Years ago, when the Savannah Food and Wine Festival was just getting off of the ground, those of us that are passionate about food could hardly contain our excitement. It was the first real event of its kind in our city and at the time the food scene was just beginning to bubble a little bit.
There were growing pains with Savannah Food and Wine. The thought (and opportunity) for food and drink demos in the middle of some of Savannah’s squares was a huge draw. For a couple of years, the crowds were outpacing the planned growth. Lines were long. People were grumpy. It was a tall order to get right. Still, the smart people running the show met those growing pains head-on.
All of that seems like 20 years ago. The Savannah Food and Wine Festival has been getting a little bit better every single year. This week, we celebrated number 7. It is the first time I believe I can say that everything I experienced was perfect.
Yes, perfect. Strong word, iddnt it?
For starters, the move to take Saturday’s Taste of Savannah event years ago to the Georgia Railroad Museum was a stroke of brilliance. The space is large enough. Eating and liking among all of that history in our city is pure fascination for anyone coming to Savannah for a taste of it. And the food too. This year, they were rewarded with the largest Taste event yet. Over 5,000 were there Saturday.
Heck, even Jerry from Richmond Hill told me he loves the venue because he otherwise rarely gets downtown to experience what Savannah has to offer. Fair enough. He’s not alone, I’m sure.
Taste is obviously the week’s largest event. Other events have evolved and grown. The Secret Savannah Speakeasy-presented by Eat It and Like It has become the best party of the week. Has been for a couple of years. This year we enjoyed an expanded footprint under the stars. The feedback was tremendous. It was our best Speakeasy yet.
The Friends of James Beard Dinner Wednesday night at Perry Lane was outstanding and Friday nights Q Masters was as delicious as advertised. I think one of the most discussed bites of the entire week was Tim Nelson’s (Hilton Head Island’s Whisky Bar) Pork Belly Corn Dog at the BBQ event. Every one I discussed the dish with agreed, we’d had something like that in the past, but this was just off of the charts melt in your mouth.
As were 98% of the BBQ offerings.
If you didn’t get the chance to enjoy any of this great food and drink we are talking about, you might be kicking yourself for not having been able to join us this year. That is totally fine. We won’t hold it against you.
You did, however, miss a darn good one. Lines at times were long, but manageable. They moved quickly. Once inside the larger events, there was ample room to move about and not feel like you were being carried away in a wave of people.
This year, across the board, was great. Especially when you toss in Chamber of Commerce weather.
The growth of the Savannah Food and Wine Festival as been steady and solid. The goal is and always has been to deliver a great experience for as many people as possible. Which is incredibly tough to do for a week-long event of this size. Will someone somewhere find something to be critical of? I’m sure. Someone always does.
Is some feedback legit? Sure. Is someone going to find a reason to complain about something they didn’t like but no one else had a problem with? Probably. I heard a man say he preferred it when “we had the run of the place.”
Good secrets are hard to keep, sir.
The good news about next year is that plans are probably already underway for it. Discussions on how to improve the experience next year actually begin next week.
And the first bit of advice I will give you for next year? Deeply discounted tickets go on sale usually by Summer. We make that announcement every single year. So keep your eye on the the calendar and our website and make plans to join us in roughly 358 days.
See you on TV
Jesse
By then, there had been
