The Duvall 2018 Wrap Up
Our team has been enjoying some downtime between holidays, looking back at a full year of a lot of hard work. We were astonished to take a step back and look at the big picture: With over 1,000 private and social events this year, we’ve been able to serve more than 100,000 guests.
Our 1000 events ranged from intimate private dinners for a family of 10, to feeding a client’s 1,000 employees lunch in 27 minutes flat! 2018 brought new favorite venues, like Merchant’s Hall, and great partnerships like Mercedes-Benz, who we worked with in the month of September for the launch of their Sprinter Vans.
Time flies when you’re having fun, and this was definitely a fun year for us here at Duvall! Sit back, relax and join us as we wrap up 2018 with some of our favorite memories:
Duvall’s 40th Celebration
On March 21, 2018 we celebrated a major milestone: 40 years of catering to Charleston!
To celebrate, we threw a tented affair for 500 of our longtime clients, local vendors, friends and family, where we showcased our culinary and design talents. It was an honor being able to celebrate alongside Peter Milewicz, one of the founding partners of Duvall .
Our celebration was held at The Bend, 20 acres of waterfront property overlooking the Ashley River, just down the street from Duvall Headquarters. The North Charleston location is special to us because we are committed to bringing the azaleas back to Azalea Drive.
Every aspect of our party paid homage to our past, our present, and where we are headed in the future. We showcased some of Duvall’s first recipes and unveiled new menu items in one night!
Photos by Tumbleston Photography
The Stray Dog Society Jamboree
The Stray Dog Society provides annual support to The Citadel through creating excitement around Citadel events. Their social events and professional opportunities cultivate relationships within alumni in the Charleston area. Every year their highly anticipated Jamboree kicks off The Citadel’s Homecoming weekend. Over 1,000 joined us to celebrate another year of The Citadel.
This year we helped The Stray Dog Society develop their theme of “Passport to Party Around the World”. We featured cuisine from all over the world with small plates inspired by the Lowcountry, Spain, Italy, Jamaica, Mexico, Thailand, Greece, Japan and France. It was a fun opportunity for us to create custom menus and design food station décor to showcase each country’s unique cuisine.
With a liquor ice luge, a crazy awesome party band and delicious food; who could ask for a better party?!
Pro-Am Jam
Pro-Am Jam is a yearly fundraising event where guest enjoy hospitality, entertainment and golf at the Daniel Island Club. It was founded by Denny Hamlin, Mark Bryan and Denis Gallagher. The three joined forces to raise money and awareness for three charities that share a common bond for helping children. In its first six years, the event has donated over $1.3 million – providing educational scholarships for students in financial need, funding resources for Cystic Fibrosis research at MUSC Children’s Hospital and creating access to music education for youth in the Charleston area.
We had the pleasure of providing the floral and decor for the event. The crisp blues, whites and golds
were the perfect accent against the gorgeous greens of the Daniel Island Club’s golf course and marsh
views.
Photos by Adrienne Cooper Photography
AFFA Gala
The Alliance For Full Acceptance (AFFA) held their Annual Gala at the Gibbes Museum of Art on Friday, November 16th, featuring cocktails, dancing, a silent auction and spectacular cuisine from our culinary team here at Duvall.
For 20 years, AFFA has been the voice and face of the LGBTQ community in the Lowcountry. Their mission is to achieve equality for the LGBTQ community, uniting to eliminate prejudice based on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.
Duvall has a long history of supporting the LGBTQ community in Charleston. We were excited to cater this year’s AFFA Gala as a culmination of our efforts supporting the community through Charleston Pride and Beau Magazine.
Our founders, Peter “Stephen” Milewicz and Dan “Duvall” Stephens were a loving, creative couple who knew how to throw a party. We have loved ALL love since Duvall’s establishment in 1978 and are proud to carry on their legacy.
New Ownership
This October, we also welcomed anew member of the Duvall Family – Dave Byron.
Dave purchased Duvall Catering & Events from Steve and the two will work together through the end of 2019 as Dave gets to know Charleston and Charleston gets to know Dave.
Steve and Dave’s friendship formed as fellow members of an esteemed invitation-only group of top caterers, Leading Caterers of America. Over years of attending LCA conferences together, they bonded over a mutual affection for the hospitality industry. Dave is founder and president of Best Impressions, a Charlotte (NC) catering company and brings 29 years of experience to the Duvall family.
“I hope to honor Steve (as well as Peter Milewicz and Dan Stevens) and continue the Duvall legacy of
providing true Charleston hospitality,” says Dave.
Thank you to all our clients, industry vendors and employees for making 2018 such a memorable year.
We look forward to another amazing year of catering to Charleston in 2019!
