The second Palmetto Wine Competition is set for May 7 at the Belmont Inn in Abbeville.

ABBEVILLE — To Lee Kitchens, cooking is not work, it’s his calling.

Healthy groceries, check. Gloves, check. Aprons, check. Hair nets, check.

Step away from the pre-ground, store-bought chili powder or paste.

It lands somewhere between a sauté and a stew, but chicken fricassee is 100 percent comfort food.

Before David Shields became an expert on lost food ingredients and the celebrated “flavor saver” of the American South, he didn’t even like the taste of American food.

Amairani “Ani” Correa asks a group of fourth- and fifth-graders, “Who likes food?”

Jesse Willey had a successful construction business. His wife, Kristy, was a stay-at-home mom who was homeschooling two children.

Adam Hughes, the Grand Champion crowned at the 2018 South Carolina Festival of Discovery barbecue competition in Greenwood this July, is in a Food Network “Chopped Grill Masters” showdown, airing at 9 p.m. Tuesday and midnight on Wednesday.

“That hour felt like 20 minutes,” said Laken Fulmer, 16, one member of the first-place finishing 4-H Senior Healthy Lifestyles Team from Saluda County.

Does your schedule, have you on-the-move? Check out these easy ways to healthfully keep hunger at bay, no matter where your busy life takes you, including at home.

ABBEVILLE

Local fare, from a number of farmers who sell at Uptown Market, is to be prepared for a four-course upscale meal in the ballroom at Inn on the Square, from 6 to 8 p.m. May 11.

Some multi-colored carrots taste milder and sweeter than their orange counterparts and cauliflower can be a low-carb stand-in for English muffins, pizza crust, mashed potatoes and fried rice.

If you love chocolate, check out the Downtown Abbeville Merchants Association Chocolate Walk from 1-4 p.m. Feb. 10.

Blogging married couple Dennis and Jenni Turner, who maintain the website WineryEscapades.com, are hosting the first Palmetto Wine Competition May 1 at The Belmont Inn in Abbeville.

Debbie Flynn with Flynn’s on Maxwell Uptown Wine and Beer has carefully selected a variety of wines for the Greenwood Chamber of Commerce Grape Stomp Wine Dine and Shop, 5:30-8 p.m. Nov. 17.

Before Monday night’s first “Chopped”-style fundraiser for Food Bank of Greenwood County, executive director Wendi Andrews told the four competing chefs: “Do not look in the baskets.”

Cheese pizza does not have to be basic. A simple pie, with crust, tomatoes and cheese can be a great pizza building block, whether you choose to add more ooey, gooey dairy goodness, or something else. 

One of the hottest home-grown food event tickets in town is to Saturday's Third Annual Farm to Fork dinner and fundraiser for the Arts Center of Greenwood, 120 Main St. The advanced ticket sale event is reported to be sold-out, but two guest chefs have shared their appetizer recipes below.

Whether you say “to-MAY-toh” or “to-MAH-toh,” the plentiful, round, warm-season tomato is a favorite at farmers markets this time of year.

A member of the nightshade family, tomatoes are fruits, mostly treated like vegetables, that are relatively easy to grow, according to Uptown Market vendor Will Metts of Metts Organix. For Tomatofest on Saturday at Uptown Market, Metts is leading a talk on growing tomatoes.