International Food Blogger’s Conference (IFBC) – New Orleans, LA

Learning, food, fun and new friends.  That is what comes to mind after attending the International Food Blogger’s Conference (IFBC) in New Orleans this past weekend.  Of course, recovery is what is taking place this week after a fun-filled time in New Orleans!

If you read Bunkycooks, you know that we adore New Orleans and we were just there in February with great friends.  So, when Jamie, from Life’s a Feast, asked me to come and meet her there during the conference, that was the least I could do.  After all, she flew in all the way from from Nantes, France! 😉 It also provided us an opportunity to scout out a few venues for a future On The Road culinary adventure.

I had the privilege of presenting at IFBC, which was held at the beautiful Hotel Monteleone, in The French Quarter.  I was asked to speak about Blogging with Ethics and Values.  Robin Goldstein of Fearless Critic was my co-presenter.  We had the difficult task of opening up the conference on Friday afternoon with a rather serious subject.  I guess it was a good thing to get the tough stuff out of the way early on.

Presenting at IFBC

Andie Mitchell of Foodista and the other organizers of IFBC (Sheri Wetherell and Barnaby Dorfman, also from Foodista) and Zephyr Adventures, put together an incredible event.  I preferred this smaller conference (about 130 people) to larger venues because we all were together most of the time.  I think this fosters better relationships between the attendees when the events are inclusive.

We were treated to several meals that were provided by local restaurants that brought the flavors of New Orleans to us.  There is nothing like eating jumbo Gulf shrimp, po-boys and etouffee right in the heart of The French Quarter.  We also had wine tastings and pairings from Winebow and Jordan Winery.

Checking out Bourbon Street before the party goers hit the bars!

Of course, when in New Orleans, it is always about food and drink and we were definitely on a mission to get as much of all of it as we could while we were there.  As soon as we hit town, we headed to Red Fish Grill for fried oysters.  Then we had dinner with Jamie the first evening at Mr. B’s Bistro and beignets at Cafe du Monde in the mornings.

When in New Orleans you must have beignets!

Very happy after having beignets and cafe au lait!

We had lunch at Chef John Besh’s August on Friday afternoon and took just a few photos.

An incredible dish with beautiful fresh prawns at August

We then had Sazeracs at The Sazerac Bar Friday evening.

Sazeracs are a must at The Sazerac Bar

We finally outdid ourselves with french fries and champagne (Veuve Clicquot, of course) at Sylvain after dinner Saturday evening.  Can you say diet?