For days I’ve been mulling over how to write about the experience of attending BlogHer Food Conference in San Francisco last weekend. After looking forward to it for months, apparently I was having so much fun I took very few photos of people to help me remember everyone I met! I didn’t do much better on the food either (although I did manage to capture the perfect heirloom tomato salad above from Chez Panisse.) BlogHer Food was one of those surreal events where you meet such a huge number of amazing people in a very short time that it’s impossible to mention them all in a post like this. I’m going to share a few highlights, but if you were there, please help me write this post by leaving a comment with your thoughts.
I arrived in San Francisco on Thursday and spent that afternoon finding the perfect purse, with assistance from Caron, who was a great shopping companion. We shared lunch in Chinatown, and then that night we had an amazing dinner at Delfina with Sean and D’Paul. We did miss Amy, who had to cancel when her husband had an unexpected but very exciting work dinner to attend.
This less-than-flattering photo is an example of what happens when you’re relying on a waiter to capture your perfect restaurant experience, but I did want to show the evidence that on Friday I went to Chez Panisse for lunch with my new friend-for-life Grace Davis and my already-friend-for-life Christine. Grace came to BlogHer Food even though she is (gasp) not a food blogger, so it’s fun to read how she enjoyed her first food blogger experience, and she was amused when she saw how food bloggers get those restaurant photos. We did have a memorable lunch at Chez Panisse, which I’ll be sharing more about in a future installment of Friday Night Photos.
That night I had another great dinner (and this is going to be a recurring theme with the great dinners.) This one was at Bodega Bistro with Amy, Christine, Susan and Jeff, Garrett, Jennifer, Cheryl, Anna, Caron, and there were a couple more people that I know I’m forgetting. (Sorry! Please comment!) We missed Lydia who was stuck in the airport in Boston and got there very late that night.
The next day was THE CONFERENCE! The morning started out great since I had plans to meet two of my blogging idols for breakfast (Tea and Lisa) and even before they arrived I got to say a quick hello to Heidi, who I’ve wanted to meet for a long time. But then things started happening very quickly. I have to say the whole breakfast and welcome session was a blur of faces and hellos, maybe because I was nervous about speaking on a panel that morning about Food Blogging Best Practices with Alanna, Elana, Lauren, and Michelle. (See the links below for live-blogging if you want to see what we said!)
Then there was the now-infamous lunch, which you already heard more about than you ever wanted to know if you’re on Twitter. Even though I’m not a three-glasses-of-wine-with-lunch kind of gal, it looked promising when we sat down to the wine and a pretty tasty salad was quickly served.
What made the lunch infamous was the successive courses of Bertolli frozen pasta meals, served as if they were something special rather than something you might buy if you weren’t a food blogger. (For the record, I was on the planning committee for the conference, and the lunch choice was not something we had any say about.) Above is a photo proving the pasta was perfectly edible, and possibly even tasty by many people’s standards, but I do think having frozen food for lunch at a food blogging conference was a bad match. However, I also try hard not to be a food snob, and I thought there were some people who were a bit much with the righteous indignation over lunch. End. of. frozen. lunch. story?
Well, it would have been the end of the frozen lunch story except that the lunch was being pitched by Rocco de Spirito, who is either sexy or sexist depending on who you ask. I have to confess that after Rocco was so gracious about holding the get-well sign last year I’m becoming a Rocco fan, and clearly Abi and Liz above were not entirely immune to his charms either.
I spent the afternoon learning there were plenty of things I didn’t know about beginning photography from Todd and Dianne and what it’s like to be a professional photographer from Matt and Lara. The day flew by and before I knew it we were having the ending keynote where Elise, Ree, and David were sharing what it’s like keep on keeping on as a food blogger (and it was great fun meeting Elise’s parents, who I almost felt like I already knew from Elise and their cooking on her blog!)
If you’re exhausted, better take a big swig of Diet Coke because next there was a big cocktail party on the roof where the BlogHer folks were nice enough to let Rand and Bradley join the party and meet some of my blogging friends. For those who don’t know, my brother Rand and his partner Bradley are the design and tech team behind Kalyn’s Kitchen, and I was so happy they could stop by.
Now you may have heard that there was a very big party later that night, hosted by Jaden, Elise, and Ree, but before I could go to the party I had dinner plans to go to Contigo with Lydia, TW, Susan, Rebecca, Val, and Andrea. (Edit – Thanks to Susan who shared the photo of our group above, from left T.W., Susan, Rebecca, Lydia, Andrea, me, and Val.)
I can’t say enough good things about the amazing food at Brett’s restaurant and am already making plans to go there again in February when I’m going back to San Francisco with Mary and Jacque. Unfortunately it was too dark to get photos this time, as you can tell by the picture above, so the official (glowing) review of Contigo is still pending. I will say that we couldn’t stop ordering things and dinner went on so long we pretty much missed the party, arriving just in time to catch a few of the last people there, but reportedly there was dancing, chocolate cake, and wonderful drinks. (And thanks to Elise and Jaden for giving me a fabulous goodie bag even though I was so late!)
By Sunday BlogHer Food Conference was officially over but my vacation was still going on. First I had fun rehashing the conference at breakfast with Lydia on Sunday morning, and then my step-sister Karyn and her daughter Isabella picked me up to stay at their house. (This was after Karyn had swum across the channel from Alcatraz, and she was excited!) We had a fun day exploring the Ferry Building, where I shot photos of the mushrooms, followed by lunch at Yank Sing, which Karyn had introduced me to a few years earlier. That night was another amazing dinner at Vanessa’s Bistro in Berkley, which I’ll write more about another time.
Monday morning Karyn’s sister Bobbi drove down from Guerneville to get me so I could go there for the next two days. We stopped off in Healdsburg on the way, where I got some fun kitchen goodies, and then on the way to Guerneville I shot a photo of this colorful collection of tomatoes. I had yet another amazing dinner that night at Chef Patrick’s in Guerneville with Bobbi and her husband Rick. It was fun getting a quick look at Rick and Bobbi’s new house, and then on the way back to San Francisco the next day Bobbi helped me pick the perfect sunglasses to go with my perfect purse, so I arrived back in Salt Lake City on Tuesday night feeling very well-fed, well-dressed, and well-entertained!
In Spite of All The Amazing Dinners, People Did Learn a Lot and Here’s Where You Can Read All About It:
Thanks to the sponsors who help with conference expenses, BlogHer has livebloggers who take notes during each conference session and post them shortly after for other bloggers who can’t attend. Here is the Official Live-Blogging of BlogHer Food for anyone who’s interested in checking out the sessions.
I know I missed as many people as I mentioned in this recap, so if you were there (and especially if we managed to meet) please chime in with a comment about your experience at BlogHer Food.
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Thanks for blogging about the conference center food. LOL! I saw Simple Recipes, and no mention of the the conf food, and I was clicking around to other conf write ups, and no mention of the conf food. Thinking to myself as a food blogger, what do you serve a bunch of food bloggers at a conf? It can't be good, conf food is never good. Will anyone blog about the conf food? And you did.
Donna, thanks so much. I'm glad it was helpful. I really wanted to say things that other people could take home and implement if they weren't already doing them.
Stash, the New York event is a BlogHer conference on all blogging topics, not specifically about food, but still very, very worthwhile. I've been going every year since 2006 and always learn more each year. Go to BlogHer.com and click conferences to see the info.
I had heard there was going to be an event in NYC in 2010? If so, I'll put it on my calendar — given that I already live here, travel costs will be minimal. ๐ I'd have liked to attend the SF event but couldn't afford it unfortunately.
I'm a newbie to the blog-o-sphere, so I learned so much and "ditto" to everything you have said about the conference.
Your part of the panel presentation was the most helpful and informative of any presenter – Thank You, Kalyn, for your willingness to share your wisdom and experience. Your encouragement to all of us to help and support other food bloggers was so inspiring.
SGCC, wasn't the Contigo dinner just amazing. So great meeting you too.
Tom, it was so great to finally meet you after reading your blog for so long! Yes, more fine dining to come, hopefully before next summer. (My brother goes to New York on business all the time, and I always wish I could tag along!)
Susan, agreed, it was just great. Nice to see you and Jeff again.
Divina, I highly recommend it. The best BlogHer conference I've been to!
It was such a terrific weekend, wasn't it? I loved seeing you again and meeting so many people for the first. Good food, good friends. Can't ask for more, right?
Great recap, Kalyn! It was so lovely to finally meet you after all this time! Thanks so much for including me for dinner at Contigo. It was such a fun evening – a marvelous meal shared with wonderful people! You can't ask for more than that! Hope we can all do it again next time.
I've posted Part 1 of my BlogHer adventure, with more to come.
Maris, thanks. (The napkin was being used to "bounce" the light away from the food because there was too much glare. Not the greatest, but it did help!)
Elana, great to meet you too. Hope we will meet again since we live so close to each other!
Christine, absolutely. Or maybe I will come sooner than that by myself just for a foodie adventure! Whichever, you are invited (and Grace too!)
I must say, even though I thoroughly enjoyed the two meals I shared with you, and Grace who is such a vibrant person!, then with the other bloggers you've already mentioned for dinner, with the wonderful Amy as our host, I'm soooo envious of your dinner at Brett's! Can I crash your party in February? It was wonderful to see you again Kalyn! Hugs. Christine
Katrina and Jackie, sorry to have missed you! Next time.
Maria, thanks! So glad you enjoyed it. I thought you would learn a lot!
Grace, it is indeed a date for Zuni Cafe! Now I have to figure out how to get back to SF sooner than February! Yes, I think y ou are the greatest, and the friendship is definitely Bliss! So nice when it works out that way isn't it?
Cheryl, very fun meeting you after admiring your photos for so long. Yes, look forward to keeping in touch!
Kalyn, it was wonderful to share a dinner and a bit of conference time with you. I look forward to staying close touch online & to seeing you at future conferences. Thanks, too, for the link to my post. Much obliged!
Great recap of the conference and your time in SF. Glad you had so much fun. I did too! Here is my post: http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/2009/09/blogher-food-conference-2009.html
I really enjoyed your presentation. I could of listened to you all day. You shared so many helpful tips. Thank you for all of your hard work on the committee. The conference was fabulous and I can't wait for the next one!
Great recap. I was a the conference, but didn't get to meet you. Especially as I was going to dinner Friday night with Anna–and your gang, until I was invited to the Bertolli/St. Supery dinner and chose to do that. Saturday was crazy busy, full of lots of info and fun to meet so many people! I recapped my trip here: http://kevnkoi.blogspot.com/2009/09/it-bay-area-and-food-blogher-conference.html
Fantastic recap! I look forward to diving into the link list while I eat breakfast. I had an absolute ball—I was hesitant to go, and now am looking forward to the next event.
I feel as if I'm still recovering though–I'm non-stop exhausted.
Tartelette, great photos! It was so fun meeting you too. Thanks for all the camera advice and inspiration. I wish I could have gone to your panel.
Tea, that's just how I felt too. So many people I could have talked to all day and barely got to say Hi. I'm coming back to SF in February if you're still there.
Anali, great to see you too and I was sorry I missed your panel. That was the time slot when I wanted to go to all three of them!
Alissa, thank you! What a nice comment; really appreciated you taking time to let me know you're enjoying the blog.
Barbara, would have LOVED to see you there. I know, it's a rather long trip, sigh.
Lydia, indeed I knew where I'd be eating long before I even started to pack! Fun seeing you again my friend!
Italian Dish, you're welcome. It was definitely a great experience.
Andrea, Contigo is definitely on my MUST GO list for SF too. What a great dinner.
Janet, nice meeting you too. So many people and so little time to talk.
That was a tremendous recap! And I appreciate all of the wonderful links. I'm going to spend more time taking a look at all of the BlogHer Food stories. I agree, it was a wonderful experience (even with the frozen pasta lunch) and I left so inspired. I'm happy I got to meet you, even so briefly. You are indeed one of my main food blogger inspirations! I haven't posted my own recap yet, but just wanted to thank you! And I'll follow-up with some more Lebanese recipes to inspire you!
That dinner at Contigo was just fabulous, wasn't it? It's now permanently on my short list of restaurants to visit whenever I'm in SF. So great to see you again!
Thanks for the wonderful recap of the BlogHer Food experience. I'm so glad we were able to be part of the first of what's sure to be an annual event. And don't all food bloggers plan their meals before they plan the rest of their time in San Francisco???
I just want to say I love your blog. I found it a few months ago and it is the only food blog I follow. Your voice is comforting, your recipes always wonderful and your dedication to South Beach living admirable and inspiring. Thanks for being you. ๐ Keep doing what you're doing!
It was so great to meet you as well, Kalyn! I only wish there had been more time to spend with all these amazing bloggers I've been reading for years. That was the one drawbackโtoo many incredible people, not enough quality time to tal
It was great fun meeting you at the conference Kalyn! And OMG you are so tiny!! SB is paying off! Here is my recap of the weekend (well one of the three I have planned since I extended my stay until Tuesday). And yes, went to Contigo with Sean, Paul, Tea, Caron and Anita on Monday night and it was fantastic. So proud of Brett!
35 Comments on “Friday Night Photos: Food Blogger Fun at BlogHer Food Conference in San Francisco”
Thanks for blogging about the conference center food. LOL! I saw Simple Recipes, and no mention of the the conf food, and I was clicking around to other conf write ups, and no mention of the conf food. Thinking to myself as a food blogger, what do you serve a bunch of food bloggers at a conf? It can't be good, conf food is never good. Will anyone blog about the conf food? And you did.
love your blog, great pictures!
Donna, thanks so much. I'm glad it was helpful. I really wanted to say things that other people could take home and implement if they weren't already doing them.
Stash, the New York event is a BlogHer conference on all blogging topics, not specifically about food, but still very, very worthwhile. I've been going every year since 2006 and always learn more each year. Go to BlogHer.com and click conferences to see the info.
Jody, thanks.
Now I'm hungry again. If I keep going to food blogs, I'm going to get fat. LOL
GREAT PICS!
Sounds like you had a great time.
I had heard there was going to be an event in NYC in 2010? If so, I'll put it on my calendar — given that I already live here, travel costs will be minimal. ๐ I'd have liked to attend the SF event but couldn't afford it unfortunately.
I'm a newbie to the blog-o-sphere, so I learned so much and "ditto" to everything you have said about the conference.
Your part of the panel presentation was the most helpful and informative of any presenter – Thank You, Kalyn, for your willingness to share your wisdom and experience. Your encouragement to all of us to help and support other food bloggers was so inspiring.
SGCC, wasn't the Contigo dinner just amazing. So great meeting you too.
Tom, it was so great to finally meet you after reading your blog for so long! Yes, more fine dining to come, hopefully before next summer. (My brother goes to New York on business all the time, and I always wish I could tag along!)
Susan, agreed, it was just great. Nice to see you and Jeff again.
Divina, I highly recommend it. The best BlogHer conference I've been to!
What an exciting even to meet other food bloggers around the world. Hope to be a part of it next year.
It was such a terrific weekend, wasn't it? I loved seeing you again and meeting so many people for the first. Good food, good friends. Can't ask for more, right?
Feels just like it was yesterday! Great photos, and so nice to meet you in person. Looking forward to some more fine dining in the future!
Great recap, Kalyn! It was so lovely to finally meet you after all this time! Thanks so much for including me for dinner at Contigo. It was such a fun evening – a marvelous meal shared with wonderful people! You can't ask for more than that! Hope we can all do it again next time.
I've posted Part 1 of my BlogHer adventure, with more to come.
http://stickygooeycreamychewy.com/2009/10/02/the-lonesome-traveler-hits-san-francisco-part-1/
Maris, thanks. (The napkin was being used to "bounce" the light away from the food because there was too much glare. Not the greatest, but it did help!)
Elana, great to meet you too. Hope we will meet again since we live so close to each other!
Christine, absolutely. Or maybe I will come sooner than that by myself just for a foodie adventure! Whichever, you are invited (and Grace too!)
I must say, even though I thoroughly enjoyed the two meals I shared with you, and Grace who is such a vibrant person!, then with the other bloggers you've already mentioned for dinner, with the wonderful Amy as our host, I'm soooo envious of your dinner at Brett's! Can I crash your party in February?
It was wonderful to see you again Kalyn! Hugs. Christine
Hi Kalyn,
I love your photos, they are fabulous! It was so fun to meet you ๐
xo Elana
Great recap! I emailed you about your first photo ๐
Katrina and Jackie, sorry to have missed you! Next time.
Maria, thanks! So glad you enjoyed it. I thought you would learn a lot!
Grace, it is indeed a date for Zuni Cafe! Now I have to figure out how to get back to SF sooner than February! Yes, I think y ou are the greatest, and the friendship is definitely Bliss! So nice when it works out that way isn't it?
Cheryl, very fun meeting you after admiring your photos for so long. Yes, look forward to keeping in touch!
Kalyn, it was wonderful to share a dinner and a bit of conference time with you. I look forward to staying close touch online & to seeing you at future conferences. Thanks, too, for the link to my post. Much obliged!
I will personally take you to Zuni Cafe, one of the original "nouvelle" restaurants of San Francisco. Deal? Deal.
Thank you for your lovely words about our friendship. I think you're wonderful, I think you think the same thing about me and thusly, it's Bliss.
Love,
Grace
Great recap of the conference and your time in SF. Glad you had so much fun. I did too! Here is my post:
http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/2009/09/blogher-food-conference-2009.html
I really enjoyed your presentation. I could of listened to you all day. You shared so many helpful tips. Thank you for all of your hard work on the committee. The conference was fabulous and I can't wait for the next one!
Great recap, Kalyn. I so wanted to meet you at the conference but never managed to find you. Hopefully next year! Thanks for including my link.
Great recap. I was a the conference, but didn't get to meet you. Especially as I was going to dinner Friday night with Anna–and your gang, until I was invited to the Bertolli/St. Supery dinner and chose to do that. Saturday was crazy busy, full of lots of info and fun to meet so many people!
I recapped my trip here:
http://kevnkoi.blogspot.com/2009/09/it-bay-area-and-food-blogher-conference.html
Hi Steph, Still feeling rather exhausted here too! Hard to get back in the routine after a trip like that!
Carolyn, Zuni Cafe is a place I must get to sometime! Added to the list for next trip.
Hi Kalyn, great recap! I'm so happy to have met you and am really enjoying reading everyone's responses to the conference.
My story of our SF adventure is here: http://umamigirl.com/2009/09/norwegian-gold-cake-with-sour-cream-ganache.html
My sister and I loved our first trip to Zuni Cafรฉ so much that I decided to give away the cookbook, too.
P.S. That is one hot-looking stuffed zucchini recipe in the next post. Almost got too distracted by that photo to write this.
Fantastic recap! I look forward to diving into the link list while I eat breakfast.
I had an absolute ball—I was hesitant to go, and now am looking forward to the next event.
I feel as if I'm still recovering though–I'm non-stop exhausted.
xoxo steph
Laura, thanks for sharing!
Tartelette, great photos! It was so fun meeting you too. Thanks for all the camera advice and inspiration. I wish I could have gone to your panel.
Tea, that's just how I felt too. So many people I could have talked to all day and barely got to say Hi. I'm coming back to SF in February if you're still there.
Anali, great to see you too and I was sorry I missed your panel. That was the time slot when I wanted to go to all three of them!
Alissa, thank you! What a nice comment; really appreciated you taking time to let me know you're enjoying the blog.
Barbara, would have LOVED to see you there. I know, it's a rather long trip, sigh.
Lydia, indeed I knew where I'd be eating long before I even started to pack! Fun seeing you again my friend!
Italian Dish, you're welcome. It was definitely a great experience.
Andrea, Contigo is definitely on my MUST GO list for SF too. What a great dinner.
Janet, nice meeting you too. So many people and so little time to talk.
That was a tremendous recap! And I appreciate all of the wonderful links. I'm going to spend more time taking a look at all of the BlogHer Food stories. I agree, it was a wonderful experience (even with the frozen pasta lunch) and I left so inspired. I'm happy I got to meet you, even so briefly. You are indeed one of my main food blogger inspirations! I haven't posted my own recap yet, but just wanted to thank you! And I'll follow-up with some more Lebanese recipes to inspire you!
That dinner at Contigo was just fabulous, wasn't it? It's now permanently on my short list of restaurants to visit whenever I'm in SF. So great to see you again!
Wow, thanks, Kalyn for such a great post and for all the wonderful links – especially for those of us who could not make it!
Thanks for the wonderful recap of the BlogHer Food experience. I'm so glad we were able to be part of the first of what's sure to be an annual event. And don't all food bloggers plan their meals before they plan the rest of their time in San Francisco???
Sounds like everyone had a wonderful time. I'm envious.
I just want to say I love your blog. I found it a few months ago and it is the only food blog I follow. Your voice is comforting, your recipes always wonderful and your dedication to South Beach living admirable and inspiring. Thanks for being you. ๐ Keep doing what you're doing!
It was great seeing you again Kalyn! My first recap is up, see below, but I think I'll be writing a couple more posts.
http://bit.ly/DSokP
It was so great to meet you as well, Kalyn! I only wish there had been more time to spend with all these amazing bloggers I've been reading for years. That was the one drawbackโtoo many incredible people, not enough quality time to tal
It was great fun meeting you at the conference Kalyn! And OMG you are so tiny!! SB is paying off!
Here is my recap of the weekend (well one of the three I have planned since I extended my stay until Tuesday). And yes, went to Contigo with Sean, Paul, Tea, Caron and Anita on Monday night and it was fantastic. So proud of Brett!
Nice recap! Here's mine http://heywhatsfordinnermom.blogspot.com/2009/09/blogher-food-09.html