Charleston Grill Special Event: Truffle Dinner

If there's one thing I'm passionate about in this life, it's food. (Just ask my husband!)

So, when working as a Charleston event photographer also means you get to capture a truly magnificent night of creative cuisine and carefully curated wine pairings, it's basically a dream come true.

Last December, the Charleston Place Hotel hosted an amazing truffle dinner. The intimate, exclusive experience took place inside a private dining area in the Charleston Grill, an award-winning fine dining establishment known for its seasonal menu, imaginative dishes, and focus on local flavors.

Chef de Cuisine Suzy Castelloe created an exquisite menu starring, of course, fresh truffles, and it was a delight to be in the kitchen capturing the magic.

If you're not familiar with truffles, you may not understand why a multi-course, truffle-centric dinner is a foodie's fantasy. Truffles are considered a luxurious and decadent gourmet ingredient, both for their rich umami flavor and scarcity.

Did you know you can't "grow" truffles? These culinary gems are notoriously picky about where - and when - they'll grow, and they're notoriously slow growers. While the colorful image of using a pig to ferret out these tasty fungi may have stuck with pop culture, they, unfortunately, like to snack on the truffles they find, so modern truffle foraging uses dogs to help locate the mushrooms.

I hope you enjoy my photos from this elegant evening, and keep an eye out for more upcoming exciting experiences at the Charleston Place Hotel - they are always doing something cool!