2012 International Food Blogger Conference

Last weekend I attended the International Food Blogger Conference. The event was held in Portland this year, so I had no excuse not to attend. Still, I’m soooo glad I did. If you follow me on Twitter, you got a glimpse of the excitement, but here are a few of my favorite highlights:

1. Baryhte Specialty Foods Party

I was honored to be invited to a pre-conference event at the home of “Saucy Mama,” the founder of Baryte Specialty Food. Barhyte Specialty Food is a small family-run company in Oregon that makes gourmet sauces, marinades, mustards and more.

{Photos courtesy of Barhyte Specialty Foods} 

The Barhyte team transported us via fancy party bus to the home of Saucy Mama. She and the Barhyte team were incredibly generous hosts, and great cooks to boot! From cheese trays, BBQ beef sliders, poached salmon, hot wing chicken tarts, cracked pepper shrimp and more, Saucy Mama whipped up an assortment of mouth-watering food, using her drool-worthy sauces of course. I’m waiting eagerly for the recipes (especially the hot wing tarts, *hint hint*!).

{Photos courtesy of Barhyte Specialty Foods}

They were also kind enough to share some of their products with me. I'm very excited to try them each out. Mmm.

2. Bob’s Red Mill Tour

I’m sure most of you have heard of, or use, Bob’s Red Mill products. Bob’s Red Mill is a manufacturer specializing in unique whole grains, stone ground flours, cereals, baking mixes and more.

Although Bob’s Red Mill is a Portland-area business, I’d actually never made it to the facility until I was invited during IFBC. I eagerly took the chance, and I’m so glad I did. Bob himself ­– now 84 years young and still working full time – greeted us with a musical serenade and gave us the tour personally.

Bobs Red Mill is everything I thought it would be and more. I use a few of their products (we’re big fans of their oatmeal) and can say that they really are the highest quality. They are also *very* serious about their gluten-free facility and products, for those of you who have to worry about this sort of thing.

On a less serious note, please feel free to make fun of me and my new pal Stef, from Cupcake Project. We are definitely wearing hair nets in this picture. Cuuuute.

Bob’s crew was also incredibly generous, and gave us several items to take home and try for ourselves.

3. Generous Sponsors

Another highlight of the event was the amazing sponsor list. Brands including Moonstruck Chocolate, Rogue Beer, Kettle Chips, OXO, Organic Valley, Ninja Kitchen, allrecipes.com and MANY more were incredibly generous with samples and tastings. I had heard about IFBC’s “swag bags” – but the sponsors went above and beyond. It was so amazing to know that these companies value what the food blogger community does enough to support us in this way. So, thank you sponsors!

4. Rockstar Speakers

The speakers that participated were more than just experts in the food blogging community. They became teachers and friends. I'm very thankful for each of their time in and out of the sessions. So, here's my quick shout-out to them as well.

5. Bloggers

Finally, I want to say a note about my fellow attendees. This was my first food bloggers conference, and I being totally honest when I say that I didn’t have high expectations. I wrongfully assumed that the other attendees might be competitive and unfriendly – but I couldn't have been more wrong. I met so many incredible bloggers from all over the word, writing about food in truly unique and creative capacities. These bloggers are now my friends and inspiration.

Here are links to a few of them. I hope you’ll check them out.

A Stack of Dishes

Bake Your Day

Frantic Foodie

Purple Oven Mitt

The Busy Nothings

The Cupcake Project

The Gluten-Free Vegan

The Gourmet Housewife

The Kindred Kitchen

The Realistic Nutritionist

The Wicked Noodle

Since I had such a positive experience, I'm definitely planning on attending the 2013 IFBC conference in Seattle. Who's with me?!