'Music to Your Mouth' food and music event a hit with those longing for a return to the intimate
If there was a word most used by those who participated in "Music to Your Mouth" at Palmetto Bluff on Saturday, it would've been "intimate."
Especially when describing the four-day festival's "culinary salons."
Held in various homes around the gated community's village on Friday and Saturday, the salons offered equal parts cooking demonstration, food lecture and family-style dining to those who participated.
"This is nice," said Bill Sheley, standing behind his wife, Julie Sheley, in the living room of one of the homes on Saturday.
The two -- along with about 20 others gathered around the kitchen of the modest-sized home -- had just finished watching Charleston chef Mike Lata prepare an oyster stew and were planning to go to the "Italy in Tennessee" salon next.
"It's just a much more intimate format," Bill Sheley added.
The festival, nearly 10 years old, was overhauled last summer after organizers decided the event, which had grown in popularity, had lost some of the intimacy it once had been known for.
Gone on Saturday was the tasting tent of years past, though several events -- including a block party on Thursday and an "Artisan's Market" on Saturday -- continued to provide an outdoor feel the festival also had boasted.
The Sheleys, who had been to the festival several times in years past, said while they enjoyed the "big tent's" tasting stations, having a celebrity chef like Lata speak to them directly was "much more enjoyable."
"And engaging," Julie Sheley added. "He was easy to listen to, and sourcing is a hot topic right now."
Sourcing, or where a recipe's ingredients come from, the couple explained, is something more and more home cooks and food lovers are interested in.
As if responding to that trend, the festival's salons also featured local experts -- such as Brad and Olivia Young -- who could speak to that point personally.
The Youngs, who own and run the May River Oyster Company, had supplied Lata with the wild caught oysters used in his dish.
The trend of wanting to know more about where one's food comes from is something they too said was growing in popularity.
"Folks are definitely looking for that," said Olivia Young, as she fielded questions Saturday on everything from when was the best time to harvest oysters to local licensing and regulations that govern farm-raised varieties. "They want to know where their food is coming from, and they want to know if it's fresh and if it's sustainable."
John Boone, who also attended the oyster salon, cited the intimate and engaging setting as something that impressed him as well.
A self-described "nature guy" as opposed to "food guy," Boone hung around after the salon for a chance to talk more with the Youngs.
The salon setup, he said after their conversation, reminded him of a dinner he and his wife had attended at one of the very first "Music to Your Mouth" festivals, if not the first.
"They talked about the food and the region, and it just brought so much more to the dinner," he said. "This takes it right back to that."
Follow reporter Mindy Lucas on Twitter at twitter.com/MindyatIPBG.
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- "Music to Your Mouth" food and wine event braces for changes, Nov. 14, 2015
This story was originally published November 21, 2015 at 8:50 PM with the headline "'Music to Your Mouth' food and music event a hit with those longing for a return to the intimate."