Saturday, May 16, 2009

Report from IFBC Day One and Two

This weekend I was able to help out with the International Food Blogger Conference (IFBC) hosted by Foodista.com. Last night I attended the cocktail party that took place in the Beamis building near Safeco and Qwest field. The night was spectacular. For starters, Northstar wines was there with several delicious wines which were accompanied by Dry Soda at the bar. I tried the Vanilla Bean for the first time and it is my new love. Also got to try the Petit Verdot, which was a type of wine I’d never had before. So amazing! In addition to great drinks, Seastar’s Chef John Howie prepared a beautiful spread which included some sushi, which of course I sampled, and an oyster bar from Taylor Shell Fish. The night finished off with coffee from CaffĂ© Vita and Theo Chocolates which were specially made for each other. What a brilliant idea! Presenters from both companies as well as Onepot.org gave us the “Tale of Two Roasters” which lovingly described their collaborative efforts. Of course the highlight of the evening was hearing from esteemed author Renee Behnke and getting a peak at her book Memorable Recipes (psst…she blogs too).

This morning we made our way to the beautiful Sanctuary in West Seattle where the conference really got going. Starting the morning off with pastries from Bakery Nouveau and Stumptown coffee was really the way to go. Over the next couple hours panelists walked attendees and fellow bloggers through not only the process of turning a blog to a book but, perhaps more important, how to find your voice in writing/blogging. The panelists included bloggers, writers, publishers and more. The morning was truly inspirational and the attendees were clearly absorbed and in awe of what the panelists had to say. If you want to get a peak at what’s going on at the IFBC, make sure to checkout their website for a live web stream as well as podcasts and videos coming in the next week.

Not to be outdone by the night before, the lunch provided by a number of Tom Douglas restaurants was incredible. We were presented with an absolutely perfect salmon and salad from the Four Seasons’ ART restaurant, savory pasta and dessert from Cantinetta and a unique vegetable dish from Boom Noodle. There was also a sampling of artisan cheeses from Mt. Townsend Creamery and Willapa Hills Farmstead. I have not experienced a spread like that in a long time, maybe never. But no matter how amazing the food, the part I’ll remember to most was the excitement and passion of the IFBC attendees. Just being in the room you get a sense for how wholly they love food and sharing the experience with others. I saw old friends catching up, new friends closing mileage gaps and chefs who acquired new fans (including me).

I can’t wait to hear the report from our other Porter Novelli troopers who will be onsite the rest of the weekend capturing the amazing moments.

Ok…you caught me…I’ll REALLY remember the food too.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

so cool! I can't wait to hear all about the rest of the weekend too. Was there anyone blogging about food lovers trying to diet? :)