14 November 2011

For the Love of Food - Our First NZ Food Bloggers Conference

The weekend finally arrived after months and months of planning, much thanks goes to Alli over at Pease Pudding for making our very first NZ Food Bloggers Conference actually happen.  Yes, a few of us chipped in to help but it was Alli who really made it all happen. We've all enviously followed tweets and read blogs about all the wonderful experiences of bloggers at various conferences around the globe and finally we had our very own inaugural NZ Food Bloggers Conference this past weekend...and it was fantastic.


For me it started on Friday as some of the Wellington food bloggers started arriving in town and 4 of them were staying at Casa Cardwell, i.e. my place, a food blogger slumber party if you like.  So good to finally meet face to face and put the social in to social media.  The wonders of the twittersphere spilling in to reality.  And all so easy and comfortable as you really do feel that you already know each other through chatting about all things food on a regular basis in 140 characters.  Who would have thought what 140 characters can lead to? So on Friday evening Domestic Exec, Gniwordon, AtDownUnder and Mrs Cake got to get to know each other face to face over a little anti pasti and glass or 2 of rose.  



Saturday dawned with the sun trying very hard to make an appearance and it did every now and then. We head out in our own little convoy to The Tasting Shed in Kumeu. Convoy being the safer option given I lack the sense of direction gene completely! Way out west in the the countryside, well I guess not quite way out as only about a 30 minute drive from the city.  However, you do feel well away from the city with all the green fields and vineyards.


After registering, catching up with people we knew, meeting new food bloggers and receiving our over flowing goodie bags it was time for the first session of the day with Andrea from So D'lish to try and educate us all a little on the technical side with web design and optimisation, she makes it all look so easy! That was followed by Jaco Swart talking about social media before a caffeine fix and a beautiful spread for morning tea.



Refreshed and revived Alessandra spoke to us, with her always refreshing honesty, about writing for different media types: books, blogs, magazines and private clients.  How very different they all are!  So good to be able to have a realistic perception of what is required if you want to pursue writing professionally. Next up was Emma from Our Kitchen, Fisher & Paykel's blog.  How envious we all were that Emma gets to blog about food as part of her day job!! If anyone knows of any other jobs like that going....


The sun made one of its appearances for lunch and we all back over to the Tasting Shed for some really delicious food, not to mention interesting!  To start smoked paprika spiced almonds, marinated olives and warm bread with olive oil. 



Then the plates just kept coming...Braised and rolled pigs head, kohlrabi remoulade, sweet and sour carrot - yes I ate pigs head! Also romesco marinated chicken thigh, Israeli couscous, parsley and harissa, prawns, cider, pickled shallots and garlic puree and on the side mushrooms, garlic and herb butter, crispy shallots and balsamic onion, roasted beetroot, red onion, green beans, radicchio, feta and walnuts and triple cooked potatoes with garlic and rosemary...so golden, crispy and delicious as only potatoes can be. I would certainly like to head back to try some of the other delights on the menu..twice cooked pork belly, fennel and smoked apple and not to forget dessert...there are some churros calling my name.



For the afternoon we were treated to a lively Q&A panel and then a presentation from Pacific Harvest...seaweed posts will definitely be making an appearance.  As we were at a vineyard only right that there was a little wine tasting and the Coopers Creek Pinot Noir was especially good.

To finish off the afternoon a photography workshop with Bron Marshall...which has inspired me to revisit my 'real' camera to develop my photo skills rather than relying on easy tap tap tap of my iPhone.


There was only one way to finish off a great day and that was with more food chatter, good food and wine at Cook The Books. As always mountains of delicious food....the miso corn cakes and the green sauce as delicious as ever.  That sauce really is quite exceptional. 



Well that wasn't quite the end of the evening.  I thought it only right to introduce my guests to the best cocktails in town.  Very handily a 2 minute walk from Casa Cardwell. The best cocktail in town in Onehunga???  Well actually yes...at The Bramble, just down Onehunga Mall...seriously!  So we finished off an amazing day with a little dessert in the shape of cocktails...the classic Bramble for Julie, Tiramisu for Rosa, Lemon Meringue Pie for Christina and for me Sticky Date.  To give you an inkling of just how good here is what was in the Sticky Date...Date syrup, brandy, Grand Marnier, butterscotch schnapps, orange juice, nutmeg and orange zest...what's not to love, it really was a sticky date pudding in a glass.

A wonderful weekend, inspiring and so many highlights but the best was meeting and getting to know other food bloggers...what a fantastic bunch of people.  I am now looking forward to lots more culinary adventures and next year's NZ Food Bloggers Conference.....



For more thoughts on our conference...
A big thank you to all the bloggers that made the conference possible, to all the attendees who made it such a fun, and to our sponsors for their generosity:


The Tasting Shed
Cook the Books
New Holland Publishing NZ
Kohu Road
Coopers Creek
Loaf
Cuisine
Hubbards

27 comments:

  1. Wow, I'm so jealous. Sounds like you all have an amazing weekend.

    I wish I could have come too, but with exams on Thursday and Friday, it just wasn't going to happen.

    Here's hoping for next year!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Awesome! Loving hearing all about it :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey, must give you a +1 for the refreshing honesty! hahahaha, pity they don't let me do more +1 but consider it done for the pics and the report!!

    Ciao
    A.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love to read about it. I bet you all had had a great time!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love your write-up - it was a great day! Lovely to meet you Mairi :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Great overview of the day and yes, meeting everyone was the highlight!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great recap' of the day Mairi !
    Was truly lovely to meet you !

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great day meeting fellow food lovers and bloggers, and eating some truely delicious food. feel all inspired and ready to try out some new techniques with my camera, and try out my reflector that I won ! Great to meet everyone and look forward to keeping in touch and hopefully set up some more get togethers over wine and food (of course) Ingrid

    ReplyDelete
  9. Amazing. Sounds like you had a great time. Lovely photos too.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Wonderful account of the day Mairi
    It was fantastic to meet you and I love iphone photography, it's easy, quick and captures that all important "defining moment" as Henri Cartier-Bresson would say ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thanks again Mairi for hosting me and the rest of the Slumber Party gang, I really had a great time! I'm determined to find somewhere in Welly like The Bramble because damn those cocktails were absolutely stunning. Also - any joy on being able to post the recipe for those corn and miso cakes? That would be a new level of heaven if I could have them in my life again. Give us a shout if you feel the need for some Wellington foodieness, therey's always a spot here for you to crash! xo

    ReplyDelete
  12. @With Love, Mags Absolutely you must come next year...maybe some food adventures in Welly before then!

    ReplyDelete
  13. @Emma Galloway Thanks Emma,,,would have been great if you could have been here too :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. @Alessandra I am all for honesty Alessandra...it gets me in to trouble too!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. @Arfi Binsted Hi Arfi...it was great! Can't wait to see you on the weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  16. @Lesley Hi Lesley, yes so good to meet everyone, hope it is not too long until the next time.

    ReplyDelete
  17. @Vanille Thanks Vanille,,,,hope to catch up again soon :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. @Vanessa and Ingrid Opera Absolutely! Will have to get a date in the diary for the tea party!!

    ReplyDelete
  19. @El Thnaks El, it really was an amazing day. We thought it was about time we had our own conference after reading so much about others!

    ReplyDelete
  20. @Bron Thanks Bron...iPhone will continue...but you've inspired me to get used to the other camera too!

    ReplyDelete
  21. @choey Your welcome Christina..it was so much fun! Will get on to that recipe for you!! And hopefully not too long before I make it to Wellington!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Great post, Mairi. It was lovely to finally meet you in person, funny because it felt like I already knew everyone there from reading blogs/twitter/etc. Can't wait till next time!

    Love your photos of the food, too :)

    ReplyDelete
  23. Wow, Mairi! What a fantastic weekend! It's wonderful you could all meet together and share your love of food and community. Such a special (and delicious) experience.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Excellent write up Mairi, it's so nice to read over the events of the day when I was so pre-occupied on the day ;o)

    ReplyDelete
  25. @milliemirepoix Thanks Mika, so lovely to meet you too...certainly can't wait for the next one!

    ReplyDelete
  26. @Hannah Thanks Hannah...it was so much fun all food people just tend to be so lovely! Maybe make it over your way one day!

    ReplyDelete
  27. @peasepudding Thanks Alli...all down to you! Looking forward to the next one!

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...