Lowcountry
CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA | MARCH 2024
From salt marshes to the historic streets of Charleston, South Carolina’s lowcountry is known to be a beautiful backdrop for some of the South’s best chefs. The region’s rich biodiversity, bountiful seafood, and long growing season make it a veritable playground for anyone interested in cooking from ingredients first — and Chef Graham Calabria does just that. Not only did he forage, fish, and find many of the ingredients he served for Supper, he built the very grill he used to cook his hyper-local, Italian-inspired cuisine on Smithey cast iron over the open flames.
When the food is this good, we can worry a little bit less about things like weather or whether or not the table is so perfectly set (although we still try our best, every time). But, as rain poured all day the day before the Supper and flooded the lawn outside The Barn at Bedaw Farms, we started to wonder if we’d be able to set the table there at all. Luckily, the day of the Supper brought perfectly pleasant weather and the patio outside the barn seemed tailor-made to fit the table (with no chance of slowly sinking into the sodden earth).
Guests were welcomed with true Southern hospitality by the working farm’s resident goats and spritzes from Campari at aperitivo hour before sitting down to Supper. The golden evening turned out absolutely beautifully, full of easy connections across the table and lots of cheers of Rodney Strong wines. It was an invitation to slow down and savor, to settle in, and to appreciate the amazing bounty that is all around us, if you take the time to take a look around.
WELCOME
We started the day with locally farmed oysters and Aperol + Campari Spritzes, a wonderful way to celebrate South Carolina’s bountiful waters and beautiful winter weather.
A MENU BY GRAHAM CALABRIA
Chef Graham blends his Southern Italian heritage with his passion for Lowcountry culinary traditions. He collected and prepared countless local delicacies to share with our Supper guests; foraging wild pawpaws for granita to kick off the meal and catching fresh fish to smoke over the coals on a grill he built just for the Supper!
The food that wasn’t foraged or caught by Graham himself was supplied by local farmers, some of whom he invited to the dinner table to share in the fruits of their labor.
MENU
WELCOME
Oyster on the Halfshell
locally farmed Perky Sea Cups from Charleston Oyster Farm on Snake Island near Folly Beach
Ceviche Bites dayboat fish from our local fishing vessels accompanied by Tortillas & Pico de Gallo
Cocktail: Aperol + Campari Spritz
ON THE TABLE
Sourdough from Kara at Saltwater & Sourdough cultured butter
AMUSE BOUCHE
Pawpaw Granita
FIRST
Plank Smoked Dayboat Fish tarragon, sage, lemongrass, lemon
Smoked Almond & Fennel Salad
Wine: 2021 Rodney Strong Chalk Hill Chardonnay
SECOND
Bone-in Wagyu Delmonico from Chatel Farms beets & lion's mane mushrooms
Wine: 2018 Rodney Strong Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma County
MAIN
Smoked & Hung Duck from Vital Mission Farms orange & rosemary
Squash peas & pomegranate seeds
Wine: 2018 ROWEN Red Blend, Sonoma County
DESSERT
Figs & Mitibleu mugolio & prickly pear syrup
Amaro Averna
WINE PAIRINGS
Wines from Rodney Strong rounded out the meal with perfect pairings, like 2018 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon to compliment succulent bone-in Wagyu Delmonico from Chatel Farms.
NIGHTCAP
To finish off an Italian-inspired evening, we poured Sicilian Amaro Averna alongside a dessert of Figs & Mitibleu topped with foraged pine syrup. It was a simple end to a simply stellar meal!
SECRET LOCATION: THE BARN AT BEDAW FARMS
Bedaw Farms is a working goat ranch and Lowcountry estate that Cokie Cox and family generously share for select events and visitors. Towering trees line the winding lanes across 40 acres, linking the farmhouse and historic goat dairy outside of which we hosted Supper.
Everyone welcomed us with true Southern hospitality, including friendly goats that guests were invited to pet during welcome cocktails.
