The Wiley Dinner Series in Charleston

The Wiley Dinner Series has officially begun!

Last Thursday, on a 70-degree October evening, we gathered for a sold-out dinner in Charleston, South Carolina as the tide rose and muhly grasses danced. Using recipes from The Wiley Canning Company Cookbook, the touchstone of our dinner series, Chef Vilda Gonzalez prepared a vegetable-forward dinner that nourished a table of fourteen as the creek beneath us glistened.

In The Wiley Canning Company Cookbook, I write, “Delicious ingredients lead to delicious meals.”

This is true for a meal. This is true for a life.

“When we have a single ingredient that is homemade and precise, we can create an entire meal that awakens our hearts and minds, one that sends a tingle through our jaw as we take our first bite.”

When we allow single ingredients to drive our meal, we can build a table covered in delicious, thoughtful, and life-giving food.

Our dinner in Charleston represents a rare culmination of luck, history, and collaboration.

You will notice as you read our Charleston menu, we began the evening with Pickled Shrimp, sourced from Tarvin Seafood, a local favorite. We served Pickled Shrimp, my collaborative recipe with Chef Sean Brock, atop leafy greens and pistachio dukkah.

Chef Sean Brock is one of the very first people with whom I shared my vision for Wiley Canning Company. Charleston is a significant part of Chef Sean’s story, and to share this recipe here, of all places, felt enriched and connective. During our dinner, I also learned Chef Vilda previously worked with Chef Sean, reinforcing the truth that we are all deeply connected, whether we are aware of it or not.

At each place setting, a photographic print by Charleston-based Olivia Rae James, shown on Instagram here, was awaiting guests’ arrival. It was a huge joy to have Olivia herself at our dinner, as well, as her presence only amplified the beauty of her print. When I first spoke with Olivia about sharing a print, she shared how this scene in particular was captured near Sullivan’s Island, at a time of year when the muhly grasses bloom in pink for only a short time in the fall.

The grasses were in bloom during our dinner.