Eat Drink Blog 2012
I spent the last weekend in Adelaide attending a Conference for Australian Food Bloggers. This post will cover all that happened, sprinkled with lots of photos, with a focus on my personal thoughts about the event.
Eat Drink Blog has been running for 3 years, with the first conference in Melbourne, the second in Sydney and the third here in Adelaide. Aside for travel and accommodation, attending the conference is completely free, meals included. 150 food bloggers applied and 80 of us got in.
The event kicked off on Saturday morning with a tour of Adelaide Central Market in groups of 10. Being a weekend, it was vibrantly busy there.
But we still got to speak to the vendors, listen to their philosophy, and sample some of their fare (that’s black garlic we’re peeling). Poor stallholders… some of them were a little taken aback by our furious photo snapping, ha ha! The yoghurt from The Yoghurt Shop, in particular, was exceptionally good.
Quiet and slumbery as this city is, Adelaide Central Market is pretty big and with great variety. What stood out for me was this Mushroom Shop, how nice to have a stall completely devoted to mushrooms! They even stock wild French mushrooms, airflown from Perigord.
We were next split into two groups and taken on a winery tour. One group went to Barossa Valley and the other to McLaren Vale. I have a soft spot for South Australian reds, so it’s really nice to be visiting an actual vineyard from the region.
I went with the McLaren Vale group… to D’Arenberg winery, where we got to have a hand at studying and tasting three different shiraz, and then creating our own blends.
It was seriously like a chemistry class, with suction pipettes, funnels, dry ice… and lots, lots, lots of wine!
I partnered up with Adelaide-based Kimberley (Fruit Salad & Mixed Veg), and we got so lost with the tasting and wine mixing process that we named our resultant blend “No Idea Red”, ha ha!
The session finished with lots of empty bottles and dozens of self-created blends from us. Lunch was then served as bite-sized morsels served atop wine barrels in the courtyard outside.
So there you have it! My own self-created wine.
So I hear people say how food bloggers wear many hats. We are food writers, photographers, editors, publishers… and now I can haughtily call myself a winemaker too! Ha ha ha!
We spent the evening in style, with a fine dinner, under open skies, at the pool deck of Adelaide Hilton.
KIS Ginger Snow Cones | Lamb on a Spit Sliders
I’m a little gawkish socially, so I pretty much kept to the people I knew, meaning my fellow Melbourne food bloggers Ashley, Winston and Daisy. Wish I could’ve spoken to more of my fellow delegates, but I’m just too quiet in large gatherings.
Eat Drink Blog committee co-chairs Amanda McInerney (Lambs, Ears & Honey) and Christina Soong-Kroeger (The Hungry Australian) gave the opening address.
Empanadas | Juka w Lime & Garlic Mayonnaise
I was pretty impressed that the South Australian Minister of Tourism also attended the event and gave a welcome speech. She seemed to indicate that all the growers and producers in South Australia know that we are here and they are very excited about it.
Grilled Corn w Cheese & Lime | Grilled Piri Piri Chicken
Smokey Beef Ribs, Chipotle Sauce
The meal was prepared by Adelaide Hilton’s executive chef, Dennis Leslie. It was quite Mexican influenced and the menu was designed for us to nibble at slowly and chat as the warm evening skies turned into a balmy night. I really liked the grilled corn and piri piri chicken.
Quesadillas | Arroz Cubano
It was a pretty splendid evening, spent comfortably amongst ‘my kind’… listening to the constant patter of camera shutters as the platters of food (quite endlessly) arrived.
Haighs Chocolate Fountain, Churros, Beerenberg Strawberries | Tres Leche Cake
Selection of Woodside Cheeses
I almost couldn’t fit in dessert, but ended up consuming quite a few churros… the triple milk cake was also quite an unusual eat.
The conference proper started bright and early Sunday morning in the kitchens above Adelaide Central Market. But first… we dived into this breakfast spread, courtesy of Red Door Bakery.
US-based Diane Jacobs (Will Write For Food) delivered a breathtaking keynote address about ‘Food Writing’. She spoke about how food bloggers have turned the food publishing world on its head. How it’s just so different to be able to write about whatever you want. That food bloggers now can have a reach that’s bigger than magazines and newspapers, we have become key influencers.
Diane also walked us through the ethics around sponsored posts, how you need to be uncomfortable about what you’re getting for free and what that means. She advises that on this front, we should seek to go forward in the most joyous and ethical way possible.
Session two was a discussion panel by Shai Coggins and Rebecca Varidel (Inside Cuisine) about ‘Building a Community’. Rebecca got quite emotional during this session, it was so touching… And I was quite bowled over that Shai Coggins has been blogging for 13 years. Back then we’re talking about a nostalgic era of Geocities and IRC…! Whoa mama!!
The later part of the morning was broken up into a series of workshops that you can choose from. This was the (very entertaining) ‘Home Shoot’ workshop run by Peter Georgakopolous (Souvlaki for the Soul). So yes… it’s possible that I’m a closet recipe blogger, lol!
Even though Adelaide Central Market was closed, several stallholders turned up that Sunday afternoon to provide us with a pop-up lunch spread! Special thanks to all of them.
It was a hot 36ºC day, so my appetite was small. I was happy enough with some seafood paella, a slice of hand cured, artisanal black pig jamon…
… and some of the finest cooked ham I’ve ever eaten, from O’Connells Meat.
Dessert was shrouded in a cloud of dry ice: mini pancakes with strawberries, molten chocolate, chocolate yoghurt. I had two mountainous serves of it. So much for having a small appetite. ; )
The afternoon session began with a dynamic and incredibly fascinating talk by Geoff Kwitko (The Startup Club) about ‘SEO / Metrics / Google Ranking’. I wish he was given significantly more talk time. Here’s a photo of Geoff from dinner the night before… lol, taking a snap of an entrée.
In a nutshell, Geoff suggests that SEO should be important to all bloggers as it usually makes up 50% of your web traffic. Just by making a few adjustments towards better SEO, you could get a remarkable rise in traffic. He made things simple by summarising that ‘Google likes genuine, natural friendships between similar, relevant sites’. So between us fellow food bloggers, linking to each other (via blogroll, links in-post) is a great way to increase domain authority, making you score higher on search results.
So what are you waiting for, fellow food bloggers? Let’s link up! :D
The next speaker was a lawyer (Paul Bullock, Anthony Mason Chambers) who covered legal matters such as ‘Defamation & Copyright Laws’. We then had an interesting Q&A session about ‘Ethics and Working with PRs’ with Christie Connolly (Fig & Cherry) and Ed Charles (TomatoMelbourne), chaired by George Ujvary (The Foodologist). What transpired was very interesting, but is beyond the scope of this blog post.
We broke for a brief afternoon tea with a vibrant selection of sweets by Natasha Stewart from The Cupcake Table. The next session (pictured above) with Simon Bryant and Tammi Jonas (Tammi Tasting Terroir) was again very engaging, covering the ‘Ethics of what we Eat’. Both of them believe that eating is an ethical issue, you can’t write about a delicious pork dish without considering whether it came from an unhappy pig. Tammi suggests that food bloggers should write ethically… “it’s about the lives of animals, it’s about the health of the planet”. Simon adds by saying that as food bloggers, our reach is huge, and with that comes a responsibility. Tammi ends by saying that mindful eating is the most joyful form of eating, the joy is actually making the right choices. I fell in love with this incredible discussion, and if there’s anything I took home from this conference, it would be a rekindling of my interest in slow food and ethical eating.
… then again, that very same evening, I went and feasted on live fish (held in tanks) and (presumably) battery chickens from a Chinese restaurant in Adelaide’s CBD. *sheepish laugh* But… oh well… babysteps…. :D
The final session of the conference was a panel between Helen Yee (Grab Your Fork), Peter (Souvlaki for the Soul) and Sandra Reynolds ($120 Food Challenge) about ‘Opportunites from Blogging’. Each of them had a very different story to share about where they began, and how they got to become the successful bloggers that they are now. They were stories about persistence, perseverance, learning, dedication, luck and hardship. For bloggers with big dreams about going somewhere, these stories were quite inspiring, although Sandra still advises that we keep our day jobs. They also suggested that each and every post you write is an opportunity for something, so we should never skimp on the quality of our posts.
We ended the conference promptly at 5pm with hasty goodbyes, many of us had to immediately catch the evening planes home. I’d like to thank the Adelaide committee for the incredible amount of work they have put into making this conference run so smoothly.
As for my fellow delegates, even though I did not converse with most of them, I could see that I was surrounded by a sea of brilliant minds… food bloggers with a soul and a vision. And I feel lucky to have been touched by each of their hearts and stories.
On the personal front, even though my blog has matured into a 2-year-old ‘adolescent’, I acknowledge that I do not engage and network enough to become something bigger than just a personal ‘photo-journal’ of shared food stories for a niche group of followers. From this conference, I will try to rethink about what I’m doing and where I want to be headed towards. And hopefully write more meaningful posts…
Oh! I wish I’d known that you were feeling a bit out of it socially, too! Great write-up, and beautiful photos! :)
Mary @ beyondjelly recently posted..New Shanghai, Chatswood Chase
Thanks so much Mary. Even though it was a by socially stressful, I still really enjoyed what I learnt from the conference! Loved the meaning behind your blog’s title! I’m glad you’re well now. =)
Great post and photos. I wish I could have some of that orange chocolate from D’Arenberg right now! ;)
Aga @ a matter of taste recently posted..Eat Drink Blog 2012
Thanks, Aga. and glad to have met you! That was such a lovely dessert served in the sun as we sat on the grass!
Oh, you versatile wine-making food blogger, you. ;)
I am the socially awkward type too and would’ve felt lost in a big event like this. Good thing you found some familiar faces!
So many things to learn, and so much good food to try… sounds like a weekend well spent. Plus I’ve always had a soft spot for Adelaide.
leaf (the indolent cook) recently posted..recent delights: spring, antojitos & cocktails, quinoa
Haha if you went to EDB too, we could’ve got lost together! ; )
Adelaide actually has its charms, I’m glad I visited.
It was such a pleasure meeting you and getting to hang out with you a little while we were at D’Arenberg. Thanks for sharing your story of the EDB2012 experience. It was a great weekend, meeting wonderful new people, and eating lots of fantastic food. You’ve captured it well. Especially with your great photos! :)
Shai Coggins recently posted..On the EDB2012 Experience + Notes on Building Blog Communities
A pleasure to meet you too, Shai! Loved your story and it was quite a pleasant afternoon we spent at D’Arenberg. :)
A great, detailed review of the weekend, bringing back so many good memories! Lovely photos!
Jane @ Shady Baker recently posted..In My Kitchen November 2012
Thank you, Jane. Looking back, it was such an intense (but lovely) weekend! =)
Oooh… brilliant post. I didn’t know this conference even existed. It looks amazing. I’ll definitely be applying next year. Thanks for filling us in. You have a brilliant and beautiful blog! Cheers, Helen,
Helen recently posted..France – Jour 18 – Part 1
You’re welcome Helen, and thanks so much for your kind words! Hope you will enjoy next year’s conference! I wonder where it’ll be held at?!
Wow, amazing photos! I would have been so awkward in that type of setting, like you I’m socially inept at times! But at least you met lots of new people :)
Catherine recently posted..Virginia Plain
Thanks, Catherine. I applied to go mainly because I really wanted to touch base with other bloggers. But turned out I was too shy to speak to many of them. However, in the end I still managed to get to know a few, and that’s great in itself. =)
Excellent summary of the conference. With its narrative photography, got a feel of what such conferences are all about. Gave me an insight, & what I like is that it broadens one’s outlook & there are matured experienced bloggers giving advices & it’s really up to an individual to reflect & see whether they want to improve or stagnate on blogging. Great article fatboo!
Thank you, mom. I’m one of those lucky bloggers who actually has support from the family. :D
Shame we didn’t get to meet, A great overview of a hectic but fun weekend! Love your photos too
Thank you! I didn’t even know you were there! Next time… ;)
It was lovely to meet you Bryan and was fun to work with you during the wine blending experience. When will you try your wine? I will host a tea this weekend. Perhaps I should share it then:)
I agree with you re more time for Geoff. I really enjoyed his presentation. He was funny but also informative.
Kimberley @ Fruit Salad & Mixed Veg recently posted..Eat Drink Blog 3 – Part 1 – Adelaide Central Market Tour
Hey Kimberley, our wine rocks, (I’m sure… *koff*…) =D
Sadly I had to leave it behind because I could only bring in 10kg of hand carry, hope the wine turned out well at your tea party!
All the best in your journey to NSW! :)
Thank you for writing such a detailed post! I also enjoyed the quality of light in your photos.
As a new blogger with a ‘baby site’ (only 3 months old) I looked on in envy and admiration as I watched the conference unfold via Twitter. I have so much to learn but I’m fortunate to follow in the footsteps of so many experienced and talented bloggers.
Good luck with the goals you have set for your blog. I look forward to seeing you achieve these over the coming months/years.
Thank you so much for commenting, Georgina. Your blog may be new, but as long as you enjoy what you’re doing, it’ll show up in your posts, and I’m sure it’ll take off! I learnt a fair bit from the conference as am trying to make a few steps to create a community! Appreciate your kind words. :)
Great review as always Bryan and I love your photos…how is it possible that you and i were at the same place at the same time taking photos of the SAME thing but hahaha yours turn out so much better!
I really think it’s time I upgraded to a DSLR! LOL
Even though you didn’t speak a lot of other Food Bloggers I still think it was a wonderful experience and gosh we were so WELL FED hehe
Daisy@Nevertoosweet recently posted..Central Market Tour – Eat Drink Blog 3 Part 1
We were definitely VERY well fed, hahahah!! You photos are still pretty good, you know? I think all you need is to try photo-editing a bit more? Time consuming, but worth the effort, in my opinion. Get Mr Bao to do it, I’m all for our sourcing my blog tasks these days. Heheh lazy boo… :D
Your pictures are amazing, and I am loving all these foodblogger posts from everyone on the EDB2012!! I like hearing everyone’s views on it, and seeing pictures of the same dishes throughout all the blogs :) This definitely was a fun experience for all the foodbloggers, glad you had fun :)
Tina @foodfortina recently posted..What’s to come – My food journey for the next 12 fun weeks :)
Thanks Tina, your feed must’ve been flooded with EDB food posts if you’re following lots of blogs! Hehe.. But it’s good to listen to different observations from everyone.
I personally don’t have the time to follow so many people’s blogs. Maybe if I blogged less, I can balance it out wig more time to catch up w other blogs! :)
Very, very awesome recap, Bryan!! And man I agree I am totally missing that ham by O’Connells!! Thanks for getting the name I’m so def gonna try and get my sister to take some back for me when she visits in Dec. I’ll let you know if she’s getting some and will ask you if you’d like some as well! And I’m so glad you guys took so many photos from the dinner at HIlton because I was totally busy pigging out and didn’t get a chance to, now I’m missing it so much! SO happy to have you there together at the conference, my Melb blogging buddy! =)
Winston recently posted..Eat Drink Blog 2012 Conference — Day 1 (in pictures)
It was so great hanging out with you guys in that setting, Wincy. I was pigging out too that evening but somehow managed (as always) to still take photos. Lols hardcore… =)
What an amazing and comprehensive round up! You summed it all up beautifully. I loved the experience our group had in the Barossa, but I would have loved to make my own wine! It was so great to meet you this weekend and I look forward to following your blog :)
Thanks, Amanda. I’m so sorry, but I have a ‘boy’s’ memory and I can’t remember if we met!! Aaaa.. So embarrassed! :)
I was also looking with envy at the barossa’s itinerary too, but we can’t be at two places at the same time, haha. Glad that we experienced this together, did you take home lots of new ideas from this conference? :)
Fantastic photo’s! And a very comprehensive run down of such a great weekend :)
Thank you. :)
thanks for such an excellent roundup of the weekend – and some truly awesome photo’s. Glad you enjoyed the conference.
Amanda recently posted..Eat Drink Blog 2012 is a wrap!
Thanks, Amanda. Can you believe I almost chose not to bring my camera?? :O
It was a very well organised, informative ad fruitful conference. Thank you so much for making it happen. :)
Let’s link up! No wonder you were asking about blog roll. you are on mine now!
penny aka jeroxie recently posted..Spatchcock and chorizo gumbo
Thanks so much for that. I did not know blog roll is sort of important until this conference! Good to make a few changes, and to create a community. :)
Great sum up of your time. Just rubs in in again that I didn’t have the foresight to attend as well.
Nic Crilly-Hargrave recently posted..Circa – from posh to Pub (Group)
Thank you. :) It’s quite an interesting, rewarding event. I look forward to seeing how it evolves over the years!
I share your shyness in big gatherings . I generally stick to those I know. I guess this is more common than we know. Unfortunately we didnt meet. Your pictures are fantastic
Thanks, Tania. Glad it’s not just myself.
And you know.. despite all our shyness, I have noticed that I’ve had a few friendly (and meaningful) conversation with new bloggers, be it during the conference, or after – in the form of blog comments and twitter. This, in itself, is good enough for me! :D
Lovely recap and fantastic photos.
Thank you! :)
Fantastic write up about the weekend and just love your photos. Look forward to stopping by regularly.
Glad I got in touch with you too, Catherine. Look forward to reading your stories. :)
Great photos and a seriously comprehensive post Bryan! It was lovely to meet you at the conference and looking forward to chekcing out more posts in the future
Forager recently posted..A taste of the NSW South Coast and Southern Highlands
Thanks for your kind words, Trina. I look forward to your future (foraging) posts too! Am now subscribed =)
Wish I had the patience and fortitude to learn about foraging. As of the moment, I’m only willing to do so if I know of a friend who’d take me along. I’m that lazy… ha ha!
Great post, Bryan – I really liked how personal this was. I’m glad you enjoyed the conference and took a lot away from it.
I wish we’d had a chance to talk properly then. I respect you being brave enough to talk about your shyness in large social gatherings – a lot of people feel like this so you are certainly not alone. But you had a great bunch of friends around you at dinner – I love all those guys – and it sounds like you all had a good time.
Next time I’m in Melbourne — early January — ‘ll arrange a dinner – and I do hope you’ll come along with Winston, Daisy, Ashley et al :)
Christina @ The Hungry Australian recently posted..Here and there
Thanks, Christina! To be honest, if you’d tried to talk to me in that setting, I’d be very reserved… (think one word answers)… ha ha ha!
But hey, I’m very keen on catching up when you’re in Melbourne, let’s arrange for that (together with the rest) via eMail! =)