Skip to main content
Event

euphoria 2018: What you missed and how to plan for next year

By November 12, 2018April 26th, 2021No Comments

Now that the dust has settled from the 2018 euphoria food, wine, and music festival held Sept. 20-23, here’s a recap of some of the highlights and a guide to planning for next year.

Things you missed if you weren’t there

  • The Weather Channel personality Jim Cantore mugging on cue for every camera in the vicinity. He’s also a big Greenville fan and will likely be back.
  • Chef Sean Brock of Husk calling his friend, actor Bill Murray, during The Michelin Experience dinner hosted by Husk Greenville. It happened to be Murray’s birthday, and Brock and the 75-or-so guests sang “Happy Birthday” to him over speakerphone.
  • James Beard Award-winning chef Tory McPhail of Commander’s Palace in New Orleans dancing his tail off to the Soda City Brass Band at the Big Easy Bash.
  • A wine seminar with comedienne and sommelier Laurie Forster where she paired Cheetos with cabernet sauvignon and Cool Ranch Doritos with rose.
  • A Devereaux’s staff reunion that showcased the chefs and the best cuisine from the experimental restaurant formerly located on East Court Street. It was a bit ahead of its time for Greenville and closed in 2013 after an eight-year run.

    Read recaps of each night:

  • Thursday
  • Friday
  • Saturday
  • Sunday

How to plan for next year

 

For the true foodie

Save up your pennies and snag a ticket to one (or more) of the guest-chef dinners and Sunday Supper. These special collaborations between Michelin-starred, James Beard Award-winning, and other notable chefs are a convenient way to dine on some of the best food in the country without the hassle or expense of traveling to each of the restaurants represented. For instance, the Michelin-starred dinner on Saturday night featured chefs from France, San Francisco, and Chicago in one location — the budget and time required to visit each of those restaurants would be prohibitive for the general populace. And a word of caution: If tendon, beef tongue, or head cheese sounds a bit too adventurous for your palate, these dinners may not be the best option for you, but don’t let that scare you away. These dinners are as much for the experience as they are for the taste.

For the partier

The Big Easy Bash ($85) in name alone is the first clue that this event is a straight-up party with the Soda City Brass Band jammin’ and N’awlins food slingin’ and you shouldn’t miss it. But the Greenville Kick-off Party ($75), Feast by the Field ($85), or Sunday Brunch ($55) are also three great values for the amount of wine, liquor, and food options available. Plus, there’s great music, too. The chefs and restaurants represented during these events showcase what they do best in an environment where they are catering to a less-specialized audience. Basically, everything is going to taste good and be easy to figure out. Also, be warned: With the open bar and three to four hours of drinking time, you’ll need to pace yourself. But the good news is, if you were racking up that bar tab elsewhere, it’d likely cost a lot more.

For the budget conscious but curious

Take a class. At $35 a pop, they are the most budget-friendly events and oft-times the most entertaining because of the small, intimate setting. Learn about oysters, craft cocktails, wine pairings, barbecue, and biscuit-making from true culinary experts all while having a dang good time.

For the music lover

Songwriter’s Recipe on Thursday night is a favorite event for country music fans. During this event the songwriters behind some of the biggest country hits sit down and perform their own music, rather than the big name who made it popular. Lunch & Listen: Noteworthy was a new event this year, featuring two singer-songwriters and food and wine pairings. Taste of the South on Friday night gets the biggest musical act of the weekend and to close out the festival, a final concert was added after Sunday Supper this year. At $25 a ticket with an open bar, that’s a no-brainer.