Great Food, Plenty of Drinks, and a Pig Head: Scenes from the 2018 Charleston Wine + Food Festival

Ribs, waffles, oysters, and more in Charleston, South Carolina

Published on March 14, 2018

Dale Watson sings his heart out at the Nassau Street Saloon hosted by Lewis Barbecue.

Every year, SAVEUR spends a long weekend co-hosting fun-filled food events at the Charleston Wine + Food Festival. All weekend long, guests heard rumors of how much the Regalis Foods tuna served at the Williams Sonoma party would weigh; it ended up being 700 pounds, and the party was unforgettable. Great chefs from all over the country came to cook up some amazing food: Vivian Howard stewed some turnip greens for the Edna Effect, a dinner in honor of Edna Lewis, and chef Steven Satterfield joined chef Vinson Petrillo in the Zero George kitchen to turn out a truly spectacular dinner.

Festival-goers basked in the sun and enjoyed wine and small bites served at the Culinary Village, which included attractions like the Cowboy Cauldron tent, where you could sample all things flame-cooked, from charbroiled oysters to barbecue chicken. On the festival's final day, everyone started with a drag brunch, which was so much fun that any bad hangover pains were washed away. The day ended with Toasted, the festival's annual barbecue-centered last event, featuring legends like Rodney Scott and Mike and Amy Mills, who were there smoking whole hog and ribs. Check out some of our favorite moments from the festival below.

We started the festival off with a vermouth tasting hosted by author Tad Carducci, with cocktails by Teddy Nixon of Bar Mash.

Cocktail master Teddy Nixon makes his vermouth-only Manhattan.

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Chef JJ Johnson preps for the Edna Effect, a dinner hosted by Southern Foodways Alliance honoring the late Edna Lewis and her influence on Southern food.

Author Klancy Miller, author Jessica B. Harris, journalist Toni Tipton-Martin, and writer Sara B. Franklin are all smiles honoring Edna Lewis.

Chef Vivian Howard stews turnip greens for the Edna Effect dinner.

Zero George invited Atlanta chef Steven Satterfield to join chef Vinson Petrillo for a special dinner paired with exceptional wines from Northern California winemaker Steve Matthiasson.

Chefs Steven Satterfield and Vinson Petrillo prepare dinner for lucky guests at Zero George.

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Chef Jean-Paul Bourgeois of Blue Smoke serves fried game hen at the Nassau Street Saloon event.

Mongers out of Austin, TX was at the Nassau Street Saloon serving ceviche in a cone.

You can't have Dale Watson and chicken shit bingo and not have hot dogs. It's a Texas thing. John Lewis serves these smoked wieners to party goers.

William Sonoma hosted a cooking competition between chefs Gavin Kaysen and Katie Button where each chef got to select the ingredients for the other. Here, Gavin reveals what he chose for Katie.

SAVEUR Executive Editor Stacy Adimando hosted the William Sonoma cooking contest.

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The contest was judged by John T. Edge, director of the Southern Foodways Alliance, chef Timothy Hollingsworth, and one very lucky woman picked from the audience.

Chef Katie Button remained calm the whole time.

The secret ingredient for both chefs was shrimp.

After a tense battle, the judges named chef Katie Button the winner.

Chef Todd Richards from Atlanta grills some chicken in Culinary Village.

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Regalis Foods spared no expense preparing for the Williams Sonoma party—there was more fancy seafood than you could imagine.

Southern Soul B.B.Q serves peanuts boiled in collard green pot liquor at the BBQ Tent Revival.

Hush puppies, pork cracklins, and caviar go really well together.

Pitmaster Miguel Vidal and wife Modesty of Valentina's in Austin, TX celebrate his crowning as the new king of BBQ at the BBQ Tent Revival.

Whole hog is the name of the game for South Carolina BBQ, and Rodney Scott does not disappoint at the BBQ Tent Revival.

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Charleston restaurant Daps serves life saving nachos at the Queens on King drag Brunch.

Ginger cotton candy makes the perfect topper for this refreshing cocktail.

The Queens on King event was amazing.

Like truly amazing.

Guests enjoyed all the brunch classics, like this beautiful pile of waffles.

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Everyone needs more drag in their life.

Chef Brian Riggenbach from Mockingbird in Nashville, TN made fluffy egg sandwiches for the Queens on King event.

The festival ends with a massive barbecue event. The extra crispy bits and ends are always a favorite of pitmaster Anthony DiBernardo of Swig and Swine.