Achieving Euphoria

When mid-September arrives, you can bet I like hearing “take me out to the ballfield” as long as it’s the weekend down in Greenville, South Carolina.   Over the course of four days, the city’s Fluor Field (home of the Greenville Drive), several restaurants and exciting venues around the city become part of a culinary extravaganza called Euphoria. This event focused on eating, sipping and listening has been around for more than a decade and it is an event I would highly recommend putting on your bucket list.

Euphoria’s origins

Singer and Greenville, SC native Edwin McCain and restauranteur Carl Sobocinski started Euphoria Greenville as a way to put a spotlight on the city’s culinary and cultural treasures and raise money for charity.   It started out small and has now morphed into a four day event so popular many of the events sell out more than a month before the events begin.   There are even a few events earlier in the year to get everyone into the Euphoria spirit.

Several years ago I interviewed Edwin Mcain about growing up in Greenville and how Euphoria came to be.  McCain said he remembers the days when Greenville wasn’t on anyone’s radar.  In fact, when it came to going downtown there were few reasons to make the trip.  Many of the buildings were vacant and most people just thought it was just a dangerous place to visit.    

"There were a lot of forward-thinking people who said we needed to imagine another reality for Greenville," McCain said.  "There are a lot of good business people who have stayed downtown and created what's there now."  

One of those forward looking pioneers was Carl Sobocinski, a man McCain said people thought was crazy when he opened his New South Cuisine inspired, Soby's Restaurant.  Since then, Sobocinski has opened other restaurants in the downtown area and hundreds more followed his lead putting Greenville in the nation's culinary spotlight.

Spotlighting great chefs and food 

In its early years Euphoria put the spotlight on local chefs and restaurants, but quickly grew into an event showcasing the culinary talents of chefs from around the region. 

“Taste of the South” on Friday nights may not be the first event of Euphoria, but it certainly sets the tone for the weekend.  The historic Wyche Pavilion, the shell of an old factory that once made Dukes Mayonnaise, sits beside the Reedy River. Surrounded by sleek new hotels and office buildings, this historic structure sits beside the TD stage.  This is where during Euphoria, acts like Edwin McCain and Kim Carnes have entertained the crowds as they grazed through the culinary creations strung out along the edges of the Wyche Pavilion.

When I first started attending Euphoria, the events of the weekend were mainly stretched out along a couple of blocks of Main Street.  Eventually Euphoria outgrew the space and moved out to Fluor Field where in 2021, the biggest event happens on both Saturday and Sunday. Each afternoon people can taste dozens of different foods, sip on amazing cocktails, listen to live music and check out cooking competitions.  So, it’s not just a “Feast by the Field” it’s a feast for the senses.

Meeting some of the best chefs

Guest Chef Dinners at Euphoria provide a more intimate setting for enjoying the culinary delights of the four-day festival. Most happen at some of Greenville’s best restaurants. Each dinner has a theme and often involves pairings with  different beverages.  With limited seating and high-caliber talent, the Guest Chef Dinners are often some of the first events to sell out.

Even when you can’t make it to a guest chef dinner the other events of Euphoria give you chances to meet and/or see some of the best chefs in the country in action.  In 2019, Chef Torrece Gregoire, better known as “Chef T.” made her debut at Euphoria. Some of you may remember her as the runner-up on Season 14 of Hell’s Kitchen.  I met her at Euphoria, not really knowing much about her.  At the time she was running a restaurant at the Western Front Hotel in St. Paul, Virginia.  Having lived in that part of Virginia for many years, I knew about St. Paul, but had no idea what an amazing place it had become. (And some of that credit goes to Chef. T.) 

Chef T. invited me up for a visit and I almost instantly fell in love with St. Paul, a community that truly embraced the work she was doing there.  Sadly, my last visit there was for the final night of her restaurant, Ina & Forbes as the pandemic simply took too great a toll on the business.   Chef T. continues consulting work for a restaurant in Blacksburg, VA and is the guest chef at one of the 2021 Euphoria Dinners.

So much more than and event

On its website, Euphoria describes its mission as “promoting tourism in Greenville by creating a destination event for food, wine, and music lovers.”  Having attended many years, the event certainly fulfilled that part of the mission.  The other part of Euphoria’s mission centers around helping the community through its charitable arm called Local Boys Do Good.  You can read more about the economic impact and charitable giving at euphoriagreenville.com/community-impact .

Be sure and sign up for Euphoria emails on the website to learn about events happening well before September.  You’ll also get notifications of when tickets for the main part of Euphoria go on sale. It’s a great way to plan for your next visit to this euphoric event.