The James Beard Foundation announced today that the finalists for the 2013 JBF Awards will be announced live on Monday, March 18, 2013, at the historic Lowndes Grove Plantation in Charleston, South Carolina. There will be a livestream of the video of the announcement, and that stream will be found exclusively on Eater.com. The winners will then be announced at the James Beard Foundation Awards on Monday, May 6, 2013 at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall in New York City.
As part of the announcement, the BB&T Charleston Wine + Food Festival and the Charleston Area Convention and Visitors Bureau will host a special fundraiser for the James Beard Foundation at Fort Moultrie, a national park site, which will feature "Charleston chefs who have either received a JBF Award, received a nomination, or recently cooked at the James Beard House." Details on the fundraiser TBD. Here's the press release:
2013 James Beard Foundation Award Finalists To Be Announced in Charleston, South CarolinaCHARLESTON, SC – August 30, 2012: The BB&T Charleston Wine + Food Festival®, together with the Charleston Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, are proud to announce that the James Beard Foundation Award finalists will be announced live on Monday, March 18, 2013, in Charleston, South Carolina. As part of the announcement, the two organizations will host a special fundraiser for the James Beard Foundation (JBF) at Fort Moultrie, a national park site.
The finalist announcements will take place at historic Lowndes Grove Plantation at 11:00 A.M. EST. A live feed of the announcements will be available online exclusively at Eater.com. Winners will be announced at the James Beard Foundation Awards on May 6, 2013, at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall in New York City. A few days prior, on Friday, May 3, 2013, the James Beard Foundation Book, Broadcast & Journalism Awards Dinner, an exclusive event honoring the nation's top cookbook authors, culinary broadcast producers and hosts, and food journalists, will take place at Gotham Hall in New York City.
The JBF fundraiser in Charleston will be one of the first private events ever held at Fort Moultrie and will feature Charleston chefs who have either received a JBF Award, received a nomination, or recently cooked at the James Beard House. Other Charlestonians with ties to the Foundation, such as the authors of JBF Award-winning cookbooks, will also participate. The menu will reflect the era when the Fort was originally in use, and will also spotlight traditional Lowcountry cuisine and ingredients.
Fort Moultrie played a central role in both the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. Originally constructed in the 1770s, it was later replaced by a brick structure in 1809 and then modernized in the 1870s. The grounds are part of the National Park Service and attract thousands of visitors each year. The JBF fundraiser will begin with cocktails and hors d'oeuvre served throughout the interior of the Fort, allowing guests to tour the structure and listen to historians speak to the Fort's significance. Guests will then move to the beachside front lawn
for dinner and breathtaking views of Fort Sumter, the Sullivan's Island lighthouse, and the downtown Charleston skyline.
Tickets will be available for purchase in September at charlestonwineandfood.com.