Vive Gullah Cultural Brunch
Last month, we had the absolute pleasure of hosting a cultural event with a major brand at Republic Garden and Lounge . It was a Geechee Gullah Brunch with Grey Goose and it was epic!
On the last day of the Charleston Wine and Food Festival, we decided to do something for the culture. Our culture. We partnered with Earlicia Gibb of Grey Goose and Chef Charlotte Jenkins of the late Gullah Cuisine restaurant that closed in 2014. We paired 3 small plates and cocktails for this celebration of Charleston and affectionately named it “Vive Gullah”
The welcome cocktail, “Le Fizz Locale” was made with Grey Goose, St. Germaine, and O and O Hooch. (Hooch for short.) Hooch is a local product made here in Charleston that’s also featured in our book. Holy Spirits: Charleston’s Culture through Cocktails.
Once everyone arrived, Chef Charlotte, began to talk about her menu and her history. She used to own and operate the restaurant, Gullah Cuisine with her husband for 17 years before it closed. She also wrote a cookbook book, with the same title. After she finished, her daughter and sister brought out the first dish, fish head soup. Fish head soup is an old Charlestonian staple and it was paired with a Grey Goose martini, garnished with pickled okra. The dryness of the martini along with with salinity of the pickled okra worked perfectly with the spiciness of the seafood soup. It was great.
The second pairing was Shrimp and Grits. Chef Charlotte emphasized how she made the BEST Charleston shrimp and grits and she did not disappoint. The shrimp were locally caught, the grits were very creamy and the gravy… man the gravy was EVERYTHING! We decided to pair this dish with our Hibiscus Chucktown Mule; a recipe that is also included in our book. Hibiscus is native to west Africa, South Asia and India. It’s a natural coolant and works well with spices and umami flavors. We also garnished the cocktail with a candied Hibiscus flower that came from our friends at Wild Hibiscus Co. We thought that this was the perfect cocktail to pair with this dish!
The final pairing was equally as amazing as the other two. We had sweet potato tartlets. These tartlets were AMAZINGLY paired with a Grey Goose espresso cocktail. The bitterness from the coffee cocktail was magical with the sweet potato. Many of our guests were not coffee drinkers, but they loved this pairing. We even had a few ask for seconds.
We enjoyed the experience because each pairing represented an era in Charleston. The Fish Head soup represented ‘Old Charleston’, the Charleston Shrimp and Grits represented ‘Current Charleston’, and the sweet potato tartlets represents ‘New/Modern Charleston’. We also want to emphasize that 4 women of color put on this event in downtown Charleston.
Following the event, Grey Goose purchased signed copies of our book for all of the attendees so they can make Charleston cocktails at home! This gesture definitely put everyone in the “Holy Spirit!”
Later that day, I was overwhelmed with a sense of honor and pride. Charleston is the home to some of the best cuisine in the US. It was the stomping ground of a lot of our ancestors and it’s a privilege to celebrate and empower one another through the history of our food. We would like to thank Earlicia and Grey Goose again for partnering with us on this event. We will never forget it. More cultural events to come! Cheers to Charleston!
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