Saveur Blog Awards

As I told you earlier, I was chosen as one of the six finalists for the "Best Special Interest Blog Award" at Saveur Blog Awards 2017.

I was invited to the Award Ceremony in Charleston, which was more like two days of fun, pampering and celebration.

The Charleston Area Convention & Visitors Bureau planned amazing programs for us in this charming city. Of course, our itinerary revolved around food and drink.

The best part of this experience was to be abound people who all had a passion that they were generously sharing with the world. And I am not only talking about us bloggers, but every single person we met during our visit.

Our tour guide at Bulldog Tours who had an amazing story about every little corner of this charming city.

The staff of The Dewberry Hotel gave us the warmest welcome and during our events the servers were offering us the amazing food like you would offer it to your guests at home.

The first night, right after the Cocktail Reception we were invited to the Charleston Pub Crawl. Those of you who know me already guessed, this evening I consumed more alcohol, than in the past 10 years combined. And I loved it! The three bars we visited were so welcoming. Darling Oyster Bar has an amazing sea food bar and the drinks were so good that it was really hard to chose from.

Darling Oyster Bar

On our way to the Cocktail Club we smelled freshly baked ice cream cones. Of course, we had to stop at Jeni's to try their ice cream. It's fabulous!

Our last stop, The Ordinary is rather extraordinary and their fried oyster sliders are to die for.

Carrie preparing our biscuits

Monday, we started our day at Le Creuset Test Kitchen where we could witness how our fabulous breakfast was made from scratch by hand. To be honest, I was never a big fan of biscuits - until now. Callie's Charleston Biscuits changed my world with their cinnamon biscuit. They also ship their products and Carrie, the owner published a cookbook too (on my wishlist).

We had 4 amazing panel discussions to make our trip just as educational as fun. I enjoyed every minute of the discussions and I appreciate everything these wonderful people shared with us.

Rodney Scott's BBQ in the making

We spent Monday afternoon at High Wire Distilling Co. where we experienced first hand how a heirloom grain can yield a very special drink. Again, as a non-drinker, I believed that all whisky was created equal. Oh boy, I was mistaken! Our heavenly lunch was prepared by Rodney Scott's BBQ at the distillery and we even enjoyed live music!

High Wire Distilling Co

Monday evening was the Award Ceremony. It was so elegant and professional, that I still could not believe I was part of it. In the same time, by that time the room was full of friends. I hope that the bloggers in my category will become my friends for life. We really had a great start. Although I didn't win the award, I consider all finalists a winner. Especially those who had the chance to join this event.

Rice harvest

And it was not even over yet! Tuesday morning those of us who had later flights could visit the ACE basin, harvest some rice by hand and learn about the area while enjoying food made from the farm's crops. Check Food For The Southern Soul if you would like to taste them too.

I have to thank you all for this fairy-tale like mini vacation. Special thanks to those who nominated me for this award (I still don't know who you are, but I truly appreciate it). If you ever have a chance to visit Charleston, don't forget to visit some of these places, you will enjoy them.