Enjoying a sun-kissed strawberry ushers in summertime like no other fruit. Like the belle of the ball, strawberries can stand alone, but nothing beats strawberries dipped in fresh sour cream and then in dark brown sugar. April through June is the prime time for strawberry picking in South Carolina. Eating a strawberry brought in by boat, train, hovercraft, flying carpet or by other means of transportation during other times of the year from other countries, although strawberries may be in season in that hemisphere, rarely does this exquisite fruit justice.

HOMETOWN: Norristown, Pennsylvania
JOB: Executive chef and chief operating officer at OMBRA Cucina Rustica

QUESTION: What is your comfort food?
ANSWER: Sandwiches.

Island resident and soon-to-be college graduate George Hirsch Jr. has completed three years of creating, testing and photographing original recipes for “The College Man’s Cookbook.” The cookbook is broken down into ten chapters and in addition to original recipes for snacks, appetizers, soups, stews, chowders, sandwiches, wraps, tacos, dinner, and sides, it also offers recipes for salads, late night snacks, and of course desserts for the college man’s sweet tooth. 

MAKE WATERMELON JERKY!

Slice a quarter of the melon into 1/4 inchstrips or thinner. Cut off the crescent-shaped rind portion from those slices. Make watermelon chips about the size of regular tortilla chips. Put the chips into your dehydrator for 8 1/2 hours, then enjoy!

“A man taking basil from a woman will love her always” according to Sir Thomas Moore, both a Renaissance man and a saint — and he may actually have something here. And did he know that in ancient Rome, basil symbolized love? Here in the New World, basil has become a staple in our herb gardens and is featured on menus everywhere.  

HOMETOWN: I grew up in Rochester, New York, but have lived on Hilton Head Island for 27 years.

JOB: I have owned Express Restaurant Delivery since 1995.

HOW DOES IT WORK?: It is a delivery service that brings freshly made food from 20 of Hilton Head Island's best local restaurants right to our customers’ houses, condos, timeshares or hotels. We deliver island-wide and our average delivery time is 45 minutes to an hour, depending on traffic and preparation time by the participating restaurants.

The RBC Heritage is a fantastic excuse to throw a great cocktail party. Just remember, a spectacular soiree takes more than just excellent drinks. The food must be on point as well. To help turn your Heritage cocktail party up a notch, we reached out to six catering experts for recipes that are both easy to make and guaranteed to please. 

We asked a few master mixologists to invent the perfect cocktail for the 2016 RBC Heritage Presented by Boing. Here is what they came up with:

Not feeling inspired to hop on the turmeric train? You're going to all be alone at the station because turmeric is hot, hot, hot — but not spicy. Until recently, it was lumped in with other spices, the ones that atrophy on our spice racks. Touted as an anti-inflammatory, we not-so-secretly expect that something that is supposed to be good for us may taste medicinal or remotely like cardboard. But used in small quantities, turmeric adds flavor and beautiful color to everyday recipes for smoothies, veggies, curries, rice, meats, poultry, fish and even desserts.