Love and Olive Oil

Food Blog Forum Nashville Wrapup

What started as a seed of an idea early last spring, grew into something more than we could have ever imagined. Months of planning culminated this weekend in a whirlwind of a day filled with fabulous friends, food, knowledge, and connections. It was an immense success and well worth the effort that it took to plan it.

Food Blog Forum, Nashville 2011

The fun began on Friday night with “A Taste of Tennessee” hosted by the Nashville Farmers’ Market. A dozen local vendors sampled their wares, from Loveless Cafe and their out of this world fried chicken and biscuits, to Perl Catering, who made what just might be the most delicious bite of spaghetti squash I’ve ever eaten. Olive & Sinclair brought a sneak peek of their newest products, buttermilk white chocolate and smoked brittle (omg). Corsair Artisan distillery offered a lovely blood orange and gin cocktail. I’m not a lemon-bar kind of girl but the lemon bars from O.Liv Body Bar made me happy from the inside out. Bathtub Gin’s preserves are always creative, and while I didn’t catch what exactly their little tomato jam-pastry bites were called, I may have eaten a few. Just a few. And cheese. Because I love me some cheese (and Kathleen at the Bloomy Rind never disappoints!). For dessert? Gotta get a Goo Goo Cluster (me? I love the peanut butter one best!)

While I’m not a beer drinker or a slaw-eater, the souvenir beer glasses that Yazoo had made just for us were, like totally awesome, and Mista Dale’s spicy slaw was something I can definitely get behind. I AM, however, a wine drinker (albeit a beginner), and found the blackberry wine from Grinder’s Switch quite delightful. Who says Tennessee isn’t wine country?

The market house is so pretty at night. Even more so when it’s full of good friends, both old and new.

Chef Demo by Arnold Myint

We were also treated to a chef demo by the always entertaining Arnold Myint. Assisted by the lovely Grishma, Arnold prepared some delicious dishes including lentil tacos and pumpkin soup. Um, yum?

Food Blog Forum, Nashville 2011

Saturday, bright and early. After a near epic disaster involving some coffee makers and non-functioning power outlets (lesson: don’t EVER get in the way of food bloggers and their coffee), the real event began.

Food Blog Forum, Nashville 2011

A packed house. 94 of us in all. The fact that each and every one of them went home with a door prize really says a lot about the generosity of our sponsors. I really felt like Oprah. You get a toaster! And you get a toaster! Everyone gets a toaster! (or KitchenAid, or cookware, or some other nifty kitchen gadget or gift). But enough about parties and prizes… we did some learning too.

Food Blog Forum Nashville - PR Panel

The lovely Amanda, Jaden, and Arianna talking candidly about PR and working with brands. It was wonderful to hear about PR from multiple perspectives, both bloggers AND brands, and the session offered some great insight into how we all can get the most out of working with each other.

Food Blog Forum Nashville - Recipe Development

Listening to Kelly and Alison, you’d think they had been working together for years. But in fact, they hadn’t met before this event. Such beautiful women with so much information to share.

Meanwhile, Jenny and Amanda were upstairs talking about Blogging Etiquette. You know those times when you wish you could be in two places at once? Yeah. This was definitely one of them.

By that point, the collective rumble of our stomachs was pretty darn loud. Luckily, there was deliciousness on wheels waiting for us outside at the Food Truck Court!

Nashville Food Truck Happy Eating

Happy Eating served up some fabulous japanese treats. The mongolian beef tacos were especially scrumptious. And the caramel pocky ice cream? Don’t get me started. It’s life changing.

Nashville Food Truck Riffs Fine Street Food

Always a favorite, Carlos and BJ of Riffs were there serving up their twist on Bahn Mi sandwiches and Shrimp & Grits. You know I love shrimp and grits. Jaden even called it the best grits she’s ever had! I have to agree.

Nashville Food Truck Yayo's OMG

And last but certainly not least, Yayo’s OMG! (stands for Original Mexican Gourmet, but the exclamation certainly fits the food as well.) Serving up mini pork and chicken taco bites and freshly fried tortilla chips with some sort of magic sauce. They were gone so quickly I’m surprised I had time to snap a picture. *crunch*

Nashville Food Truck Yayo's OMG

Back inside. Where the food coma could easily have gotten the best of us…

Food Blog Forum, Nashville 2011

Leave it to Todd & Diane to bring energy to a dark room right after lunch. I don’t think there was a droopy eye in the room. Their passion and creativity are incredibly contagious. It wasn’t hard to leave feeling energized and inspired.

The final session of the day was a unique one, which gave attendees the opportunity to speak more personally with our speakers and experts. From photography to recipe development, blog design (from yours truly!) to SEO and social media, the choice of topics was impressive.

Phew. Tired yet? Considering I had been up since 5:45am I should have been, but there was so much energy in the room that the exhaustion simply disappeared. I was running on excitement and adrenaline.

Good thing, too, because we weren’t done yet.

After Party at the Patterson House

The Saturday after-party took us to The Patterson House, one of Nashville’s coolest bars, even cooler now after so generously hosting this event for us. They really outdid themselves.

After Party at the Patterson House

Those, my friends, are fried goat cheese balls. I could have sat in a corner with a plate of these and been perfectly content. But I didn’t, because I was too busy further reinforcing the friendships that until now, had only existed on twitter. If I had to take just one thing from this event, that would be it. The people. The beautiful, inspiring, smart, sassy, creative, wonderful people.

After Party at the Patterson House

The lovely ladies of Food Blog Forum. From left: Beth, Leah, Jaden, some bum, and Diane.

This event did not happen on it’s own. It took many many hours to make everything come together as well as it did. I couldn’t have done it without my partners in crime, Beth and Leah. I don’t know if I’ve met anyone more organized than Beth. She was always one step ahead. And Leah? Let’s just say that we wouldn’t have had 2/3 of the prizes and swag that we did without her. Not to mention a place to put it all.

I also want to, once again, thank our sponsors for supporting this event.
OXO, Just a Pinch, Calphalon, Girard’s, Nashville Farmers’ Market, The Patterson House, Magazines.com, Chicago Metallic, Swissmar, Whole Foods Market, Farm Flavor, Kitchen Aid, Artisan Books, The Loveless Cafe, Lindsay Olives, Goo Goo Clusters, Amco Houseworks, Edgeware, Nashville Toffee Company, WestBend, Jarlsberg, Beanilla, Lifetime Brands, and Betsy’s Cheese Straws.

And finally, thank you to everyone who came. From those who traveled from afar, to those who just drove down the street. Your smiles and enthusiasm are what made it all worthwhile. I hope you went home with a new motivation, a bit of inspiration, and a whole lot of swag. :)

Enough with the sappy Oscar acceptance speech… I’ve got a surprise for you!

For those of you who couldn’t make it to the event, whether you had other commitments or it was just too far away, are probably feeling kind of bummed out right now. I know, I’ve been there. Seeing all the tweets and photos and posts about what a fabulous event it was, it’s easy to feel left out.

Would a super duper, stuffed to the brim, bag of swag make you feel any better?

I bet it would!

Since we ended the day with a few extra swag bags, we thought we’d give you the opportunity to win one for yourself! Not to brag or anything, but this just might be the best swag bag in the history of swag bags. Trust me.

And I’ve got two of them to give away.

Food Blog Forum Nashville Swag Bags

You know you want one.

***GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED***

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397 Comments

  1. i would like to see panels about cooking healthy food under a reasonable budget

  2. I’ve even liked you on Facebook!

  3. I would love to see panels discussing whole foods, local foods, and cutting back on processed foods/mainstream foods. Additionally, I’d love to see a class on healthy cooking for families that have picky eaters :)

  4. facebook fan of yours

  5. I’d love to see more ideas on cooking simple, delicious meals for the entire family. Love this giveaway!

  6. Lindsay – am soooo bummed we couldn’t be there last weekend; i broke a tooth last week, had it crowned but was still having trouble by Friday – there just was no way to make it happen – and i did try to see if anyone wanted our tix, but no last minute takers. Watched the twitter feed during the weekend and it looked like a fabulous event – CONGRATS TO ALL OF YOU!!

  7. facebook fan

  8. I’d like to see food photography + food styling at a higher level. I know how to shoot in manual, I know how to use my camera. But I would love to hear Helene, Matt, Todd & Diane or people at that level host a seminar. I went to Boulder with Todd & Diane over the summer and it was…amazing!

    The whole trip looks fabulous!!

  9. I think it would be interesting to hear about how to promote your blog and how to gain sponsorships from companies that you actually use. Great blog! Thanks!

  10. How to transition into print.

  11. I’ve never been to a food blog conference but I guess I would like them to cover healthy and yummy food substitutions and things of that sort because these days, it’s all about eating healthy but not sacrificing the same great taste!

  12. Lindsay! It was an amazing event. TO be honest, I loved every second of it. Great job ladies! And a note to other readers: You should not miss to enter the giveaway..it is full of surprises!

  13. & I’m a fan on fb!

  14. I tweeted!

  15. thank you for this recap! I soooo wish I could have been there but between coming down with strep throat, my mom coming into town, and my wedding this weekend it just wasn’t meant to be :( I would loooove to win a swag bag! I would also love to attend sessions on cooking with local items, or ingredients that mesh well together or are good substitutes.

  16. I’d love to see some sessions on increasing readership and marketing.

  17. I’m glad the event was so much fun! I wish I could have been there, but maybe next year :) I would love to take a class about canning! I’ve never canned before and I think it would be neat to learn the basics!

  18. Cooking with kids would be a topic I’d enjoy. Always trying to get my kids in the kitchen with me.

  19. I would like to see the topic of the proliferation of trendy food trucks that serve food that aint all that.

  20. And I follow on FB & Twitter! Oh. Fried Goat Cheese? Just show me the way!

  21. i’d love to see more about gardening and living off of your garden – particularly in small spaces like urban gardening. that would be awesome!

  22. OMGosh! What fun! I don’t know that I could add anything, I would just Love to GO!

  23. I like you on FB.

  24. I would love to see more food blogging for preserving and maybe some small gardening. I know almost nothing about these topics and would love an accessible approach to get through the panic.

  25. I’d like to see the discussion on how to start a blog and finding your niche. And I’m so sad to miss this event, especially since it was right here in Nashville, but I couldn’t leave my newborn for the whole day.

  26. For the past few years, I’ve bought many cookbooks, but only from pre-1970, and some that go back to the ’30s, becaus, first, it’s interesting and fun to see how things have changed and also because for many foods, it’s the only way to find out the plain, simple basic way to make something — like an old-fashioned roast beef that does not include vanilla, curry, bananas, rose water, and bacon-flavored ice cream. How about discussing that? I think there’s a movement toward vintage cookbooks.

  27. I’m already a fan on FB!

  28. I would be interested in learning the basics of beginning a food blog.

  29. I seriously thought about attending this one as my boyfriend took a trip to Nashville this past spring and raved about Yazoo. We have some of their fun glasses in our collection.
    Seeing your wrap up really makes me wish I would have considered it a little more.
    The one thing I would like to see more of at food blogging conferences are sessions about writing. I have seen a few, but it would be great to have something more intensive.

  30. I’d love to see more about how we can change our culture into one that enjoys food not only for it’s deliciousness but how it helps benefit us nutritionally.

  31. I would love to see more food blogs – and at a conference, the training and discussion around – issues of food justice, and how we can marry that with our love of food and cooking. For example, I absolutely love to cook at home, and most of my blog is about that, but my day job is all about fighting hunger, reducing waste & engaging communities around food. I think it would be great to tie in issues about food security, sustainability, health & access, etc with our adventures in cooking and eating. To me, the two are inseparable, and I think it’s really important to bring cognizance to more people about how the foods we eat affect the world around us, and how we can be more conscious eaters.

  32. Grilling made easy and maybe some unique grilling ideas. Pizza on the grill has been a huge hit at our house!

  33. As a newish blogger I’d love to sit in on a talk about increasing readership. Food styling and photography as well! Wish I lived closer to Nashville so I could have grabbed a swag bag in person!

  34. I like you on FB

  35. And I’m already a fan on FB!

  36. I tweeted!

  37. I’d love to see more cultural focus on conferences, not just foods in the US but how international cultures influence blogs; maybe even bilingual blogs and such….

  38. I tweeted – @almostveganchef

  39. I’d love to see health vs. indulgence addressed, since I don’t think I’m alone in constantly struggling to maintain a balance between the two! :)

  40. I would love to hear more about healthy food to prepare in advance and freeze so you can make food (for dinners or parties) and freeze to have on hand. Or maybe ways to make different meals through the week with similar ingredients so you can buy in bulk without wasting, if that makes sense. But really, anything about super yummy but HEALTHY food would always be welcome!

  41. I wish I had known about this – I would have LOVED to go!

    my favorite topics at food conferences include photography and cooking demos.

    photography classes are always busy / popular / full, so if I were organizing, I would try to have several options. :)

  42. I’m entering again, cos I follow you on Facebook!

  43. I’d love to see cooking demos, by food bloggers themselves! Thanks for the great giveaway!

  44. Great giveaway! I would love to see home preserving covered.

  45. It would be nice to have more coverage of vegan and vegetarian cooking.

  46. I would love to see more recipes that are healthy but promise to be packed full of intense flavors. Also, I ALWAYS love a homemade gift blog too!

  47. I would love to see more cooking in blog conferences, like the charcutepalooza demo at blogher food. Most food bloggers love to cook, and cooking together is more fun!

  48. I would like to see more blogging about cooking for one or dining out for one. i love to eat and cook healthy food but i hate to waste! I am a fan on facebook and just started following you on twitter! Thanks.

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