Savannah Technical College will host an interactive event led by Savannah Culinary Institute instructors with hands-on demonstrations paired with wines, known as Interactif, at 5:45 p.m., on Thursday, November 2 in the Eckburg Auditorium (5717 White Bluff Road, Savannah, 31405).

Interactif Fall 2023 will feature four destinations stations along with appetizers and desserts. Guests will travel around the world with elegant tasting opportunities paired with wine selections at the destination stations with take-home recipes. International cuisine will include Romania, Greece, Morocco, and Spain. Three stations will feature chef demonstrations where guests work alongside chefs to learn techniques of making sunflower seed halva, tiropitas, and preserved lemons. The fourth station will feature Spanish wines paired with tapas.

Cost is $125 per person with proceeds supporting the Patrick Ansley Williams Memorial Scholarship at Savannah Technical College. Seating is limited to 100. Advance tickets may be purchased online: www.savannahtech.edu/Interactif.

Guests will enjoy lamb tajine with preserved lemon; chorizo and fennel tiropitas with green goddess dressing; panna cotta with sunflower seed havla, tapas, along with artisan breads, cheeses, charcuterie, and artisan chocolates. The event is 21+ and all IDs will be checked. No one under 21, please.

This year Wine Educator Dayna Lee will lead a tasting featuring wines of Spain. She is a native New Yorker, who has provided wine/spirits education through her various roles at Wine.com, Liquor.com, Maker's Mark Distillery, the Astor Center NYC and Metropolitan Wine Group. She holds wine & spirits certifications from the Wine & Spirits Education Trust, is a Certified Sherry Wine Specialist and is currently studying as a Spanish Wine Scholar. She founded the Savannah Wine Institute (SWI) to create fun and accessible ways to explore wine and spirits.

This event has raised nearly $128,000 to benefit the Patrick Ansley Williams Memorial Scholarship Fund. In 2020, the College developed an alternate event for this scholarship with its Big Pig Fundraiser sales, which have raised an additional $18,000.

This scholarship was started in 2012 by Bill Dickinson to honor the late Patrick Williams. Five $1,000 scholarships are awarded annually to STC culinary and hospitality students with a minimum 3.0 grade point average, who are selected by the College’s scholarship committee. Funds are applied toward tuition, fees, books and required supplies.

STC scholarship funds are managed by the Savannah Technical College Foundation, a 501 (c)3 organization whose sole purpose is to raise private funds to support the mission of Savannah Technical College. Gifts are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

With support from the Savannah Technical College Foundation, the College purchased 7 West Bay Street as the new downtown location for an expansion of its Culinary Arts program, which will more than double the available instructional space. Senior level (second year) students will take classes and work in the bakery and restaurant. The hands-on, real-world experience in the restaurant/bakery will allow students the opportunity to apply techniques learned in the classroom to practical use, complete a required field placement, and gain first-hand experience in restaurant operations.

New students are admitted to the culinary arts and baking and pastry programs year-round. For more information about Culinary Arts at Savannah Tech visit: www.facebook.com/SavannahCulinaryInstitute.