FoodBuzz Blogger Festival Dinner-San Francisco

Better late than never.  Right?

I’m sure a lot of you may have already read about the Foodbuzz Blogger Festival held in San Francisco recently.  Admittedly, I did miss the first evening and second days activities but I did manage to make it to the dinner.  And for that I feel very privleged.  A 14 hour “jaunt” across the Pacific, a 3 hour nap, one double espresso and a quick cab ride later, I found myself in the foyer of the Hotel Vitale waiting like a nervous teen about to go on a first date!  I was a little anxious and very excited in meeting some of my fellow blogger colleaugues.  Anticipation had been building up all day/night and let me say it was all worth it!  Everyone was lovely, warm and very welcoming.  Even better in “real life”!  I also wanted to thank the people at Foodbuzz for putting on such a spectacular event.  They were real professionals all the way through and everything went as smooth as a well oiled machine.

I enjoyed meeting new friends and old.  Where do I begin?  I sat with Jenn and Roberto from the Leftover Queen, Joan from Foodalogue, Val form More Than Burnt Toast, Giz from Equal Opportunity Kitchen and Peter and Christey from Fotocuisine.  I also had the opportunity to talk (and drink with later)  with Marc from No Recipes and I met the wonderful Angela from Spinach Tiger, whom I had a great meal with at Cafe Zuni on the Sunday night.  I did attend the brunch at Lulu the next day and finally got to meet Jerry from Cooking By The Seat Of My Pants.  I’ve “known” Jerry since we started blogging at around the same time and meeting him in the flesh was quite an honour and a lot of fun!  He’s quite the character!

The dinner itself was held inside the Greenleaf Produce Warehouse.   A very appropriate venue for the foodies that had gathered there for an evening of feasting and drinking!  Organised by the brilliant people of Outstanding in the Field in conjuction with Foodbuzz were were treated to a six course Korean inspired menu created by chef Dennis Lee of Namu with wines provided by Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon Vineyard.  I personally enjoyed every element of the menu.  I also indulged in a fair bit of wine (for “research” purposes of course!) and managed to break a glass at the table!  I remember telling everyone I was “delirious” as the night progressed…jetlag, excitment and nervous energy will do that to you!  It was kind of surreal and in my opinion the dinner was a success.  Having worked in catering in a previous life, I can only imagine the organisational skill required to pull off 300 people having dinner on one long snaking table with a makeshift kitchen!  But to everyone’s credit, it was amazing.  Thank you again!

As per usual, I like to tell my story with pictures.  I’ve sort of tried to “mix and match” elements of the whole evening to give you a feeling of being there.  Enjoy! (I’ve provided links at the end of the post for further reading regarding the Festival…check them out!)

You can also read more about the Foodbuzz Blogger Festival from these following bloggers.

• Jenn from the Leftover Queen
• Jerry from Cooking by the seat of My Pants
• Joan from Foodalogue
• Giz from Equal Opportunity Kitchen
• Val from More Than Burnt Toast
• Peter and Christey fro Fotocuisine

Tagged as: dinner, festival, Foodbuzz, San Francisco