To commemorate my 50th blog post, I decided to dedicate this post to an event which I have attended almost a month ago which was Eat Drink Blog 2013. (yes, I know this is a bit late as I have been busy with uni, catching up with blog posts etc.) Eat Drink Blog is a national conference held annually to bring the Australian food and drinks blogging community together. As I have just started my blog late April this year, I was honoured to be one of the delegates for Eat Drink Blog and I have never expected myself to be able to attend an event like this from blogging. Basically, I started this blog for fun and to practise and improve my writing.

Day 1 of Eat Drink Blog

When I arrived at Perth City Farm, breakfast was served by Jean Pierre Sancho, 5 Senses Coffee, Brownes Dairy and West N Fresh. Throughout the day, coconut water was also provided by Jax Coco and refreshments from European Foods. During the day, I also met many bloggers who I have followed before starting my very own blog. I thought that it was very interesting to meet and get to know the people behind the blogs.  The first session of the conference was the Current State of Blogging, a panel discussion between Chef Russel Blaikie of Must Winebar, Ed Charles and Adam Roberts. Overall, the current state of blogging is very positive. Adam Roberts flew to Perth from the US and has formed a career through blogging such as landing a cookbook deal. After that, we had the Coffee Workshop by Five Senses.

Some French pastries for breakfast!

The panel discussion of “The Current State of Blogging”

The first session was done and we had some morning tea treats by Littlesweet Baking. The session of food writing and food and mobile photography was took place after. From listening to the speakers, I was left inspired and have learnt a thing or two about photography and writing. The session before lunch was  food issues which was about eating local and how anyone can shop for local produce. After that, it was time for an artisanal lunch courtesy of the team at European foods. It was so good that I went for a second helping.

Some sweet treats from Littlesweet Baking

 

 

 

 

Yummy Lunch by European Foods

After lunch, the session of mobile blogging and legal issues took place. As I am still very new to blogging, I had no idea of any legal issues and this session was  important to me and the tips given by Michael Tucak of Creative Legal was very helpful. I did not even know that we can get sued for defamation! *Gasp* After the session, afternoon tea was served by Red Hot Spatula.

Some afternoon tea treats by Red Hot Spatula

 

The ethics and working with PR after the afternoon tea was a very interesting session. I had no knowledge of this area revolving around food blogging and I know that a few weeks ago there was a heated discussion about this topic on Twitter following EDB. It was a very interesting debate about working with PR which I have not really thought much about it. What I learnt from the discussion was to always disclose a freebie, be honest in my own opinions and to be selective on invitations. After the session on ethics and PR, it was opportunities from blogging which have opened my eyes on what I could potentially do with my very own food blog in the future.

I went back home after to freshen up and attend church before attending the pop up dinner at Perth City Farm. When I arrived, I could see that Perth City Farm had a few addition of food trucks. I had a taste test of all of the food and shared some food with a few other delegates. It was a dining experience under the stars.  Here is my quick summary of the food:  The Rib Burgers from Butty’s were amazing. The Dumplings from Jumplings were delicious. The Pad Thai and Pork Belly Salad from Bangkok Jump Street were impeccable. The Espanadas from Marcelita’s were to die for.  The pizzas from Old Lira were full of flavour. Delish Ice was the perfect ending to the night. Oh yes, and not forgetting the refreshing cocktails and drinks too!

 

The delicious Pad Thai and Pork Belly Salad by Bangkok Jump Street

Dining with food trucks under the stars

I enjoyed and had a great time at Eat Drink Blog. Apart from taking home a wealth of knowledge about food blogging, learning to be a better blogger and bringing home some freebies, Eat Drink Blog was also a networking opportunity. I did not know anyone when I first walked into the conference but I know for sure that I definitely have walked out of the conference making some fond friendships while sharing our main passion for food and exchanging calling cards to keep in touch. Lastly, I would like to thank Ai-Ling and the rest of the Eat Drink Blog committee members for organising an amazing event and making this event possible!

Eat Drink Blog 2014? I’ll see you there! (hopefully I would have finish my dissertation by then)

Keep a lookout for my next post on Day 2 of Eat Drink Blog! (Pretty sure I was meant to write a short summary so I could fit two days in one post but oh well, enjoy reading this post for now! 🙂 )