It’s All About “The Taste” A Celebration of Lowcountry Cuisine

Charleston, SC --- Save-the-date for the 29th annual Taste of Charleston scheduled October 9-11, 2009. The three-day celebration of Lowcountry cuisine is being hosted by the Greater Charleston Restaurant Association and will feature some of Charleston’s finest, nationally renowned chefs. There are three special events this year, including:

• Taste – Iron Chef Competition will be held Friday, October 9, at the Culinary Institute of Charleston’s (CIC) Palmer Campus in downtown Charleston and will showcase the Institute’s new, $7 million facility, pitting some of the best local chefs in a hot head-to-head battle in CIC’s state-of-the-art amphitheater kitchen.

• Taste of the Kitchen will be held Saturday, October 10, at the Culinary Institute of Charleston’s Palmer Campus in downtown Charleston. There will be fun by the forkful as celebrity chefs take the culinary stage to show how chefs do it and CIC chefs take participants in the kitchens to cook hands-on. Add wine and beer classes and a Taste of the CIC buffet lunch, and you have a full plate.

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

• Taste of Charleston (Main Event) will be held on Sunday, October 11, at Boone Hall Plantation in Mount Pleasant. The event will showcase a sampling of the taste-tempting delights served at more than 40 of Charleston’s finest restaurants. Additional highlights include the legendary Waiter’s Wine Race, food and wine pairings, a selection of specialty and imported beers, cooking demonstrations, the Best of the Taste contest, live bands on the main stage and a Kids Corner (complete with a petting zoo).

Sponsorship opportunities are now available and will provide sponsors with an opportunity to position their products or services in front of thousands of potential customers. Several sponsorship levels have been created and may be applied to any one of the three special events. Excellent media exposure for the festival will include all four major television networks; local, regional and national radio stations and print publications; and major support from popular local media outlets such as Charleston magazine and the Post & Courier.

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 and there will be something for people of all ages to enjoy.

For more information about the events, contact Kathy Britzius, Executive Director of the GCRA, at kathy@charlestonrestaurantassociation.com or to inquire about sponsorship opportunities, contact Monique Semper Flynn at moniquesemperflynn.gcra@gmail.com.

The Greater Charleston Restaurant Association (GCRA) represents the largest private sector employer in the tri-county area. The association serves as the voice of the Charleston Area food service industry on government and public relations issues. Annual fund raising events like Taste of Charleston and Lowcountry Oyster Festival, both sponsored by the GCRA, enable them to give back to the community. To date, the GCRA has donated more than $1,000,000 to the Ronald McDonald House, Hollings Cancer Center, and Charleston County Schools Science Materials Resource Center. For more information about the GCRA, visit www.charlestonrestaurantassociation.com.