Two things happened to me last Saturday.  Firstly it marked 12 months since I started my blog adventure.  The second was that I found myself on the pool deck of the Adelaide Hilton enjoying a cold South Australian beer, tempting food and the company of 80 other enthusiastic food bloggers who had gathered for Eat Drink Blog 2012.

To get things started on Saturday we took a guided tour of the Adelaide Central Market.  Celeste was our bubbly tour guide and as we weaved our way through the market we enjoyed some samples and spoke to generous stall holders who were obviously having a busy Saturday trading.

In the afternoon some delegates enjoyed winery tours of either the Barossa Valley or McLaren Vale.  I chose to participate in a Food Writing Workshop with the talented Dianne Jacob.  Dianne made me realise that I could put a lot more thought into my writing and I came away feeling very impressed with the spontaneous creativity of some of my fellow bloggers.

The balmy Adelaide evening provided the perfect atmosphere for the Eat Drink Blog dinner at the Hilton.  We were greeted with the sight and unmistakable smell of a whole lamb on a spit which set the tone for a special evening.

I will not attempt to recite every dish but Dennis Leslie and his team cooked up a Latin American inspired feast topped off with two glistening Haigh’s chocolate fountains.  My fondest memory of the dinner was having the opportunity to chat with old and new blogging friends, most of whom I had only just met in real life.

 

In the early hours of Sunday morning Twitter told me that my favourite Adelaide bakery would be supplying our breakfast.  I knew immediately that it was going to be an extraordinary day.

Again, I am not going to attempt to cover all of the valuable information we received.  Perhaps one thing I learnt is that I still have so much to learn! Finding a balance that works for your blog and keeping your blog authentic was a reoccurring theme in most of the presentations.

The Local and Seasonal presentation by Simon Bryant and Tammi Jonas, chaired by Amanda McInerney was particularly relevant and interesting to me as a farming person.  Both Simon and Tammi spoke of the importance of eating locally and seasonally and making informed choices when it comes to eating, particularly in regards to meat.  The subject of meat sparked a lively discussion amongst the speakers and delegates.

Simon of Simon Food Favourites captured the movement and excitement of the weekend perfectly in this video.  Enjoy.

Thank you to the hard working committee for providing us with this experience.  My mind is still buzzing and I feel very fortunate to have been involved in Eat Drink Blog 2012.

Amanda McInerney (co-chair) Lambs’ Ears and Honey
Christina Soong-Kroeger (co-chair) Hungry Australian
Alex Prichard Eating Adelaide
Celeste Wong Travelling in MaryJanes
Erin Brooks She Cooks, She Gardens
Kirsty Dummin SmithThe Natural Foodie
Natasha Stewart Playing House

*I would also like to thank my friend Mel from The Adventures of Miss Piggy for initially telling me about this gathering otherwise it may have completely passed me by.