Editor's Note: Columbia Food and Wine Festival, LLC has full nonprofit status under its operator, The Post and Courier Foundation, 501(c)3.
COLUMBIA — With the seventh annual Columbia Food and Wine Festival on the horizon, chefs, restaurateurs and community partners are finalizing a packed five-day schedule.
The festival will feature 12 events, each with their own unique combinations of food, beverage and wellness. Bookending the schedule are a Kickoff Dinner and Grand Tasting, outdoor food truck and night market events, a skincare “bar” with craft cocktails and a series of Collaborative Kitchen events with local chefs and purveyors.
According to Lindsay Conine, events and marketing manager at Free Times and one of the event’s principal organizers, focusing the festival on local talent has been one of her team’s primary goals.
“We really want to focus on keeping it true to our roots,” she said. “You know that if you’re coming to this event, you’re supporting your local community.”
Through the event’s “refresh and rebrand” during its seventh year — which, according to Conine, has included entering nonprofit status and planning events that highlight local hospitality, in addition to food and drink — the festival’s organizers aim to highlight Columbia’s prominence and excellence of South Carolina’s restaurants, breweries and wineries.
“This event is meant to celebrate them, spotlight them and really put them on the map,” said Chase Heatherly, seven-year member of the festival’s planning committee and chief revenue officer of The Post and Courier and Evening Post Publishing. “It’s about showing off that we have a great food and beverage scene that’s worth people coming to visit — both locally, and out of town.”
Tickets for all of the upcoming events are available for purchase on columbiafoodandwinefestival.com. Keep reading to learn more about the festival's programming.
Wednesday, April 24: Kickoff Dinner
Against the backdrop of Lexington restaurant Private Property, attendees will enjoy a meal featuring dishes that trace South Carolina’s culinary history. The event is in sponsored by Certified SC and is in collaboration with Trip Chalk, executive chef of Private Property, Chris Williams, head chef and owner of Roy’s Grille and Michael Ellis, director of culinary services at LTC Hospitality.
“With the kickoff dinner, I'm trying to collaborate with those other chefs to do our (own) food,” said Ellis. “Each one of us, as an individual, has what makes us who we are as a chef.”
For Ellis, curating a menu that is representative of South Carolina’s diverse culinary heritage has been an invigorating challenge, with a worthwhile reward.
“I have a lot of experience with multiple different things, but my roots are Midwest, Southern and Lowcountry,” said Ellis. “I'm trying to bring all of that stuff to the plate for that dinner.”
A volunteer pours wine for a guest at the Grand Tasting event for Columbia Food and Wine's 2023 festival.
Wednesday, April 24: Iconic Dishes of Columbia, Main Street Edition
At the Arcade building, the Main Street District invites guests to sample some of Columbia’s most famous restaurants and dishes. While some bites will be familiar to Columbia locals, the event will also feature some of the city’s hidden gems.
The event will also feature locally sourced beers and craft cocktails from its sponsor Diageo, an international spirit provider.
Wednesday, April 24: Collaborative Kitchen — Hampton Street Vineyard and Tom’s Creek Farmers Market Xchange
The first Collaborative Kitchen event of the week will take place at Hampton Street Vineyard, and will spotlight Columbia’s local wine scene, as well its agricultural provisions. With wines and dishes from Hampton Street Vineyard Executive Chef Jamie Pyatt, as well as provisions from Tom’s Creek Farmers Market Xchange, the event will be as well-rounded as it gets.
“The importance of community was, I think, the bottom line,” said Neset Hikmet, owner of Tom’s Creek Farmers Market Xchange. “It’s also for people to see that there are options when they come to visit us.”
For Hikmet, the Collaborative Kitchen is an opportunity to showcase the wide variety of artisanal and locally-produced goods offered by Tom’s Creek Farmers Market Xchange. From baking and milling their bread in-house to raising their ingredients on Tom’s Creek Family Farm, Hikmet hopes to spend his first year at the Food and Wine Festival spreading the word about the quality and versatility of his farm-to-table goods.
“It’s a learning experience for us, too,” Hikmet said. “But we’re excited about it.”
Thursday, April 25: Collaborative Kitchen — Bodhi Thai and Ratio Chef-Owners
On Thursday evening, chef-owners Nivit Tipvaree and Javier Uriarte of Bodhi Thai Dining and Ratio, respectively, will serve ticketed guests a dynamic Thai and Peruvian fusion menu.
For Uriarte, who was recently sworn in as a 2024 SC Chef ambassador, this meal will be an opportunity to illustrate the interconnectedness between these two seemingly different cuisines.
“Peru has a lot of influence from Asia,” he said. “For us to be coming together to do a duet dinner together is a no-brainer, because our styles may be different, but our ingredients are very similar.”
Uriarte advises guests to come hungry — and ready to have their conceptions of both Thai and Peruvian cuisines challenged by this modern menu.
“It’ll be a very clean, tidy and cozy menu. There’s a lot of fun stuff in there,” he said. “I think they’re going to be wowed.”
Thursday, April 25: Asian Night Market
Guests of this Thursday evening event won’t have to travel to experience an authentic, pan- Asian night market — they’ll only have to travel to The Dragon Room in the Vista, whose outdoor space will serve as the site of this unique event.
“The outside Asian Night Market will really honor and spotlight all of the unique Asian and Asian-inspired cuisines throughout Columbia,” said CFWF's Conine.
Local Columbia restaurants, each representing different cuisines across East Asia, will have the opportunity to showcase inventive and traditional dishes, alongside craft cocktails and Japanese beers.
“It’ll represent some of the things that we would like to do more of,” said Ellis, whose booth will feature salmon onigiri: seaweed-wrapped rice balls stuffed with flaky fish. “We could run these as specials.”
A bartender pours cocktails during the 2023 Columbia Food and Wine Festival
Thursday, April 25: Collaborative Kitchen — Steel Hands Brewing and Los Chicanos Food Truck
In another fusion of cuisines and flavors, Chef Nolan Cunningham and the staff of Los Chicanos Food Truck will meet at the Steel Shed at Steel Hands Brewing for a beer-infused, five-course meal. The menu will be an opportunity for Steel Hands to bolster one of their new releases, the Tangerine Sour Ale, as well as the staff to showcase the versatile of beer, wine and cocktail pairings with Mexican-American cuisine.
“We'll be able to highlight not only what we can hand-craft from a beer and cocktail perspective, but also from our kitchen,” said Ashley Lambert, marketing and business development director at Steel Hands. “We're also just really excited for that fusion between both us and Los Chicanos.”
For Wendy Favila, the youngest member of the Los Chicanos family business, the event will be an opportunity to celebrate the work of her father and head chef, Rogelio Favila.
“He absolutely loves what he does,” she said. “He loves being able to serve people fresh food all of the time and letting folks know more about the Chicano culture.”
For guests who know little about Chicano — or first-generation Mexican-American — cuisine, Favila hopes that the event will give people a glimpse into her family’s rich history.
“My advice to people going is to keep an open mind when trying new foods, because the preparation that goes into it is such a heartfelt process,” Favila said. “So much goes behind one dish.”
Friday, April 26: High Noon Food Truck Rodeo
At WECO Bottle & Biergarten, guests will enjoy West Columbia’s most critically acclaimed food trucks, complemented by cans of High Noon and Columbia Craft beers.
“What we’re doing is basically a ramped-up version of what we do on a daily basis,” said Phillip Blair, owner of WECO Bottle & Biergarten. “Participating in it was a no-brainer for us.”
Blair said guests can expect to have lunch from countries and cuisines across the world, from Venezuela to Germany.
“It’s really our favorite food,” said Blair. “These are food trucks that we eat from every single week, and there’s going to be a huge selection of stuff to pick from.”
As the event approached, Blair said his team was looking forward to keeping the event’s food and drink offerings well-rounded, and showcasing West Columbia’s diverse dining options.
“It’s all in the details for us,” Blair said. “I’ll say that they’re serving some of the best food in town.”
Friday, April 26: Mix, Mingle & Glow
Amid the week’s dining and drinking activities, guests can attend the festival’s wellness event on Friday at The Skinhouse, a skincare spa. Sponsored by BlueCross Blue Shield, attendees will meet with “Skintenders,” who will help them curate skincare regimens for their unique needs.
“The owners were inspired by the vibrancy of downtown and wanted to make something fun, exciting and bar-themed,” said Lauren Lane Simpson, director of operations at The Skinhouse. “It just seemed to work perfectly with this event.”
A chef at Hall's Chophouse serves sliders at Columbia Food and Wine Festival's Grand Tasting event in 2023.
In between beauty consultations and “Dew-It-Yourself” facials, guests can sip and munch on Tito’s Handmade Vodka cocktails, Abundant Graze Charcuterie Boards, Good Life Café green juices and Mom Water. They’ll also have the opportunity to take home their own beauty boxes at the event’s end.
“We think that we have a lot of similar clientele to the people that come to the Food and Wine Festival: people that want to have a good time and socialize,” Simpson said. “The Skinhouse was created to be a social skincare atmosphere; a place where you can hang out with your friends, receive services together and develop a sense of community.”
Whether attendees are skincare junkies or skincare-curious, Lambert believes that Friday’s event will have something for everyone.
“When we had the vision of this place, it was something that’s never been done before us and had never been seen in Columbia,” said Simpson. “If you are interested in skin care, it’s really something that has to be experienced — and this is the perfect time to experience it.”
Friday, April 26: A Gourmet Soiree
On Friday evening, The Gourmet Shop’s wine connoisseur and Manager Bryan Della Volpe will host Hendrix executive chef Frank Bradley, beverage director Gabe King and Bird Island Oyster Company for a night of oysters and bubbly drinks. The French-themed hors d’oeuvre event will feature artful pairings of oysters, sparkling wines and champagne.
After opening with French-themed cocktails, the chefs and somms will focus on showcasing the natural beauty of locally-sourced ingredients. The even, sponsored by Sculpted by WH Aesthetics, will also feature main dishes from Bradley.
Saturday, April 27: Petals and a Picnic
At Hampton Preston Gardens, ticketed guests will enjoy a Saturday brunch menu curated by Jessica Shillato, Rachel Harrison and Ashley Bundrick of James Beard semifinalist restaurants Spotted Salamander and Lula Drake. Both the dishes and the accompanying Botanist cocktails will celebrate the surrounding spring flora and fauna at the historic Hampton Preston Mansion.
During the brunch, attendees can create their own take-home flower arrangements — both as a souvenir of the day, and to have a fleeting piece of Hampton Preston's spring bloom.
Saturday, April 27: Bovinoche! Butcher & Bourbon
Loosely translating to “night of the cow,” Saturday’s Bovinoche will bring together Chefs Kristian Niemeyer and Wes Fulmer to cook mouthwatering barbecued foods — and to discuss the secrets to open-flame cooking.
“We’re big on education. We want to talk about the concepts that we do,” said Fulmer, former executive chef at Motor Supply. “From what a ‘pit’ really means to why we’re using different kinds of meats, we’re trying to set the expectation higher and higher every year.”
With craft cocktails from Heaven Hill Distillery and Luxco, as well as support from Big Dan’s Car Wash, Fulmer hopes the event will encourage guests to step outside of their comfort zone — and to enjoy some delicious grilled meats while doing so.
“A lot of cooking that people look at as intimidating is very easy,” Fulmer said. “Patience is probably the biggest ingredient that people leave out.”
Sunday, April 28: Grand Tasting
At the Food and Wine Festival’s culminating event at the Robert Mills Estate and Hampton Preston Mansion, guests can expect to see 95 local vendors across two properties. While many of the booths will spotlight Columbia’s dining and drinking businesses, it will also feature live music and artisanal pop-up businesses.
“If you're going to the Grand Tasting, I think you're going to experience a very relaxed, beautiful, eclectic environment on the spring day,” said Free Times' Heatherly. “You’re going to be on these beautiful, historic properties with a lot of food and beverages to choose from a lot of smiling faces.”
For Heatherly, Conine and the rest of the event’s organizers, the ending of the week’s programming will mark a successful showcase of Columbia’s diverse food and drink scene. It’ll also fuel their ambition for the years of festival programming to come.
“We’re thrilled with all of the support that we’ve received from the community,” Conine said. “It’s our biggest and best year yet.”
