Plans for euphoria 2021 presented by Lexus, Greenville’s premier food, wine and music festival, include more than 40 events over the course of four days.
“We’ve all been through a lot this past year, and we are incredibly grateful to finally be seeing some positive signs of brighter days ahead,” says euphoria Executive Director Morgan Allen. “Spring is here, restrictions are being lifted, and things seem to be heading in the right direction. We’re getting lots of calls from our chef friends, telling us how excited they are for euphoria, and we’re happy to give them something to look forward to.”
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Several area restaurants will host guest chefs for seated, multi-course lunches and dinners, including Restaurant 17, Fork & Plough, CAMP, Jianna, Loft at Soby’s, Topsoil Kitchen & Market, Oak Hill Cafe, Stella’s Southern Brasserie and Southern Culture Kitchen & Bar, among others. Sunday Supper, the laid back Southern meal that serves as euphoria’s grand finale, will feature former South Carolina Chef Ambassadors from the Upstate, crafting a meal made with South Carolina-grown products.
Sushi Yama, Avenue and Soby’s will welcome a total of seven Michelin-starred chefs, specializing in a diverse mix of cuisines, to collaborate for three different dinners, including:
- Chef Simon Kim of COTE, New York City’s first Korean Steakhouse
- Chef Ryan Ratino of Bresca in Washington, DC, who oversees a zero-waste kitchen. Just this morning, Ratino was awarded two stars for his new tasting menu restaurant, Jônt, making him the youngest chef to win 2 stars.
- Chef Val Cantu, of Californios in San Francisco, the first Mexican restaurant in the country to earn two Michelin stars.
- Emma Bengtsson of New York City’s Aquavit, the first female Swedish chef to win two Michelin stars, and only the second female U.S.-based chef to do so “We are really proud of our Michelin-starred chef line-up this year, particularly when it comes to the diversity they bring to the table,” says Allen. “This is the most Michelin-starred chefs we’ve ever had at euphoria at one time.” Two of euphoria’s signature events are making a comeback, while a new one will serve as the kick off to opening night of euphoria weekend:
- Aged to Perfection debuts on Thursday night at Larkin’s Sawmill, featuring food from a mix of restaurants and food trucks, and live music from Kami Ocean & The Rhythm
- Taste of the South returns to Wyche Pavilion for the first time since 2018, featuring food from some of the best chefs across the Southeast and live music from Steel Toe Stiletto
- Feast by the Field is back with an expanded two-day schedule – Saturday & Sunday – featuring 20+ chefs and pitmasters, and a few dozen wineries, breweries, and mixologists.
There are more than a dozen euphoria classrooms on the September schedule – covering everything from beer and biscuits to wine and chocolate. “We were unable to host any of our larger, signature events last year, so we scaled everything back and focused on smaller gatherings like lunches, guest chef dinners and classrooms,” says Allen. “We got really positive feedback from guests about that format, so we are planning to host quite a few classrooms again this year. We’ll have a little something for every taste.”
Since Carl Sobocinski and Edwin McCain founded euphoria in 2006, the festival has made a significant impact on Greenville’s hospitality & tourism industries, economic development and quality of life. euphoria has funded projects for more than 40 local charities that help children, provide education through music or performing arts, and work to eliminate hunger.
This year’s grant recipient is Mill Village Farms. euphoria presented a check for $15,200, with funds from its Producers Circle, to financially support the FoodShare Greenville program, which provides produce boxes for low-income families every other week. Families receive recipe cards and the option to attend a virtual cooking show, called “Fresh Out of the Box”, that teaches families about nutrition, and how to best utilize the fruits and vegetables in the box to create healthy, well-rounded homemade meals. The recipe cards are bilingual, and the cooking classes highlight local minority-owned restaurants, their chefs, and other local artists & musicians.
euphoria presented by Lexus is set for September 16-19, 2021. Organizers will monitor the COVID situation over the next several months and update protocols accordingly, to ensure a safe event for everyone involved. The current schedule is available online and tickets are on sale now.
ABOUT EUPHORIA
euphoria presented by Lexus is a highly-anticipated four-day food, wine and music festival held every September. The weekend-long event includes exclusive tastings, cooking demonstrations and wine seminars, as well as multi-course dinners, appearances from well-known chefs and live musical performances. euphoria’s mission is to shine a spotlight on Greenville’s thriving culinary and music arts scene, while also raising money to give back to the community. Proceeds from euphoria fund local non-profit organizations. www.euphoriagreenville.com
