Saint Simons Food & Spirits Festival
Inaugural Event Set for Sept. 21-23
The Inaugural St. Simons Food & Spirits Festival, benefiting the Hospice of the Golden Isles will be held September 21-23. The upscale culinary festival, the first of its kind in the area, has announced its featured talent. Headlining the event are Award-winning television personality, cookbook author and Grand Dame of Southern Cooking Nathalie Dupree and her co-author, Cynthia Graubart. Nathalie is a James Beard Award winning culinary talent who is well known to locals for her long running TV career which includes shows on PBS, Food Network and the Learning Channel. Nathalie is the author of 11 popular cookbooks that celebrate Southern specialties along with a smorgasbord of cooking techniques
Additional culinary favorites for the weekend are:
• Ford Fry, chef and restaurateur at the helm of Atlanta restaurants no. 246, JCT. Kitchen and The Optimist
• Libbie Summers, lifestyle trendsetter, blogger at Salted and Styled, author of the Whole Hog Cookbook, lifestyle trendsetter
• St. Simons own beekeeper Ted Dennard of Savannah Bee Company.
The festival kicks off Thursday night, September 20 with the First Bite reception in the courtyard of Halyards Restaurant. At the Friday Night Festival Feast on Sea Island, executive chef Jonathan Jerusalmy will host Ford Fry to present a 5-course dinner featuring local foods, specialty cocktails, craft brews and fine wines.
Saturday offers a full schedule at Gascoigne Bluff starting at 9am. The Farm Stand, Juried Arts and Crafts Show and Retail Market are free and open to the public all day. Ticketed events include a cooking class presented by Elegant Island Living, led by Nathalie Dupree and Cynthia Graubart in the Harbour Room at Coastal Kitchen. The Local Flavors Tasting Tent featuring 25 local chefs and restaurants, craft brews, artisan liquors and fine wines, a VIP Tent with a sports bar feel showing the afternoon ball games and featuring foods and libations from Frederica Township and Sea Island and the mixologists from the King & Prince along with one-on-one interaction with festival talent Nathalie, Cynthia, Libbie, Ford and Ted. Saturday afternoon wraps up with a concert for the whole family. The Mosier Brothers will open the show at 4pm with their hip bluegrass/rock-n-roll style and the fun will continue with eclectic, bluesy, soulful sound of Mudcat. At 4pm the VIP Sports tent will feature bar foods from Brogens and Locos and Southern Soul Barbecue, Coastal Kitchen, The Taco Stand and others will be selling coastal favorites. The SPIRITual Sunday Brunch at Halyards will send festival guests on their way, sure to return next year.
