The 2009 A Night in the Valley The premier wine and culinary event of the year pairs the products of the nation’s finest vineyards with the talents of the students at the Culinary Institute of Charleston. Every year, more than 500 wine enthusiasts and culinarians anticipate this elegant four-course dinner with pairings by vintners of prestigious wineries. Silent and live auctions include rare and allocated wines, jewelry, art, parties, vacation getaways and more.

A Night in the Valley - Investing in Students

The College. Trident Technical College is a public two-year college of more than 12,000 students. The college offers 150+ programs of study leading to certificates, diplomas and associate degrees. Students can attend classes at Main Campus in North Charleston, our newly renovated Palmer Campus in downtown Charleston or at Berkeley Campus near Moncks Corner. TTC also offers customized and noncredit courses through its Division of Continuing Education and Economic Development, which tallies 40,000+ registrations a year.

In fall 2005, the College opened the Culinary Institute of Charleston at Trident Technical College on its Main Campus. The Institute supports hospitality, tourism and culinary arts instruction utilizing the latest equipment and multimedia delivery systems. This 77,000-square-foot Institute has the capacity to train 1,000 students to help meet the demands of the regional food service and hospitality industries.

In October 2008, the College opened the Culinary Institute of Charleston's second site and allows the CIC to offer advanced culinary and hospitality training for local industry professionals. The 23,500-square-foot facility on the college’s Palmer Campus features a 50-seat dining room, 100-seat amphitheater and demonstration kitchen, beverage operations lab, and four specialized training kitchens: an international production kitchen, a nutritional/research and development lab, an artisanal baking lab and a general teaching kitchen. 

 “The purpose of the Culinary Institute of Charleston’s second location is to allow students to stay in Charleston and continue studying in their chosen career,” said Michael Saboe, dean of the CIC. “The culinary and hospitality industry faces a tremendous labor shortage everywhere in the United States, and the CIC is positioned to provide needed support to Charleston with five new advanced certificate programs. These certificates add depth and specialized training to our fundamental classes and provide excellent training opportunities to professionals already working in the industry.”

The new advanced certificate programs offered at Palmer Campus are Culinary Arts, Advanced Culinary Arts, Advanced Baking and Pastry, Hotel Operations, and Event Management. The programs were developed using feedback from area restaurant and hotel professionals to address the need for advanced training in these areas.

Food- and hospitality-related continuing education courses will also be offered on the Palmer Campus starting in January. Course topics include Asian and Italian cuisine, the catering business, the art of entertaining, wine and cocktails, international breads, and the art of creating wedding cakes.

The Foundation. Established in 1975 to help bridge the gap betweenTrident Technical  needs and resources of the college, the Trident Technical College Foundation operates independently of the College as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. The Foundation supports the College through capital projects, scholarships, minigrants for teaching equipment and resources, and employee professional development.

The Proceeds. The proceeds from A Night in the Valley benefit Trident Technical College Foundation’s Annual Campaign that provides scholarships to students as well as professional development for faculty and staff and classroom equipment and resources to the college. In addition, funds support the students and faculty of the Culinary Institute of Charleston through the efforts of the Hospitality and Culinary Student Association.

Culinary Highlights Gayle Rawlins was selected as the recipient of the South Carolina Tourism Student Award Two students (Othel Plowden and Rebekah Brasfield) were elected to Who’s Who among Students at American Jr. Colleges At the college’s annual Awards Day ceremony, the Hospitality and Culinary Student Association (HSCA) won the Outstanding Student Association award and Mr. Saboe (now Dean Saboe) won the Advisor of the Year award. The Hospitality and Culinary Student Association has created special interest groups for students.  These include Ice Carving American Culinary Federation (ACF) Competition Team  Pastries HCSA members and faculty advisors visited the National Restaurant Association Food Show in Chicago HCSA members competed in the National Honey Board Competition Culinary: First Place:                   Meri Spalviero Second Place:              Joe Branton Third Place:                 Steven Lusby Honorable Mention:   Brian Voss Baking and Pastries; First Place:                   Brian Voss Second Place:              Jonathan Kaldas Third Place:                 Allison Messner Honey Sauce and Ice Cream: Honorable Mention:   Chancel Nuque