Slow Food Charleston to Host 2nd Annual Snail Awards in April

February 16, 2017

2:20 AM

Slow Food Charleston recently announced that the 2nd Annual Snail Awards, which will recognize the community leaders supporting the Slow Food movement, will be held on Thursday, April 13th at The American Theater. The program will begin at 6 pm.

Chef David Schuttenberg of Fish will host guest chefs Zak Pelaccio of Fish & Game (NY), Bob Cook of Artisan Meat Share, John Lewis of Lewis Barbeque, and Air Casebier of FEAST in an evening celebrating producers, artisans, educators, advocates, and others who are advancing Slow Food's mission of “Good, Clean, and Fair food for all.”

The event will include:

a VIP Meet-and-Greet
- Snacks by Casebier's FEAST, a specialty cocktail by the team at Fish and High Wire Distilling, and an educational Presentation of Finalists.
- All-Access VIP tickets can be purchased at snailawardschs.com
the Presentation of Finalists
Celebration in the ballroom and William Aiken carriage house courtyard
- Casual food stations
- Passed snacks
- Drinks
- Music by Charleston's lively V-Tones
- Award Winners will be announced

During the event, there will be an awards ceremony announcing the winners of the following categories (descriptions provided):

The Activist
- “These nominees are action-oriented in the pursuit of better, cleaner, fairer food for all. Here an advocate of food justice, preservation of foodways, biodiversity, land conservation, education, community building or other social and political issues will be recognized for their beliefs and efforts.”
The Provider
- “A producer or provider of food, largely unmanipulated by process or a provider of unique or speciality product. Nominees include farmers, fishers, cheesemongers, importers/distributors and others who meet the community's needs, while operating sustainably within the tenets of Slow Food.”
The Artist
- “These nominees use refined skill to prepare the best ingredients and provide a ‘value-added' product. This will be divided into Food and Beverage categories. Sustainability, sourcing, business culture, education, and innovation are all evaluated criteria.”
The Snailblazer
- “The only publicly nominated category and the only category with a cash award ($1000). This SnailBlazer Micro-Grant will be awarded to someone who is making strides to positively impact the Charleston community. Applications are available online now at slowfoodcharleston.org and at snailawardschs.com. Application Deadline is March 10 . The grant is to be applied towards an existing or proposed project that champions Slow Food.”
The Place
- “A business or group of businesses that model Slow Food's principles, practices, and philosophies. These nominees may be operating within any part of the community.”

There is also an award for The Legend which will be presented to Nathalie Dupree.

All tickets for the Snail Awards are $75, available now at snailawardschs.com

Last year’s Snail Award Winners:

The Legend: Chef Mike Lata of FIG and The Ordinary

The SnailBlazer: Germaine Jenkins of Fresh Future Farm

The Activist: Charleston County Green Waste Program

The Provider: Celeste Albers of Green Grocer Farm

The Artist in Food: Craig Deihl of AMS and Cypress

The Artist in Beverage: High Wire Distilling

The Place: Grow Food Carolina