International Food Bloggers Conference

Wow.
This is the agenda for the IFBC to be held in New Orleans August 26 to 28.

Agenda

We've received many proposals for sessions and speakers during the last three months. We also sent an agenda survey to thousands of friends, current, and past attendees. All of those ideas were considered and incorporated into the following agenda. Our goal is, and has always been, to create sessions that are relevant and meaningful to all of you. Please continue to share your thoughts and opinions!

Friday August 26, 2011

Location: Hotel Monteleone, New Orleans, LA

1:00 – 2:15 Registration

2:15 – 2:30 Welcome

2:30 – 3:45

• Sustainable Eating with Poppy Tooker (Food)
  If you've ever asked yourself what you could do to make the way you eat more environmentally-friendly, this session is for you! Hear from a panel of bloggers, farmers, and environmental activists as they share how our choices about the food we eat and the places we shop for it, affect our environment and our future. Topics will local and seasonal eating.

4:00 – 5:15

• Food Styling & Photography with Andrew Scrivani (Technology)
  Make the most of the camera and equipment you have! From point and shoot cameras to DSLRs, you'll learn how to use your camera to take high quality photos in a range of ways. Successful food photographers will share what they know about creating beautiful photos- everything from picture composition to equipment to optimizing your setting will be covered in this snap happy workshop!

5:30 – 6:30 Meet & Greet Wine Hour: Sip a fantastic offering of Wines of Navarra and get to know your fellow bloggers.

6:30 -- 8:00 Taste of New Orleans: Bites prepared by some of NOLA's favorite eateries!

• The Grill Room, Sylvain, Ste. Marie, Langenstein's, La Petite Grocery, Sucre
• Wines provided by Jordan Winery

Suggested nighttime activity: Walk through the French Quarter and explore the legendary NOLA nightlife!

Saturday August 27, 2011

Location: Hotel Monteleone, New Orleans, LA

9:00 – 10:30

• Session Option 1: Recipe Writing and Development with Dianne Jacob, Kate McDermott, and Deb Perelman (Writing)
  Learn important elements in recipe writing for blogs and print media. Includes a recipe writing exercise. Leverage your blogging into a career in recipe development. Experts will offer insight into the do’s and don’ts of the industry and how to find clients.
• Session Option 2: Writing about Food and Culture with Pim Techamuanvivit and Jamie Schler (Writing)
  Food is central to traditions, holidays, socializing, and families. In this session, discuss how food varies across cultures and families and how these differences and similarities affect our relationships to eating, cooking, and writing about food.
  

10:45 - 12:00

• Session Option 1: Removing One Food and Finding Many Others with Shauna James Ahern (Food)
  Are you gluten-free? Vegan? Vegetarian? Is someone you love on a specialized diet? Sometimes the exclusion of one food type can lead you to discover various others. Removing gluten may force you to explore new grains. Limiting animal products could allow you to explore unique vegetables you might not have tried otherwise. Hear from leading bloggers in each niche of food blogging discuss their diets, the best ways to write about them, and what it means to eat differently.
• Session Option 2: Marketing Your Brand -- YOU! with Marissa Brassfield and Barnaby Dorfman (Writing & Technology)
  Making a living as a writer requires creativity, a commitment to building a business, and the acumen of marketing your brand – you! Learn how to maximize your marketing and branding efforts, explore the business potential of your writing career, and come out with the secrets to building and maintaining an audience.

12:00 – 2:00 Lunch: NOLA Classics!

• Parkway Bakery, Red Fish Grill, Royal House Oyster Bar, Riverfront Restaurant, Pier 424 Seafood, Pierre Maspero's

2:00 – 3:00

• Session Option 1: Video with John Mitzewich and Joe Girard (Technology)
  If a picture says a thousand words, what does a video say? Sharing recipes, reviews, and musings through the written word is one thing, but maybe producing short, effective video content is even better. Learn the basics of using video (YouTube, Rouxbe) to add another dimension to your blog or website from the pros!
• Session Option 2: Blogging Your Values with Robin Goldstein and Gwen Pratesi (Writing)
  What if the time and energy you devoted to blogging were channeled toward charity? What if a blog were a platform for social change? These are topics we'll cover in this new media session featuring leading activists who effectively spread their message and support their cause online.

3:15 -- 4:30 Cooking Demonstration with Chef John Folse!

Conference Break

6:30 – 8:00 Wine & Food Pairing Dinner & Keynote presented by Chef John Besh

• Wines provided by Winebow

Suggested nighttime activity: Walk through the French Quarter and explore the legendary NOLA nightlife!

Sunday August 28, 2011

Location: Hotel Monteleone, New Orleans, LA

9:00 – 10:30 Blogger-Led Interactive Sessions- These sessions will be run as open discussions between attendees and speakers. Interaction encouraged.

• Discussion Option 1: Food Science with Scott Heimendinger (Food & Technology)
  From chemical composition to development and production, packaging, sensory analysis, technology, and even molecular gastronomy, the science behind the things we eat is fascinating. Hear from a panel of food scientists and top food product designers as they analyze food from a scientific standpoint and shed light on food's transformation from 'field to fork.'
• Discussion Option 2: Time Management with Merry-Jennifer Markham and Marissa Brassfield (Writing & Technology)
  Are the most successful bloggers the ones who spend hours upon hours at the computer? Is there such a thing as a blog-life balance? Of all the benefits of blogging, perhaps the most common drawback is how time-intensive it is. Between writing and photographing and then editing and formatting, it's easy to feel overwhelmed. Other aspects of life can suffer. This session, led by a panel of successful bloggers, will show you the ways to manage your time more effectively.

10:45 – 12:00 Blogger-Led Round Table Discussions- These sessions will be run as open discussions between attendees and speakers. Interaction encouraged.

• Discussion Option 1: Eating on a Budget with Amy McCoy (Food)
  It's a common goal to save and spend money more wisely. And as a food blogger, it's natural to want to try all the latest products and prepare a slew of different and expensive dinners. Hear from savvy, budget-conscious bloggers about how they mastered clipping coupons and embraced canning, preserving, and buying in bulk. You'll learn how to feed your family and yourself while spending less, and how to keep food blogging from breaking your bank account.
• Discussion Option 2: Dine & Dish: The Etiquette of Reviewing Restaurants with Sean McCusker (Food & Writing)
  Say you're a reviewing a restaurant, do you make it known upon arrival that you'll be sharing your meal experience with, say, millions of people online? And what constitutes proper etiquette when it comes to free fare, snapping photos, and asking for a kitchen tour? Hear from all sides- from restaurant managers and owners to bloggers and professional critics- as they openly discuss the ins and outs of restaurant reviews.

12:00 – 12:30 Conference Finish

They also have a Conference 11 to 13th November, in Santa Monica, with a similar agenda.

Registration for either conference is US$350