The Inn at Little Washington Chef Patrick O'Connell to Headline Gourmet & Grapes Event at Kiawah Island Golf Resort Benefitting Hollings Cancer Center

Todd Gray of Equinox and Charleston Chefs to Join Culinary Extravaganza
April 30 - May 2, 2010 

Kiawah Island, S.C. — The Hollings Cancer Center at the Medical University of South Carolina and Kiawah Island Golf Resort will welcome celebrated chef Patrick O’Connell from the Forbes Five-Star/AAA Five-Diamond Inn at Little Washington as the headliner of the second annual Gourmet and Grapes fine food and wine event April 30 - May 2, 2010, at the Kiawah Island Golf Resort.   

The event will raise money for the Hollings Cancer Center, South Carolina’s only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center.

Renowned chef Todd Gray, of Washington, DC’s Equinox will join the leading chefs of Charleston, SC, for this celebration of food and wine.

Gourmet & Grapes Weekend at a Glance

This weekend-long salute to culinary excellence by some of the nation’s best chefs promises to tantalize. Highlights include:

• Friday, April 30th –Chef Patrick O’Connell, chef and proprietor of The Inn at Little Washington, will host and prepare an exclusive black tie dinner in The Ocean Room, the fine dining restaurant in the luxury hotel and spa, The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort. Wines will be selected and presented by Janet Trefethen, CEO of Trefethen Family Vineyards.
• Saturday, May 1st – 11:00 AM- Interactive wine tasting and dialogue featuring wines presented by Janet Trefethen of Trefethen Family Vineyards, Italian winemaker Renato Spanu and Bill Phelps of Joseph Phelps Vineyard in Napa Valley. Tasting will be followed by an open discussion and reception with the winemakers.
• Saturday, May 1st – 1:00 PM- A four course cooking demonstration luncheon with Todd Gray of Equinox Restaurant in Washington, DC. Wines will be selected by Mike Calhoun of Landmark Vineyards.
• Saturday, May 1st – 6:15 PM- Chefs from Kiawah Island Golf Resort will join forces with Charleston’s leading chefs for the Wine Odyssey, a gala event featuring a culinary expo, live music and auction to benefit the Hollings Cancer Center.
• Sunday, May 2nd – The Chefs of Kiawah will prepare a Farewell Brunch at The Jasmine Porch restaurant featuring live entertainment and traditional Lowcountry favorites.

Star Line Up of Chefs & Winemakers

Chef Patrick O’Connell, The Inn at Little Washington

Named by the Washington Post as “the chef that makes perfect happen,” O’Connell’s artistry in the kitchen and as the innkeeper of The Inn at Little Washington has earned double Mobil/Forbes Five-Star status an unprecedented 20 years in a row and double AAA Five-Diamond status for 22 years in a row. 
O’Connell’s accomplishments include:

• Original inductee into “Who’s Who in Food and Beverage in America”
• Author of popular cookbooks, The Inn at Little Washington, A Consuming Passion and Patrick O’Connell’s Refined American Cuisine

• Frequent guest speaker at The Smithsonian Institution and The Culinary Institute of America

Janet Trefethen, Trefethen Family Vineyards

Trefethen Family Vineyards was founded in 1973 by John Trefethen at a time when there were fewer than thirty working wineries in Napa Valley. Janet Trefethen is the current CEO of the family vineyard whose accomplishments include:

• In 1979, Trefethen Chardonnay was named the Best Chardonnay in the World at the World Wine Olympics in Paris
• The 2005 HaLo, Trefethen’s flagship wine, was named one of the Top 10 Wines of 2009 by the Connoisseurs Guide to California Wine in the December 2009 issue.

Chef Todd Gray, Equinox

Todd Gray emerged as one of the nation’s leading culinary talents in 1999 when he opened Equinox in Washington, DC, to universal acclaim. In 2008, Equinox won the Restaurant Association Award for Best Fine Dining.  Gray’s accomplishments include:

• Five nominations for the prestigious Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic award from the James Beard Foundation
• Current Culinary Director of Salamander Hospitality
• Equinox has achieved Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence 10 years in a row
• Gray has been widely recognized as a national leader in the sustainable and local food movement

Registration

Tickets may be purchased for the weekend or individual events. The resort is offering special rates at The Sanctuary Hotel and Resort Villas. For details call 800-654-2924 or visit www.gourmetandgrapes.com.

About Kiawah Island Golf Resort

Located along 10 miles of pristine beach just south of Charleston, SC, Kiawah Island Golf Resort is rated as the top resort in the U.S. Mainland by readers of Conde Nast Traveler magazine and the No. 1 resort in the U.S. by Golf World magazine. It includes The Sanctuary – a AAA Five Diamond and Mobil Five Star-rated, 255-room hotel and spa – and 600 private villas and luxury homes. The resort has five championship golf courses, including The Ocean Course – host of the 1991 Ryder Cup, the 2007 Senior PGA and 2012 PGA championships. The resort also ranks in the  top 5 tennis resorts in the U.S. by Tennis Magazine, has nine restaurants, and features a renowned recreation and nature program. For more information visit www.kiawahresort.com or call 800-654-2924.