Dukes of Blue Marlin; Andrew White of Tombo Grille; Joseph Stover of Whole Foods Market; and Corey Paul of Jake’s. If you’re not excited by that, well, you don’t get excited about anything, and that’s a personal problem I don’t care to hear any more about.

There will be a cash bar provided by The Whig and featuring local beers and wines from AdVintage, and additionally, the brewmaster from Columbia’s new Conquest Brewery (conquestbrewing.com) will be on-hand to chat about the new effort with guests. For the delight of your ears, the Greater Columbia Society for Preservation of Soul will man the turntable to provide musical goodness.

Simply, this is perhaps the coolest thing in the world, anywhere, featuring the best people in Columbia, or anywhere. If you do not choose to attend, well, that’s for you to live with, not me.

Tickets are $20 for general admission, $15 for members of Slow Food Columbia or The Nickelodeon, and $10 if you bring a potluck dish with one local, sustainable ingredient that can serve 20, and in keeping with the mission of Slow Food to celebrate local and seasonal ingredients, flavors, dishes and chefs. You may purchase tickets at www.indiegrits.com/food. (Note: festival passes include Slow Food at Indie Grits tickets.) Get your tickets ASAP, however, because the event sold out in 2011 and 2012 and the event will accommodate approximately 200 people

Got questions? Call another of Columbia’s action team superstars, Tracie Broom of Flock And Rally (with the equally awesome Debi Schadel) at 415-235-5718 or [email protected]. Broom says if you feel inspired from this event to join Slow Food Columbia, you may do so by going to slowfoodusa.org and signing up under the Columbia, S.C., chapter. If you email the confirmation number to [email protected], Tracie will email you the discount code to use when purchasing your tickets. So join already! You could already have done so by the time it took you to read this! And also, thank you for reading this.

Sign up here to receive MidlandsLife weekly email magazine.