‘Simply Steamy’ Seattle

My fingers are back once again, clicking furiously away at the keyboard as if possessed, eager to give a brief re-cap of my experience at the International Food Blog Conference. While I’m sure many of you have seen the tweets and heard about the now infamous ‘goody bag’, I’m not sure if it truly conveys the single most exciting thing about the event – the ability to meet other people who are as interested in food as I am.

This was my first time meeting a group of food bloggers in person. As I watched people filter out of the hotel on that first night, faces emerged that seemed familiar. Suddenly, my mind froze and the realization that I remember people by their blog names (and not their real names). It’s embarrassing to go up to someone and ask, “Are you Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy?” … but I did it anyway.

Within minutes, I was surrounded by Pinch My Salt, Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy, Cooking with Amy, Recipe Girl, The Daily Spud, The Well-Tempered Chocolatier, Wild Yeast, Plumpest Peach, and Simply … Gluten Free. And, later in the night I also met Hedonia and Orangette.

Throughout the weekend, I continued to meet both new and veteran bloggers, so many wonderful people who I’d never heard of before. Sadly, I was ill-prepared and without a single business card to hand out (note to self: order business cards).

Although I can be quiet and well-mannered, I do have the ability to make lasting impressions so maybe the business cards weren’t entirely necessary after all. From the photo above, you’ll see one of my favorite moments — a brief encounter with Jaden (SteamyKitchen.com) and Elise (SimplyRecipes.com). All I can say is that it was late at night and at my request, these two wonderfully lovely women gave me an excellent photo-opp in bed.

I miss everyone already and look forward to meeting again. I’m still updating my Twitter account to make sure I’m following everyone but should have that done by tomorrow. It was a pleasure meeting you all!

If you are a food blogger and would like to attend a conference, BlogHer recently announced BlogHer Food ‘09 which will be later this year in San Francisco. I’m registered for it and will come prepared with business cards! (but still open to jumping into bed for photos!)

And now, a few thank-yous are in order:

THANK YOU to Foodista!
The thoughtfulness and attention to details were evident and I appreciate the experience you created for us. I hope you’ve all been able to catch up on your sleep now that the conference is over. I cannot imagine all of the effort you must have expended to make this event happen. You rock!

THANK YOU to all of the speakers!
Thank you for taking the time to share you thoughts and insights on this wonderful thing called ‘food blogging’.

THANK YOU to all of the sponsors & partners!
From the Sur la table 20+lb goody bag filled with every imaginable kitchen gadget (and, oh yes, that 8″ Shun chef’s knife) to the daily treats left at our seats, the gifts were obscene and truly amazing.

The food and drink throughout the event constantly surprised and impressed. I don’t want to single out any one restaurant or purveyor since each one made an outstanding effort to share with us their specialties: Seastar Restaurant & Raw Bar, Bakery Nouveau, Stumptown Coffee Roasters, On Safari Foods, Taylor Shellfish Farms, Boom Noodle, Spring Hill Restaurant & Bar, The Herbfarm, Six Seven, Seattle Caviar Company, BOKA, Dry Soda, Northstar, Black Sheep Creamery, Mt. Townsend Creamery, Estrella Family Creamery, Willapa Hills Farmstead Cheese, and Theo Chocolate.

Yes, I did receive free food and gifts from many of the sponsors listed here, so I am overwhelmingly biased. Regardless of whether I enjoyed their products or not, I truly appreciate them seeing the value in sharing their talents with the food blog world.

And although they didn’t provide food, they fed us through knowledge and experience: Andrews McMeel Publishing, Words & Wine, and Kim Ricketts Book Events.