Coastal Companion

Your ultimate guide to the coast

“Art of Cuisine” Iron Chef Challenge – Bluffton, SC

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Local Chefs Compete for Top Spot at Historic Bluffton Arts and Seafood Festival On Saturday, October 24th area chefs will create mouth watering seafood dishes as part of the Iron Chef Challenge during the fifth annual Historic Bluffton Arts & Seafood Festival. (click here to read more about  Bluffton Arts and Seafood Festival 2009)

Each chef will be challenged to prepare two dishes in one hour using two unknown seafood and two non-seafood ingredients provided by the festival committee.

“It’s pretty amazing to see what these chefs can prepare in such a short amount of time, outdoors, underneath a tent, says Mary Connor, Chairman of this year’s Iron Chef Challenge. “We should really appreciate the tremendous talent we have right here in the Low Country.”

The competition will be held in downtown Bluffton in “Neptune’s Galley” tent located at the Carson Cottages on Calhoun Street beginning at 11:00am. At 12:00 noon the dishes will be sampled by the judging panel and the winning dishes will be determined on the basis of taste and presentation.
In 2008 the top prize, a Traeger Pellet Grill valued at $699 from O’Neill’s Outdoor Power Equipment, was awarded to Kevin Cavanaugh then of Buffalo’s at Palmetto Bluff. 2007’s Top Chef was George Davis of Hilton Head Island’s Ocean Grille. Kevin, now of Plantation Station Catering Division, is again up for the Challenge. How about you, George?

The “Art of Cuisine” Iron Chef Challenge is part of a week long celebration of Bluffton’s unique history, cuisine, art and culture taking place October 18-25. Events showcase locally harvested seafood, Lowcountry cuisine, and area and regional artists. Also included is live music, a fishing tournament, boat tours, children’s activities, fireworks and more. Festival organizers invite both locals and tourists to discover “Where Fine Art & the Bounty of the Sea Come Together.”

Read more about Bluffton Arts & Seafood Festival 2009

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Taste of Charleston, 2009

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The 29th annual Taste of Charleston is scheduled for October 9-11, 2009.
The three-day celebration of Lowcountry cuisine features some of Charleston’s best chefs. There are three special events leading up to the main event at Boone Hall Plantation.

• Taste – Iron Chef Competition takes place on Friday, October 9, at the Culinary Institute of Charleston’s (CIC) Palmer Campus in downtown Charleston. This event features a head-to-head battle between local chefs in CIC’s state-of-the-art amphitheater kitchen.

• Taste of the Kitchen is held on Saturday, October 10, at the Culinary Institute of Charleston’s Palmer Campus in downtown Charleston. Celebrity chefs take the stage to show how chefs do it, also CIC chefs will take participants in the kitchens to cook hands-on. Add wine and beer classes and a Taste of the CIC buffet lunch for a full plate.

• Taste of the Arts will be held on Saturday evening, October 10, at various art galleries in downtown Charleston. This event combines Lowcountry art with the culinary arts by showcase the talents of local artists while offering guests a sampling of appetizers from Charleston restaurants.

• Taste of Charleston (Main Event) will be held on Sunday, October 11, at Boone Hall Plantation in Mount Pleasant. Here you’ll find a sampling of tempting food served at more than 40 of Charleston’s finest restaurants. Additional highlights; the legendary Waiter’s Wine Race, food and wine pairings, specialty and imported beers, cooking demonstrations, the Best of the Taste contest, live bands o (complete with a petting zoo).

For more than 20 years, this event has been named one of the “top 20 events in the southeast” by Southeastern Tourism Society. More than 9,000 guests are expected, so come early and plan to stay. For more information, click here

Taste-of-Charleston

Salsa Under the Stars – Folly Beach, South Carolina

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Forget “Dancing with the Stars” or “So You Think You Can Dance” – now it’s time for you to show off your skills on the dance floor. Spice up Friday night with hot Salsa under the Stars on Folly Beach Fishing Pier. This favorite Charleston event returns on Friday, October 9 to Charleston, SC.

Bring your friends to the pier for a special dance party, suitable for Salsa beginners as well as seasoned pros.

DJ Luigi of Latin Groove will be there spinning the hottest Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, and Reggaeton music all night long! Food and snacks will also be available for purchase at Locklear’s Beach City Grill and the Gangplank Gift & Tackle Shop located at the entrance to the pier.

Salsa Under the Stars, Friday, October 9 from 7pm to 11pm at the Folly Beach Fishing Pier. Tickets purchased in advance are $8 for Charleston County residents and $10 for non-residents. All tickets purchased at the gate, if available, are $10. Only 600 tickets will be sold for this event so get yours today! The rain date is the following Saturday, October 10. For more information and to purchase tickets call 795-4FUN (4386) or visit www.ccprc.com.

Salsa Under the Stars - Charleston

2009 Historic Bluffton Arts and Seafood Festival

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The 5th annual Historic Bluffton Arts & Seafood Festival takes place October 18-25, 2009. Discover “Where Fine Art & the Bounty of The Sea Come Together,” during a week long event showcasing locally harvested seafood, Low country cuisine, area andregional artists, live music and entertainment, fishing tournament, boat tours, children’s
activities, fireworks and more.
The festivities begin on the May River with the Blessing of the Fleet and Boat Parade at 2 pm at historic Church of the Cross on Sunday, October 18. Pack a picnic lunch and enjoy the Gospel Music on the bluff or join the parade in your own boat.

Monday again focuses on our local waterways as Al Stokes, Manager/Wildlife Biologist IV, presents a tour of the Waddell Mariculture Center during a seafood “lunch and learn” event from 10:00 am until 12:30 pm. The Bluffton Oyster Company will provide the delicious lunch buffet on the grounds of the center at Victoria Bluff. Tickets are $25.00 a person and can be reserved by calling 843.815.6278.

Wednesday night at six at Seven Oaks, Mary Alice Monroe, the New York

Bluffton Art and Seafood Festival, South Carolina

Times bestselling author of eleven novels, including Time is a River, Sweetgrass, Skyward, The Beach House, The Four Seasons, and The Book Club, will discuss her newest novel, LAST LIGHT OVER CAROLINA, which masterfully takes readers back to the South, to a shrimping community on the coast of South Carolina, and into the lives of a shrimper family. Also on hand will be Larry & Tina Toomer, owners of the Bluffton Oyster Company, who will share their personal experiences as a local couple involved in the shrimping industry. No charge but reservations only, 843-815-6278; donations to Friends
of the Rivers will gladly be accepted.

On Saturday, October 24, the two-day open-air street festival of visual and performing arts opens at 10 a.m. in Historic Downtown Bluffton. More than 50 by invitation-only artists from near and far will be showcasing their talents in all media. The Street Art Market continues until 5 p.m. and resumes again on Sunday, October 25 at 10
a.m. Musicians at several stages throughout the historic district will be performing along with strolling entertainers. Over twenty restaurants will also line the downtown streets offering a true taste of the Low Country.
Saturday night, Rockin’ on the Dock, a Seafood Extravaganza with music by the B-Town Playaz is scheduled at the Bluffton Oyster Company from 5:30 -8:30 p.m. capped off with a fireworks finale at dusk.

For details and a complete schedule of events, call (843)-757-2583 or go online to www.blufftonartsandseafoodfestival.com.

Bluffton Seafood Festival