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blogher food 09 recap (lots o pics)

The winner of the drawing: yes, I had a great scheme to pick the winner in San Francisco, and instead, was utterly distracted by our jam packed schedules and all of the beautiful, shiny people I met. So tonight, Jeremy and Kaweah played a few games and Jeremy produced a random number of 469 based on Kaweah’s ability to dig a treat out of her kong toy several times. Congratulations to Maressa! Because I’m hitting the road in less than 5 hours, I will email you at the end of the week (or you can email me) for your mailing address. Thank you to everyone for sharing your awesome autumn memories with me. Unfortunately, I was craving pumpkin and apples ALL WEEK :)

I’m home just in time to leave again! As some of you know, I was in San Francisco over the weekend for the BlogHer Food conference. If you want me to attend anything, hold it in San Francisco or Seattle, and I’ll be there. So while I’m about to hit the road to hunt down some Colorado Gold (leaf peeping), you can peruse the photos from the conference (it will be like you were there, and in some cases, you WERE there!) and read over my random musings regarding the weekend.

But before we get started with the conference, here is what was happening down the road from my house today:


aspen canopy

this guy was huge

a different bull elk, bossing everyone around



Helen (Tartelette) and I met at SFO for the first time! It’s old hat now when you’ve been friends for over a year that when you finally meet in real life (IRL) all the jokes and laughs come tumbling out. We made our way into the city and had ourselves some sushi for lunch at Akiko’s.

helen at akiko’s

white tuna belly sashimi



After checking in to the hotel we traipsed off to the Ferry Building in search of Miette. Helen was on a mission to hit all of the major bakeries in the city!

miette at the ferry building

caramels and macarons from miette



We met up with several others on the 39th floor of the SF Marriott for cocktails. Oddly, no one had ever been up there before except for me! How did I know about it? Geophysics meetings… First, Alice (Savory Sweet Life) and Ashley (Not Without Salt) found us, then Susan (Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy) arrived followed by Anita (Dessert First) and Lisa (Lisa Is Bossy). By the time the sun went down, I got a call from Todd and Diane (White on Rice Couple) and met them at the top of the elevator. Very lively and fun bunch, but $13 for a mango mojito? Yeow!

helen, susan, alice, ashley on the 39th floor for happy hour

dusk over san francisco



Come 8 pm and we all hoofed it over to Anchor and Hope where we met with Chuck & Hungry Bear (Sunday Nite Dinner and Food Gawker), Michelle (Thursday Night Smackdown), Karen (Off the Meat Hook), and Anita’s fiancé Mike. The place was packed, but we eventually got our table.

seated at anchor and hope

anita and lisa

chuck and hungry bear

sea urchin appetizer (amazing, omg amazing)

oysters wrapped in bacon

helen and i split a plate: salmon

birfday paulette macarons from anita and lisa



The food was excellent, but as Sean Timberlake (Hedonia) had tweeted earlier, it’s somewhat overpriced. That sea urchin (uni) appetizer was the bomb. I only had a few spoonfuls, but it has changed my mind completely about uni. For dessert, Anita and Lisa presented me with about 2 dozen French macarons from three different bakeries in SF. WOW! Lisa, the ever prepared, gave me little plastic knives to cut them up and distribute around the table for tasting. My favorite? Paulette’s cassis – heavenly. So awesome of those two! Our original plan was to head to the Slanted Door after dinner for drinks, but… it was late and we were all tired and we had that conference thing to go to the next day…

i made it to brekkie



Thus began the surreal part of the whole thing – meeting a gazillion (okay, dozens of) people you sort of know, but don’t really know, and doing it all day long. I cannot even begin to name them all, so I’ll just let the photographs jog my memory. However, there were so many more than the ones in the photos.

helen opens a package to us from barbara (winos and foodies)

heidi (101 cookbooks) and matt (mattbites) kick off the first session



I pretty much stuck with the photography sessions throughout the conference which I found interesting for many reasons. I didn’t learn much that was new about photography, but I learned about some of the trade and I learned about other styles and preferences. What I learned the most was about food bloggers wanting to do food photography.

shauna (gluten-free girl) and lucy

joy (joy the baker)

caitlin (engineer baker), anita, and tami (running with tweezers)

ashley and crazy alice



The crazy thing about this conference is that I met people I’ve been reading for months or even years and some of them actually have an inkling as to who I am. Take Joy, for instance. We made eye contact in this super crowded hallway and I thought “She kinda looks like Joy, like a lot.” And so I asked and she said she is indeed Joy and I was all, “Hi, I’m…” and she smiled and said she knew who I was. It’s a weird thing. She’s so sweet and ten times prettier in person than in any photo. I kinda fell in love with Lucy, Shauna’s little baby girl, probably because she’s as charming and genuinely warm as her mama.

salad

wine(s)



So then we were served lunch. Lunch was an odd thing. Lunch sort of symbolized the complete misreading of the conference body by the conference planners. I mean, you started to feel like things were heading in the Twilight Zone direction when the sponsors were in the hallways shilling squirt canned frosting. I don’t know of many food bloggers (at least, not the food blogs I follow) who would use that stuff. Rocco Dispirito bounced off the walls of the conference meeting room dishing the sell for Bertolli’s products. (I don’t own a television and I certainly had no idea who this man was, which made it all the more annoying). We started with salad and it wasn’t too terrible. Then came the parade of frozen dinner entrees. Yes, they served frozen pasta dishes to food bloggers. People, I just made puff pastry from scratch and they were serving me frozen, mushy pasta. That doesn’t jive. We had our angry/semi-humored tweets, but I think the feeling I came away with was that of being insulted – that somehow BlogHer doesn’t know the difference between a mommy blogger and food blogger (oh, there is a huge difference). The conference was for FOOD BLOGGERS. Might be good to rethink that next time…

diane and todd leading second session



I had a big tirade about food bloggers and their general approach to photography, but I’ve deleted it. I think a prevailing problem with food photography and food bloggers in general today (the new wave of bloggers) is that people want instant success. People did not become superstars overnight, be it food photography or food blogging. There is no ONE formula, ONE camera, ONE lens, ONE recipe for success. If anything, the panels showed a beautiful diversity of photographers with different approaches to what they do. In fact, the one thing they all have in common is that they work very hard at something they love very much.

elise (simply recipes), matt, david (david lebovitz)

diane, todd, jaden (steamy kitchen)

garrett (vanilla garlic)

todd, helen, and zoe (zoe bakes)

broderick (savory exposure) and matt



After the keynote panel with Ree (The Pioneer Woman), David, and Elise there was a rooftop cocktail party. [I should note that the takeaway message for me would be: success comes in many flavors and ultimately success is defined by your happiness.] The party was delightful and the martinis were really strong. Really. I had a lovely time meeting and chatting with so many people. Of course, by the time we began staggering over to the after party (thrown by Jaden, Elise, and Ree), my martinis had gone straight to my head.

drunk photography – it’s “artistic”

it was a hoppin’ party



Let’s see… I met Emily and Christina of Foodzie, Hardy (wine pusher – he’s the best), Hank Shaw (Hunter Angler Gardener Cook) and Holly (NorCal Cazadora). Oh, but the most delightful surprise was when I went looking to see if my buddy, Helen, was alright (of course she was) and found her talking to Alice Medrich. ALICE MEDRICH?! My first pastry book was written by her! She is a lovely, lovely woman. I met a lot of people and even without martinis, white Russians, and wine, I would have a hard time remembering everyone. The schwag bag from the after party was something else in a very good way. I had to give Diane the great big knife so she could mail it to me later. Ree, Jaden, and Elise KNOW how to throw a party.

The next morning, Helen, Caitlin, and I went to have coffee with Shauna, Danny, and Lucy. I love that family. They are such good people. We said good-bye to them and then saw Caitlin off to her train before walking up to Chinatown for a little dim sum at City View Restaurant (which doesn’t have a view) with Tami.


luuuuuuucy

shauna and danny

helen

tami and helen at dim sum

chinese chive dumplings

walnut shrimp



Todd and Diane joined us for the last half of dim sum. It was nice getting extra time with some of my favorite people outside of the conference. The conference was just too distracting and I know there were others I wanted to meet and never got the chance. The most important part was to connect with friends, old and new. We parted ways – Helen and I went in search of Paulette’s Bakery (French macarons – omg!!!) and then to Miette (the candy shop) where we met Tess, who writes their blog. The store is so inviting, so happy. If you are in a foul mood, this place will set you right in no time flat.

a wall of confections

everything in its place

and some tempting cupcakes



There was no time for Tartine, so Helen would make that pilgrimage on her own. I had to catch a train to the airport. Did I mention it was hot? I only said it like 57 times over the weekend. So hot and humid compared to Colorado :) Helen and I hugged and she took BART back to the city. I gave her my maps and list of bakeries. We waved good-bye as her train sped away. That was a lot to pack into just over 48 hours, but we did and it was great.

85 nibbles at “blogher food 09 recap (lots o pics)”

  1. Kamran Siddiqi says:

    Oh my gosh, Jen! Your photos are phenomenal! I don’t know how to tell you how awesome you are!

    I wish I was there to meet you and all of the other awesome people. Hopefully I’ll get to meet you and the others next year…

    Great recap! :)

  2. Laura says:

    Wow! I really hope I can attend someday…..

  3. barbara says:

    love it, love you, love Helene, love food bloggers.

  4. Rosa says:

    It looks like you had a great time! Thanks for sharing those pictures with us!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

  5. Peter says:

    Thanks for taking the time to take a few (lots) of pics. One can easily get caught-up in all the fun and forget to chronicle the happenings.

    Your pics are fab…they were before the conference!

  6. Cate says:

    Thank you SO much for sharing this! I love seeing what it was like and can only hope to make it to a food blog conference one of these days.

    I would be pretty pissed about frozen mushy pasta too…

  7. Caitlin says:

    I love that photo of Broderick & Matt, and Lucy is just adorable, isn’t she? This weekend was definitely an experience – whew! It’s gonna take a while to catch up on sleep :)

  8. Kristin says:

    Looks & sounds as if you had a great time. Thanks for sharing.

  9. joey says:

    Thanks for sharing your photos…one day maybe I’ll make the trip!

  10. dawn says:

    let me say first (most important) you take the best photos, hands down. I mean it was like being there. All great photos, but I just love the one with all the colors, the wall of confections. Nice.

  11. Andrea says:

    Jen, it was great to finally meet you after reading your blog all this time! You are such a delightful, fun person to hand around with.

  12. Andrea says:

    Um, that was “hang around with.”

  13. Maria says:

    Great recap of the conference! It was so much fun, just too short. I love all of your photos! I agree with you, WTF did they serve Frozen meals to food bloggers? I am still baffled by that. Oh well, everything else was amazing!

  14. Tokyo Terrace says:

    Holy photos batman! These are fabulous! Since I didn’t get to go to SF for Blogherfood I am living vicariously. Thanks for sharing your photos and for writing your thoughts. I totally agree that there is no “one formula” as you said for being a successful food blogger. I have not been doing this long and there is much that I am ready and willing to learn. Just looking through my photos from the first to the most recent shows that you can (and should) learn a lot with time.

    Here’s hoping I get to experience this first hand next year. Lovely!

  15. bethany (dirty kitchen secrets) says:

    Thank you for such a fantastic recap. I’m still bummed I didnt’t make it but your beautiful photos really helped :)

  16. Kimmie says:

    What great shots!

  17. Aran says:

    how wonderful to see all these photos jen. so many great places and people. thank you for sharing and i’m definitely not missing any more of these!

  18. Manggy says:

    I have a permanent pout now, as I’m going to be the last person to ever meet one of my favorite people :( But I do love travel and food put together (obviously)… So thanks for this! (I have yet another folder of photos from SFO from my latest trip- love that city). Thanks also for the great pics of everyone- can just imagine being there, sigh…

  19. Bri says:

    I’m so glad you had fun! I’ve been reading about the conference on everyone’s blogs and it’s amazing how the same themes keep coming through (great people, horrible frozen food, etc). Thanks for sharing and have a wonderful time leaf peeping! You should give Kaweah an extra treat for all her hard work digging treats out of her kong. A freebie, so to speak. When we make Fritz balance treats on his nose he always gets that treat and then another little one for free to make him hate us less for tormenting him. :)

  20. Christy says:

    Thanks for sharing all your wonderful photos and friends with us. I’m glad you had a great time and a safe trip.

  21. Elizabeth says:

    What beautiful photos Jen, it was almost like I was there. I especially love the one of the wall of confections. I have a weak spot for those jars. So sad I missed out on meeting all those fine folks, but hopefully next year BlogHer opens up their sponsorship to smaller suppliers of real food. Or maybe not. In any case it looked like such a great time!

  22. Lisa@The Cutting Edge of Ordinary says:

    Thanks for sharing. I wish I could have been worthy to have been there, but I’m just starting out (almost 2 yrs) in this blog-o-sphere thingy. I think I might have gotten a lot of great tips. Nice to see all the now familiar faces. T&D look great as always.

  23. Christina says:

    Looks like a great event! The scenic pics are stunning.

  24. TheKitchenWitch says:

    Awesome re-cap and photos. I wish I’d been there, but it’s great to see it all through your eyes and lens!!xoxo

  25. Estie says:

    Wow Jen-looks like it was a great conference and so nice that your were finally able to meet some friends IRL! Oh, and Miette looks GORGEOUS!

  26. Divina says:

    Awesome photos Jen. It’s like I’ve been there. How I wish I’m actually there. Thanks for sharing those wonderful pics. It’s just great to see bloggers meeting together.

  27. Garrett says:

    Great pictures! it was so great to meet you this weekend! You are a total scream! =)

  28. Colleen (@foodietot) says:

    Beautiful photos! That was precisely my take on the lunch, I didn’t fault Bertolli so much for pitching their products, but was insulted by BlogHer’s decision to inflict that on a group of people who commit so much time to cooking real food. Surely they’ve learned their lesson there!

  29. david says:

    so fun!

  30. charlane says:

    fantastic getting to put more faces with more names

  31. Carolyn says:

    Gorgeous post! Reading everyone’s recaps is almost as fun as being there. In the case of your salad picture, it’s even better.

  32. Brooke says:

    What a wonderful round up of the event. I’m sorry we didn’t get the chance to hang out and meet- tho I thoroughly enjoyed our tweeting back and forth at Blogher!

    I second your sentiment about Blogher not understanding the difference between “mommie” bloggers and food bloggers. The lingering feeling from the day’s program was that we all had been very misunderstood, despite all the data they had collected about us.

    And lastly, your photographs are gorgeous!

  33. Jayme says:

    Looks like good times!

    on a separate note, that very first picture of the aspen canopy…..BREATHTAKING! And I mean that in the very best way, not in the Seinfeld he-called-that-ugly-baby-breathtaking kind of way!
    Do you sell prints of your photos? Because I would totally buy a print of that picture. it’s stunning!

  34. Ruth Ann says:

    Beautiful Photos! I mean it, really beautiful pics!
    It was great meeting you at lunch. You are so fun.

  35. Debbie says:

    Thank you so much for all the pics. It is so nice to put faces to a name. Sounds like you all had such a great time. I also read on Maria’s blog about the frozen dinners they served. That is just so strange. Doesn’t common sense come into play anymore!!!! Anyhow, you definintely got lots done in only 48 hrs!!!!

  36. Erika Kerekes says:

    Fantastic photos – thanks for sharing them with those of us who were too lazy to get out our cameras all weekend (timidly raises hand). I was overwhelmed with the fabulousness of all the folks at BlogHer Food – had a great weekend!

    P.S. Anyone know the last name of Hardy the wine pusher? Or the company for which he works?

  37. joy the baker says:

    i love it! i love it! i love it! This is such a gorgeous post! You’ve put a huge smile on my face! it was so great to meet you jen!

  38. Ria says:

    I love the way you document things, Jen!! I felt i was there too! :) xx

  39. sparklytosingle says:

    Lovely lovely lovely! Glad you had a great time, even if the organizers seriously messed up on the sponsors and the food served. Thank you for introducing me to so many new food blogs… I fear for the size of my newly expanded “must cook” list!

  40. Heather says:

    It was so fun to meet you! Wish we could’ve chatted more but that’s why we have Twitter…. BTW, Hardy works for Murphy Goode winery, he won their blogger dream job contest. Fun guy! Fuuuun parties!

  41. Irene says:

    Thanks for sharing the stories and photos! It sounds like an amazing time, wish I had been there.

  42. El says:

    These are great photos. Thanks for including the links!

  43. Simone (junglefrog) says:

    It’s fun to see what all happened in your photos and stories. Sounds like an incredibly fun time! Maybe they can have a blogherfood conference next year in Amsterdam…. :) Now wouldn’t that be a fabulous idea?

  44. Karen (cook4seasons) says:

    THANK you for capturing the (gorgeous) details of an overwhelming conference (and then some!) Hope to meet you next time – over REAL food at lunch!

  45. white on rice couple says:

    bravo jen for an amazing re-cap !! The photographs capture the moments perfectly, you did a fabulous job! You were one of the highlights of the event, fo sho! Thank you so much for documenting it all while the rest us were drinking the cocktails. And even after a few martini’s, you were able to still capture it al. You’re wonderful!

  46. Manisha says:

    Look at all you pretties! And gorgeous little Lucy!

    There is also a misconception that a dSLR is the answer to good food photography despite your Ignite Boulder presentation and Diane & Todd’s presentation. Matt Wright has a great post on his blog about using P&S’ for food photography. (His blog is down as I write this so check back later if anyone wants a detailed and very helpful post on this topic.)

    The conference could do with technical panels at just like the photography panels but perhaps this is something they host at the annual BlogHer conference instead.

    But overall, I think the feeling is very positive and hopefully next time, they will serve fresh local food and maybe even use the services of a food blogger who caters in that area. How cool would that be, huh?

  47. alice says:

    You are so fun Jen, more fun than I could have ever imagined you to be. Thanks for the all the memories and laughter. You are one crazy lady who has an incredible spirit with a contagious laugh!

    Alice

  48. cindy says:

    Frozen pasta? WTF? It’s not like good food is hard to find in SF. How cool that you got to meet all those amazing people! Too bad you’re gone: It’s nice and chilly now. :)

  49. Nurit - 1 family. friendly. food. says:

    Wow-wa-wi-wa-wa-wa! OMGOMGOMG. Looks like an awesome time from every point of view! Fun fun fun. Will def think about attending next time.

  50. Sara@SproutedKitchen says:

    uuggghhh i wish i could have come! I would have loved to actually meet people who i feel i am passive internet friends with… you know, kind of move past that creepy factor? Glad you had a great time!

  51. peabody says:

    Sigh. This just makes me even more jealous.

    I am with you and the people wanting to be instant food bloggers. People always ask me how I get so much traffic….Um, I’ve been around for more than 4 years!

    I’ve seen the Bertolli lunch on a few people’s blogs. You are the first person to actually say what I think others were thinking. Which is what I love about you.

  52. Ashley says:

    Dang girl. I knew you were good but holy my word these are awesome. The image of Shauna and Danny is beyond words.

  53. Kim, Rambling Family Manager says:

    Oh, what fun! I was tickled at how many of the names I recognized. I’m not a food blogger myself (although I do post recipes and talk about food on occasion) but I love the better food blogs with a passion. (If I had to categorize myself, I would say I’m more in the mommy blog camp, but my heart is with you all!!) I have links to a few of my favs on my blog; URB is a constant then a couple of others I switch out from time to time. I love the photography as much as the recipes, sometimes more so. You are all such a source of inspiration! I have gotten to the point where I can NOT tolerate food that is poorly prepared/highly processed/from a fast food place. If you define a foodie as someone who loves delicious made-from-scratch REAL food, then count me in. :)

  54. Margaret Jennings says:

    Although I’ve been following your blog for the last nine months, this is the first time i’ve posted a comment – so – Hi nice to meet you!

    My lack of comments inversly reflects my admiration and enjoyment of your blog both the food and the photos, I’m a behind the scenes kind of person really I guess. So having been an event planner for the last 10 years it was your comments about the lunch that incited frustration in me and seems to have driven me to speak out :)

    I’d love to know who did the planning for the BlogHer conference, when planners pay so little attention to food at any old event be it for accountants or software programmers it is totally unacceptable. Food is integral to life and therefore ALL events and to mess it up when you have a bunch of foodies (proper foodies who understand what real food is) being served is unacceptable. It’s just plain thoughtless. Anyway if you do know who it was please let me know and i’ll do my best to get involved and make sure next year you have an experience to get you all excited in a good way.

    Anyway – Love your work! Hope the trip goes well and I look forward to seeing the results, I’m off to have a go at your macarons from last week.

  55. bron says:

    Sigh… everyone is even more gorgeous than I already knew.
    Thank you so much for sharing and organising all these so quickly with your busy busy schedule… you rawk! xxx

  56. Jie says:

    such a wonderful party

  57. Jess says:

    “BlogHer doesn’t know the difference between a mommy blogger and food blogger (oh, there is a huge difference” Funny though that certainly some in fact many of the food bloggers are parents. A few of the keynote speakers blog about their kids and food. So it’s not mutally exclusive to be a food blogger and a mommy blogger. One blog I read was lamenting how there blogher food had no sessions specifically addressing cooking for families.

  58. Abby says:

    SO. JEALOUS.

    Everybody seems so nice in the food-blog world – that’s what I love about it so much!

  59. Elisa Camahort Page says:

    Thank you so much for your kind words…and your constructive feedback…about our first BlogHer Food event. Can I just say: Your photos are amazing!! I am just not a photographer, which puts me in awe of those who are. I wish I could have sat in on Heidi/Matt’s and Diane/Todd’s presentations instead of running around.

    Back to your feedback: It is essential to us, which is why we’re sending out a post-conference survey link to every attendee in the next couple of days. In addition to this post, I hope you will take 15 minutes to help us quantify your responses…which can be anonymous btw :) 

    We’ll send you the survey link in our final BlogHer Food ’09 attendee newsletter. We’re excited to read your suggestions to make BlogHer Food ’10 even better! (Yes, that means there most definitely will be a next year!)

    Thank you again — 

    Best, 
    Elisa, for the BlogHer Team

  60. Lisa is Bossy says:

    OMG I thought that picture of me was bad on your camera display but um. displayed on your BLOG it’s worse. Did I just have a stroke? Oh well…

    Was SO GREAT seeing you, Jen! Glad our big city treated you well. And SO BUMMED I missed out on dim sum after suggesting one of my fave spots. I was out in the middle of the Bay thinking about you gals! Looking forward to your next visit…

  61. farmerpam says:

    How fun! Thanks for sharing.

  62. Amy I. says:

    Hey Jen. I lived vicariously on twitter through everyone at the conference last weekend, but I loved reading your recap just now as well. A couple of points in this post really spoke to me (oy, how cheesy)… but mostly that “success” as a blogger, more than anything else, means enjoying it… yeah. That sounded so much more meaningful in my head before I wrote it, but just know that I appreciate your words. I hope someday I’ll find the courage to crawl out of my shy, scaredy cat comfort zone and come to a conference!

  63. Anna says:

    Wow! It sounds you had an absolute blast! Everyone whose blog I’ve ever stalked…ahem…followed were there! I really wish I could make it. Those macaroons alone look divine and I’m sure you came away with inspiration galore. Maybe next year :D

  64. Mrs Ergül says:

    I think this screams FUN! It is so very cool!

  65. Susan at Sticky,Gooey,Creamy,Chewy says:

    What a great recap! When I finally get a chance to write mine, I’ll just post a link and send everyone here. I couldn’t possibly capture the essence of the conference any better. It was such an incredible weekend, and one of the highlights for me was finally getting to meet you! You are every bit as sweet, warm and FUN in person as you are on the page. Getting to spend some time with you, Helen, Todd, Diane and the rest of the gang is an experience I’ll always treasure. I can’t wait for the next time we can all get together! Until then, I’ll see you on Twitter! (Lol!)

    {{{{{{HUGE HUGS}}}}}}

  66. Nate says:

    Waaah! This is the best recap I have read (even better than PWC). I really wish I had delayed our move to Malaysia until after all these great food blogger gatherings near San Jose were done.

  67. anna says:

    I still can’t believe they served everyone frozen pasta. Ooooops…

    Hoping if they do this again next year it’s in or close to New York, I’d love to go but travel of most types just isn’t in my budget right now, and I don’t think it will be next year either.

  68. Lesley Lammers says:

    I love your photographs!!!! I am glad you enjoyed your weekend in the Bay Area, it was a hot hot weekend, and fall arrived on Monday, wouldn’t you know it!

  69. Jaden says:

    oooooh i miss you already!!!!! hugzzzz

  70. justJENN says:

    I felt exactly the same way about the Bertolli lunch, the photography and the newbie food bloggers. I’m sure I would have appreciated your deleted rant very much. ;)

  71. Elise says:

    Beautiful post Jen. And such gorgeous photos! I so enjoyed meeting you, only wish we had had time to hang out more. The weekend was a whirlwind. Just now catching up. Love the shot of the salad. It was pretty good! Guess Rocco thought something had to be edible given that the lunch had his name all over it.

  72. Kalyn says:

    Great post! Love seeing the photos and hearing about some of the things I missed.

  73. Anita says:

    Jen, you fabulous woman you. So happy you were able to make it out and we got to hang. Thanks for taking those photos of me – now when are you going to Ignite Part 2 at the next Blogher Food???:) Glad you’re back home safe and sound XOXO

  74. Broderick @ Savory Exposure says:

    I miss your smile and laugh already!!! Awesome recap, hope to see you again soon :)

  75. Lori says:

    Thank you for the little experience of living vicariously through you. I was taken away for a moment.

  76. Sam says:

    Great pictures! Thanks for sharing.

  77. L says:

    It was so lovely to meet you Jen, even if we didn’t get much time to chat. The whole day went by so quickly!

    Great post wrapping up the day! Although, I will say, you’ve peaked my curiosity about your food photography rant! I’m completely with you that there is no one right way, and hope that came across in our talk, even though we were talking about the way that we did it (I loved how different all of our approaches are… particuarly Matt’s reaction to Heidi not using a tripod!)

    If you do feel like ranting or sharing or anything, maybe consider a guest post on Still Life With? I know that folks would love to hear what you have to say!

    -L

  78. Kelsey/TheNaptimeChef says:

    What a fun post! I LOVED MIette and kept going to the one on Chestnut street. You did a great job of capturing all the moments – it was so fun to meet you!

  79. AmyRuth says:

    What fun to look at your good time at the conference. Thanks for sharing all your eye candy and confections. he he
    Like many others, any chance you could share some more about the absent photog rant? We little folks out here in blog land have a bunch to learn. All the gifts floating around in space that you may have would just be greatly appreciated. Thanks again and I’ll look forward to reading more.
    AmyRuth

  80. jenyu says:

    So glad you all enjoyed the recap. Just wish everyone could have been there (next time, right?). Thanks for dropping by!

    Barbara – thank you for the fabulous package. You are SUCH a dear. Helen and I both wished you were there (in ways, you were!) xxoo

    Caitlin – absolutely. I hope you’re caught up now, hon :) Great hanging out with you!

    Andrea – I was SO happy to finally meet you and more than a little sad that we didn’t get to spend more time together. Next time, for sure :) You’re a delight and such a sweetie.

    Manggy – even if you are the last, you will still remain one of my favorites. xxoo

    Elizabeth – I think that would be brilliant if BlogHer worked to get better local sponsors.

    Lisa – urb has only been public 2 years – feels like forever ;)

    Garrett – honey, YOU are the scream! I love your brand of snarky ;)

    Colleen – oh, I can only hope so…

    Jayme – yes, I do sell prints of my photos (it’s the reason I take the photos – I’m a landscape photographer) :) I’ll send you an email…

    Ruth Ann – thank you! Wonderful meeting you too (not enough time to meet everyone and really chat – *sigh*)

    Erika – Hardy Wallace, he’s awesome.

    Joy – wonderful meeting you, my dear. You’re a total sweetheart.

    WoRC – *heart* you both. Two of my FAVE ppl in the world.

    Manisha – Matt is awesome, isn’t he?! Love that chap! Lucy is like a perfect little pastry – irresistable. I think the conference was sorely lacking in technical panels – SORELY. The only technical came from Todd and Diane. Tsk Tsk. Still, it was a lot of fun b/c of the people.

    Alice – great to meet you in person and thanks for that bacon pecan bar. I cannot believe how much you can drink!! ;)

    Peabody – you’d better be there next time, whether they serve frozen pasta dinners or not!

    Kim – ahhh sweetie, we’ll make you an honorary food blogger :)

    Margaret – You can get in touch with the folks at Blogher to get more details. Maybe you can help them knock it out of the ballpark next year! :)

    Jess – Just because you are a parent doesn’t mean you are a mommy blogger. And just because you cook food, that doesn’t make you a food blogger. Food bloggers attend these conferences for different reasons, and I can tell you that the majority of the bloggers were not there to be sold on frozen pasta dinners, whether they liked the food or not. As for the blogger who wanted sessions for cooking for families… BlogHer had a call for sessions earlier on so that blogger either missed out on speaking up or was in the minority.

    Elisa – thank you for gathering feedback from the attendees, I think that is a terrific way to make the next BlogHerFood even better (for a first time conference, it really went well). No need for anonymous comments, I don’t hide from what I think :) Thanks again for a great time – the networking was FANTASTIC.

    Lisa – food coma ;) Always great to see you. Bummer about the dim sum, but your rec was bang on and delicious!! Thanks, sweetie.

    Amy – I definitely think the “celebrity” factor is highly overrated ;) Bloggers are people. Some may think they’re more than people (in which case, I wouldn’t hang out with them in real life anyway) but the majority are really awesome, really genuine and sincere. Do come next time.

    Susan – oh hon, you will always be welcome to hang out wherever I am. You’re a gem and a treat. So happy to call you my friend.

    Elise – a pleasure to meet you, no matter how briefly. I must say that your parents are adorable – wonderful!

    Anita – you are a lot of fun and I finally got to meet Mr. Hottie :) You two make a great couple. Maybe we should make the next BlogHerFood “ignite” style? eeee hee!! xxoo

    Broderick – buddy, YOU are a lot of fun and I think your photographs are incredible. Looking forward to the next meeting :)

    Lara – ah, thank you! I’ve had to mull over the rant and haven’t decided if I want to post it anywhere yet, but you’re very sweet to offer a guest post spot. Perhaps when the crazy season winds down a little here, I can address it properly? Great to meet you, btw!

    AmyRuth – perhaps in a few weeks when things settle down, I may post thoughts somewhere. If so, you’ll find mention of it here :)

  81. Blog Her Food, A new look and looking forward says:

    […] out their blogs- Matt Armendariz, The Amazing White on Rice couple- Todd and Diane and Jen from UseRealButter. Here are a couple of pictures I took at our lunch sponsored by Bertolli. It was one time I was […]

  82. Bathroom Lighting ` says:

    i love food blogs because i love to eat tasty and sweet foods-:~

  83. Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall: Peach Brown Sugar Ice Cream with Hazelnut Sugar Cookies says:

    […] The upshot of this confession is that of course I have very few shots of the conference (I did catch an unspectacular shot or two). For some wonderful photos and a thorough recap of the weekend, I suggest you head on over to photographer (and food lover) extraordinaire use real butter. […]

  84. carry that weight. says:

    […] I’ve been able to hide from myself. I’m always the one behind the camera. When I saw photos of myself on friends’ blogs, I cringed and did a dozen sit-ups immediately. But with all this grieving and too much to process, […]

  85. ConAgra’s Failed Con Begs the Question: Are Food Bloggers Professionals? | Kathleen Flinn says:

    […] ShamWow guy to what the L.A. Times referred to as a “tough room.”  As Jen wrote in Use Real Butter: “People, I just made puff pastry from scratch and they were serving me frozen, mushy pasta. […]

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