From Lowcountry boils to Carolina Gold barbecue sauce, South Carolina is home to a plethora of unique dishes.
To celebrate South Carolina’s food culture, Carolina Food Co. will host its second annual Welcome to South Carolina: A Culinary Exploration on March 4 at The Pavilion dining hall. The experience aims to celebrate South Carolina’s rich culinary heritage by featuring different meals from across the state.
Carolina Food Co.’s culinary director, Ryan Whittaker, said the event’s objective is to showcase everything the state’s cuisine has to offer.
“We wanted to highlight all the diverse food and ingredients that we have in South Carolina, but also the food culture that we have,” Whittaker said.
The dish that The Pavilion’s chef manager, Jamaal Williams, is looking forward to the most is the pulled pork. Outside the dining hall, chefs will be smoking a full hog where students can watch the process. Williams said this is the focal point of the event.
“How many places can you go and see a whole hog on the smoker?” Williams said.
Although the culinary exploration is focused on South Carolina cuisine, Whittaker said it also offers a spin on the state’s staple dishes.
“For example, we are going to do okra, which is about as South Carolina as we can get, … but we are going to present it as Indian food to give a little global flair to show how food ties us all together all around the world,” Whittaker said.
The menu consists of shrimp and grits, an oyster bar, a fried chicken station, a crab boil and an Indian station. The dining hall’s True Balance section will feature Southern black-eyed peas, collard greens and other vegetables. For dessert, there will be peach ice cream, ice cream sandwiches, cake and cookies.
According to Whittaker, 90% of the ingredients for this meal are sourced within the borders of South Carolina.
“I think this is a great opportunity for people to really learn about where their food comes from,” Whittaker said. “So much of this ingredient will be able to be sourced within 100 miles of campus.”
To help students better understand where their food comes from, the exploration will display profiles of local farms that contributed to the event. Furthermore, at each of the food stations, the menu boards will denote the local ingredients used in each recipe. Faren Alston, the marketing director for Carolina Food Co., sees informing students of their meals' origins as a way to foster community.
"As they go forward throughout their college career and beyond, this will hopefully help them see how food can be utilized as connectivity with others, regardless of where they end up once they leave the university," Alston said. "So really, this event is just meant to show how food is ingrained in all of us and how, again, you can use food to connect with people."
Alston said she encourages students, faculty and staff to attend the event for two main reasons.
“One, The Pavilion is a beautiful, beautiful facility,” Alston said. “Two, this will probably be some of the best food that they would have experienced the entire academic year.”
Williams said he welcomes the public to the exploration for a different reason. He sees the event as a way for people to broaden their culinary horizons.
“We have a very diverse campus, so people from all over, so this will be a great opportunity for them to come in and taste different cuisines that they haven’t maybe tried before,” Williams said.
In addition to the food, the event will feature live music from USC alumni. The Reggie Sullivan Band performed at the event’s debut last year and will be back again this year. On top of that, Alston said they will be giving away around 800 t-shirts on the day of the event.
“We’re really making it a full-branded celebration," Alston said. "A full culinary exploration through branding, community and fellowship.”
The Culinary Exploration will take place from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on March 4 at The Pavilion dining hall at Campus Village. Dining hall access meal plan holders will be admitted free of charge. Guests may attend by paying the door rate of $16.89 upon entry.