“I cannot believe this. I am sitting here in tears. It has been an amazing year.”
That was part of an email we received from Lori Collins, owner of Savannah Coffee Roasters, when we notified the winners of our 2018 Eat It and Like It Foodie Awards a couple of weeks ago. All winners were notified via email and the responses, quite frankly, were a little more emotional than we ever thought they would be. That got me to wondering about how much a restaurant owner and/or chef cares about being named “The Best” in their particular discipline. Clearly, it means a whole lot.
I have always subscribed to the notion that no one who works in food and beverage wakes up in the morning and tells themselves they cannot wait to get to work and screw up your lunch or dinner experience. Yes, there are some knuckleheads out there, but there are knuckleheads in every walk of life, including television. Make that, especially in television.
The 4th Foodie Awards party will be held Sunday night, poolside at The DeSoto Savannah hotel. As has been the case in years past, our 30 plus winners will gather, mingle, catch up with old friends and celebrate a year of success. It is without question one of our proudest moments of the year. Why? Well, that answer is pretty simple.
We take a tremendous amount of pride in being able to bring our food and beverage community out from the shadows. Yes, of course, social media gives everyone their own voice these days, but we believe what we set out to do years ago has resonated across this region. We spend the majority of our time trying to give the guys and gals that work 70 plus hours a week a platform. It is our biggest thrill. Being able to narrow down so much quality out there into a list of winners is tough, but also very satisfying.
There are three of us that do the naming of winners. In the past, our panel has reached as many as six people. That worked well, but we couldn’t always count on having that many participate. So we narrowed it to three this year. Myself, of course, and two others that have agreed to remain anonymous. We believe there is true value in anonymous dining experiences which when combined with my own, can give us a real feel for how well operations are going at a particular restaurant. It worked very well this year.
A couple of months ago I was looking at our list of winners for the first Foodie Awards back in 2014. It felt like I was looking at baby pictures. A perfect for example was our winner for Best Brunch, it was Aquastar at The Westin Savannah Harbor. Which remains an exceptional experience to this day. The only other true brunch on the map (and we don’t count chains) at the time was B. Matthew’s Eatery. Now there are probably 6-7 rock star options for Brunch in Savannah.
The Collins Quarter changed the Brunch game in this city when they opened Summer of 2014. It was an instant hit and remains so today. There aren’t too many places where you get such a quality combination of location, people watching, great coffees, wines and of course food. The corner of Bull and Ogelthorpe has never been the same. That type of consistency requires tremendous dedication.
Of course, The Collins Quarter is far from the only spot in town to do things well. So many others do. Take your pick of any spot on our list of winners, not only are they doing what they do very well, but they are very proud to be recognized. As well they should be, because our Foodie Awards are different. As has always been the case, they are never tied to advertising and they are never a popularity contest. They are our choices as the best. Might you disagree on a particular winner? Of course you might, but that’s OK. No offense taken.
Kyle Jacovino, Executive Chef at 1540 Room inside The DeSoto Savannah Hotel took to Instagram upon getting the news. “Thank you and a huge shout out to our team for working their tails off the past year.” He wrote. “None of this would be possible if it wasn’t for the collaborative effort of writers, brewers, baristas, bartenders, restaurant owners and chefs pushing the scene forward.”
That comment summarized it all for us really. We have always viewed the growth of the food scene in this area as a collaborative effort. You guys serve up the great food and drink and we will continue to beat the drum as loudly as we can. More than once have I been stopped by a tourist downtown who has asked “You are the guy with the videos aren’t you?” Yes, I am. “Awesome, well we are here in this spot because of your show.”
Shameless self promotion? Of course. But I have personally said to anyone who will listen that Eat It and Like It wouldn’t exist without the talent in the kitchens in Savannah, Bluffton and HIlton Head Island. The talent that is obsessed with seeing to it that your cup of coffee is perfect. Every single day. The talent that makes sure your dining experience is as close to perfect as it can be. Every single time. They are all the real winners. As a result, so are all of we.
FOR THE FULL LIST OF 2018 WINNERS, CLICK HERE
See you all on Sunday night!
Jesse
