The last weekend in July we attended out 1st EVER food blogger conference, right here in River City! It was so much more than we expected - 3 days full of great blogging information and inspiration. This year's theme was Farm-to-Fork and where else in the whole wide world could we do that in any other place than right here in Sacramento. We are SO lucky to be surrounded by an amazing agricultural region producing an abundant variety of fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses, wines and much more. You name a food and you can bet that the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys produce it.
And, did we mention THE FOOD? Let's just say that from the moment we walked in until the moment we walked out, we never went hungry! We sampled some of the best food made in Sacramento from well known restaurants to artisan food crafters.
This is the first part of our 3 part post on the conference showcasing what we saw, what we ate and why we're heading back next year! P.S. We're the lucky ones who get to attend in our home town again next year!
Our Keynote speaker for the first session was John Ash, an nationally recognized chef and food writer - "Father of Wine Country Cuisine." He had wonderful stories of meeting great culinary icons, like Julia Child and MFK Fischer. He spoke about 'ethical food' and how diversity is what's more healthy where buying local is so important. And, even if your garden is small he implored, "Grow something!"
Next up was a panel discussion with local Sacramento bloggers about growing your blog business. It was a great discussion for bloggers interested in branching out into their communities and using their blogs for community outreach. Really showed how a passion for food can become a passion for helping your community.
Next up was the Taste of Sacramento Culinary Fair, Expo and Gift Suite...Did we mention THE FOOD? I've been to some conferences in my day, but nothing compared to this event! Basically, all these great restaurants and brands shared their favorite fare and libation. Here are just a few of the yummy things we 'sampled' to our hearts content! Local About A Bite confectionery sampled some amazing little treats that were BIG on flavor!
Lindsay Olives celebrated their 100th year with us! We just couldn't say 'no'!
Okay, so basically there was this table with these bags and all this stuff...So many great things to sample...California almonds, pistachios, figs, walnuts and so much more!
Day 2 started with some great sessions including Lifestyle Foods, Farm to Glass and Tea & Dim Sum. We learned that life is short so eat well and exercise. We learned that the oldest apple tree in California is 140 years old. We learned to sample (ha!) some AMAZING cider. And, we learned that tea is fermented (I didn't know that...I don't drink much tea)!
The day ended with this AMAZING dinner hosted by the City of Sacramento. It was so hot during the day, but the delta breeze started its way to us about mid-meal. It was so beautiful and so elegant. Made us very proud of our Farm-to-Fork Capital on the Sacramento River. We'll let the pictures tell the story...
Day 3 was a short morning before we all headed back home with a few sessions that peaked our interest: Learning About Corporate and Professional Blogging and #Sipping Social Trends. The latter giving us some much needed (IMO) inspiration for taking our blog to possibly a new or different level of creativity. We're hoping that showcasing the libation a bit more will help elevate our baking and our posts.
We're so excited to get back to blogging...It's been hit and miss for us as it's been a busy few years for the both of us, but we've never left our blog or our followers! And, look, Jacqueline made some very important connections with our new favorite cider brand: Gower's Heirloom Ciders. I'm so lucky to have her as my blog partner...
Stay tuned for more cool stuff in Post 2 of #IFBC 2016!
Cheers!
Jacqueline and Ellen
Disclaimer: These are solely our opinions and we were not directly compensated for these posts. However, we were asked to publish 3 posts about our experience to qualify for a discounted rate on our conference fee.
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