2015 Food Bloggers of Canada Conference Thoughts

This past weekend I was blessed to be in Montreal to attend my second Food Bloggers of Canada conference.  It definitely was a different experience for me as this year I was lucky enough to be on the volunteer crew.  Some may not consider that lucky but I did.  I love being behind the scenes and helping others enjoy their experience.

So here are my thoughts.  Just like last year I am going to split my posts, this week will be the words as they are burning in the front of my mind and need to be written down.  This will be a long post because there was a lot to digest for me.  Next week will be the photos of the food and fun.

Because my life has pretty much been in upheaval for the last month I hadn’t really given much thought to the conference, to be honest.  It was always there in the future but I couldn’t quite focus on it because of all of the things I needed to do before I got there.  I knew where I needed to be, I knew I was going to be fed, and I knew I was going to have a pillow under my head at the end of the day.  Other than that I was ready to work and that was all that mattered to me.

And then the day came, I was on my flight to Montreal.  It was a very early day so I made sure to sleep as much as I could on the plane to prepare me for the upcoming day.  And I’m glad I did because we were working right away, as soon as we got to the hotel.  That day is like a flash to me.  Making new friends and getting to know each other while stuffing bag after bag with all that amazing swag.  It’s a blur of burlap and books and lots of lifting.  Then in the evening we shared a meal together and enjoyed each other’s company in the quiet before the storm.

Selection of plates from The GaZette in the Westin Hotel Montreal. On the left is Albacore Tuna, pea puree, kimchi, marinated fennel, soy reduction. Top right is Gnocchi Carbonara with lobster, green peas, parmesan, quail egg and truffles. Bottom right is Beets, coppa, figs, pumpkin seeds, goat cheese, watercress, smoked bread croutons with honey vinaigrette.

The next day was similar in fashion as we got ready for arrivals and workshops.  There was lots of lifting and lugging of swag bags and props.  In fact before most of you picked up your swag bags my Fitbit was buzzing at 10,000 steps at 2:30 pm.  Between the first two days of physical labour and the last two days of sight seeing my Fitbit was very happy with me.  I think it funny that I may have been the only food blogger at this conference that actually lost weight!

And then we were there, it was Friday night cocktails, show time.  The rest of the conference just flew by after that.  So instead of walking you through everything blow-by-blow I just wanted to talk about the lasting impressions.  Last year my post was about three words.  The take away from this year is three thoughts.

The Maple Leaf Cocktail at the FBC 2015 Opening Gala Cocktail Reception.

We are all going to be talking about Taking the Leap, of course, because that was the theme that Melissa and Ethan set-out for the conference.  What was definitely defined was that those leaps will be different for each of us.  Some of us may be on the verge of those life defining leaps and some of us may be on just a little bunny hop.  Whatever it is, jump, move forward, challenge yourself to take the next step.

I loved that Ethan and Melissa asked us all to write down a goal we could achieve in two months and stick it in an envelope with our address on it.  It will be interesting to see how that works out for everyone when they are mailed in the new year.  I thought it was a brilliant and totally non-threatening way to set a goal for yourself. I mean, who’s going to keep you accountable more than, well you.  I hope everyone took the opportunity to do their homework and fill out that goal.

The second theme is one that I talked about last year but I think it really is what these conferences are all about anyway and that is connection.  This year is no exception.  It was my great joy to meet up with some friends that I made last year and spend time with them.  That even applies to friends from my own city.  We are always so busy with what we are doing that we don’t get a chance to sit down and actually talk to each other.  I also made a couple of new friends and really found out about them and what makes them tick.  All of these connections are so valuable to me.

Finally getting to see my friend Nicole from Culinary Cool again. These connections are so important.

But what is really important this year is how we take all these connections and work together.  We all have a place in this crazy blogosphere world we are in and we all bring something different to the table.  How do we support each other to make us all stronger?  What does that look like in your city, province and country?  Melissa and Ethan have helped us out and given us this community to talk about it.  Now how do we carry that forward?

So I know this post is already really long but I wanted to talk about one more thing.  On the last day, the very last session, I received my definition of purpose, at least for the next little while.  In a session talking about moving from a hobby blogger to a professional blogger Ayngelina Brogan said it is ok to be a hobby blogger.  Then it hit me, that is where I am and it is ok that that is where I am.  That session combined with all the others made me think though.  Ok, I am hobby blogger but I am going to be the best hobby blogger I can be.  Put your best forward, even if it is your hobby, be professional.  Such good advice.

Again, I want to say thank you to Melissa and Ethan for putting on a stellar conference.  Le Westin was amazing and there was so much thought and detail put into everything.  Thank you to all of the sponsors.  Without them none of what we did in Montreal would be possible.  The speakers and sessions were inspiring, all of them. Even though Casey probably blew everyone’s minds talking about SEO he fit right in and gave us so much to think about.  So thank you all.  A special thank you to Beth, Sondi, Christina, Ariel, Sandra and Shauna, our team.  In the quiet moments it was special to learn about you and your kids or dogs or wherever you are in life.  And of course all of you participants, it was so fun to see your enthusiasm and smiles every day.  Ok, the gush fest is over but I needed to say all that.

So now that I have that out of the way stay tuned next week for some more photos of food and Montreal.  I had a quick flip through and I don’t have too many but what I have I am going to share with you.

The Calgary crew that was at FBC 2015. Ginni from the Spicy Eggplant, she just moved to Toronto last month but we still consider her from Calgary. Bernice from Dish’n’the Kitchen, Fareen from Food Mama, Merry from Merry About Town and of course me. It was great to get to spend time with all of these Ladies.

2014 Food Bloggers of Canada Conference – Three Words

I can’t believe that last week was the 2014 Food Bloggers of Canada Conference.  This was a trip that I had been planning for and looking forward to for so long and it came and went in a blur, as I knew it would.  So it’s a week later and where am I?  Life is fully back to normal but while I have been sitting at my desk crunching numbers or watching my son play soccer, my mind has been buzzing with everything I heard last week.

Before I go any further let me be honest, there will be no food mentioned in this post.  Even though I ate some delicious meals and received amazing swag from our generous sponsors, the conference overall was so much bigger than that.  I need to discuss ideas before I talk about food.  There are three words that keep rising to the top, that keep making me think.  They are connection, authenticity and vulnerability.

Before the conference even began I thought about what I wanted to accomplish.  It was important to me to make face to face connections with bloggers and sponsors that I had been chatting with on social media.  I was intentional in this purpose and I am pleased that in this one goal I had for myself I was successful.

And of course some of my favourite moments came from connections I made that were unexpected.  We are so lucky to belong to a community that are open and welcoming.  I shared hugs with many of you, people I have never met but with who I share a common bond of food.  One of those hugs was even worthy enough for a tweet!

Connection was MY goal for the conference but Melissa and Ethan (the organizers of the conference) had another goal.  Whether it was intentional or not this is where my second word comes in, authenticity.  As I flip through my notes and reflect back on the sessions there was a common thread.  It didn’t matter if we were talking about writing a cookbook or the business of photography the same theme was there.  Who are you?  What do you stand for?  Be yourself!  I think we all know these things but what a great reminder.

And the best way to demonstrate that was by bringing us the dynamic duo that is Thug Kitchen.  I’m not the only one who didn’t know what they were all about before the conference but because they were coming I checked them out.  Yes, their blog is heavy on swearing but after meeting them and speaking with them that is how they are and that is how their passion for their food comes through.  They are real and true.

And as a side note, Michelle and Matt were so gracious.  They took time to speak with everyone and were genuinely interested in what we all had to say.  They fit right in with us and I know that when I cook their recipes in my kitchen it will feel like they are with me.  That’s how we should all be.  To know who we are and share ourselves with our readers, authentic.

And that leads me to my last word, the hard word, vulnerability.  The last session of the conference really brought this home to me.  Another blogger I didn’t have a lot of experience with, Ashley Rodriguez, was sharing how it’s ok to let yourself be vulnerable when talking in your blog.

And then there was that one photo that brought me to tears.  Those of you who were there know I’m not talking about her dirty kitchen photo but that intimate one of her and her husband sharing a plate of cookies.  If you want to see what I’m talking about you will have to wait until her new book Date Night In comes out.  That one beautiful image captures so much and prompts me to think of many things.  But if you narrow it down, the lesson for myself is can I let myself be vulnerable enough in my blog to tell you a good story? A story that you can relate to as well as I related to that one intimate photo?  I don’t know how well I can achieve this but I am sure willing to try.

Thank you to Melissa, Ethan and all the volunteers that helped to put on this amazing conference filled with not only blog lessons but life lessons.  And thank you to all of you bloggers and sponsors that made a connection with me.  I’m afraid to mention any of you specifically for fear that I will leave anyone out.  You all really made the weekend for me.

For those of you who stuck around to read all of that, thank you.  I promise my next post won’t be so heavy and move back to the topic of food.  After all I have to tell you about all the yummy Vancouver treats.

But before I go I have to share one photo with you that just makes me smile.  It comes from my friend Fareen over at Food Mamma who was smart enough to bring a selfie stick!  This picture sums the whole conference up for me, thanks everyone!