McKinley Till and Palmetto Peach Catering Take Home Top Honors at Palmetto Palate

The Palmetto Palate was back again for the 17th year to showcase the best in the South Carolina food scene. McKinley Till of Palmetto Peach Catering was named the 2026 Top Chef by a panel of judges at the South Carolina Farm Bureau Federation's annual event on Thursday, July 16 at the South Carolina State Museum. Till was among ten local chefs and restaurants participating in the event.

Till's winning dish featured local mahi mahi wellington with an ACE Basin blue crab mornay sauce.

This year's Top Chef was chosen by local celebrity judges: Joel Lourie, President of Lourie Life and Health; Rachel Henley, Working Lands and State Advocacy Specialist for Virginia Farm Bureau; and, JEB Wilson, State Executive Director USDA Farm Service Agency.

"The Palmetto Palate celebrates local food grown by South Carolina farmers and this year's Top Chef honored that tradition in a very delicious way," said Harry Ott, SCFB President. "These are some of the best chefs in the country, and the event and excitement continue to grow each year because of that."

In addition to the great food, attendees have the chance to bid on items in the silent auction. County Farm Bureaus and other contributors across the state donate items unique to South Carolina, the outdoors, cooking and local artwork. Money raised from this year's event went to support the South Carolina Farm Bureau Land Trust.

Other chefs who participated were from Black Rooster, Blue Marlin, Dupre Catering and Events, Hall's Chophouse, Manchester Quail, Mediterranean Café, Peculiar Pig, Savage Craft and The War Mouth. Sallie's Greatest and Black Tie Bartending provided drinks for the evening.

South Carolina Farm Bureau is a grassroots, non-profit organization that celebrates and supports family farmers, locally grown food and our rural lands through legislative advocacy, education and community outreach. The organization, founded in 1944, serves over 85,000 member families in 47 chapters. For more information, please visit www.scfb.org.

View all photos from the event on our Flickr.