There are 168 unread notifications in my email inbox. These are all for recent posts on my friends’ blogs. Please know that I will read and visit each and every one of them as soon as I can. I am catching up with work after being away on Monday, was on a film shoot for most of yesterday, and I am really battling to keep up.
Before I move along to sharing more of my experience at the Food & Wine Bloggers Indaba, allow me to tell you that today is National Banana Bread Day and International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day on the Culinary Calendar.
With that out of the way, here’s a snap of the view from our conference venue; Monkey Valley Nature Resort in Noordhoek; pretty enough – almost – to distract from what was happening in the hall.
The MC of the day was Jeanne Horak-Druiff, the award winning blogger Cooksister! I had not read her blog before, and was immediately taken by her warm personality and willingness to share tips. Her key points for engaging with a wider audience were “share, praise and link”.
Next up was a friend I adore, Jane-Anne Hobbs, possibly the best source of breaking news with her Twitter handle @Jane_Anne62
In the near future I will be doing many posts on the things Jane-Anne covered, but most exciting were the trends that are predicted in the food world, among them:
White pepper, pork neck, mustard greens, horseradish, pistachio, water chestnuts, Cape gooseberries, parsnips, natural yoghurt and edible glitter. She has also set me on a quest to find my own copy of The Flavour Thesaurus.
Our next speakers were doyennes of the South African food world, Abigail Donnelly and Phillipa Cheifitz, who spoke about food in magazines and shared their stories of how they came to be ‘discovered’. It was a real coup that the organiser of the Indaba, Colleen Grove, got these icons to give us their time.
They presented us with the prettiest biscuits. You can read more about all the speakers and sponsors here:
http://foodbloggaindaba.wordpress.com/
I’ll cover the next speaker, a man I love with all my heart, in my next post.
Don’t you just hate it when you fall behind in your reading…sounds like you’re enjoying your time there.
It’s awful, Charles, I am so afraid my blog friends think I have abandoned them
Thanks for sharing the Indaba with us all – looking forward to the next chapter.
Mandy
It’s probably going to take me a month to cover it all, especially once I start cooking with all the wonderful stuff that was in our goodie bags!
*Thumbs up*
What a lovely view! Looking forward to your future posts about blogging! (I’ll let the pup know that she must appreciate her biscuit today, no snarfing!)
It’s an auspicious day, perhaps she deserves TWO biscuits?
take your time or you will undo all the good the weekend gave you
It already seems a lifetime ago
Oh, beautiful view! Sounds like you were really in your element at the Indaba – look forward to hearing more…
Ruth, more than a hundred like-minded people, it was fantastic
I am running away from my inbox!
Mine is going berserk, the number of mails keeps rising. Will just have to deal with it over the weekend.
Love the name . . . Monkey Valley Nature Resort. I would have been hard pressed to stay inside with a beach like that beckoning.
It is on of the most beautiful beaches.
What a job to play catch-up with blogs – I know just how you feel as I’m also drowning…
I can imagine, adee, after your op and everything, you must have a lot to catch up on!
Pass the biscuits please Cindy
Here you go, Myra ;p
The worst thing about a little away trip is all the blog reading you come home to, but seriously….. its almost sacrilege to miss out on one of our fave bloggers posts, so even if it takes days if your anything like me, its impossible not to read. Love the messages coming from your bloggers get together. thats a great tip…. share, praise link. All good stuff.
I’d love to get a copy of the flavours thesaurus too…, let me know where you find it, I’m guessing it’d be on Amazon right?
I’ll try our local chain, Exclusive Books first, will let you know
I perfectly understand what it means to have unread notifications… I always try to catch up with all of them, but it seems impossible!! My inbox is more powerful than me…
LOL Rita, mine is also way too powerful!
That biscuit takes the biscuit – it’s beautiful! I love Monkey Valley, such a beautiful setting.
Sunshine xx
The biscuit inspired me to come back with the intention of upping my biscuit game from now on. xxx
Sounds like a super conference. Thanks for offering us the vicarious visit!
Food, food, food. I’m captivated by it and really enjoy blogs that include food. I like the pic of the cake made with frosting *?*, and the decorations on top, the rolling pin and the squeezer bag (don’t know the name of that decorating tool). Enjoy your day. Blessings to you…
I will let you know the correct name for the decorating tool.
(Squeezer bag? I thought it was a spoon *blush*)
Bless you back, Carol
Lovely conference venue!
It is stunning, Kate.
I’ve also been battling to catch up, but we did have a damn good time.
That we sure did
I have fallen far behind in reading my blogging friends blogs also but unlike you I have no good reason. I just have.
That view is absolute heaven, I wouldn’t be able to do anything but stare at it. I adore the beach.
I’ve cancelled all my weekend arrangements in order to catch up!
Thanks for the update, interesting the upcoming trends in the food world, have to get my thinking cap on and try some new combinations. Love a challenge specially when it comes to my taste buds. x
Oh Cin, what a lovely post, and thank you so much for your kind compliments. It was a pleasure to meet you, and I hope that we meet again soon.
I haven’t met a single person who didn’t enjoy the Indaba! I loved meeting so many new and old friends, and felt so inspired by all I saw and heard.
x Jane-Anne
I hope I don’t have to wait 12 months and that I get to see you before next year’s Indaba
An idyllic venue and a mouthwatering cookie will do nicely any day of the week, thank you!
Will you be back here for the next one???
So much has changed – nowadays I’m much less sure than I would have been at one time, but it sounds like something I would enjoy – value for your money for sure! Is it in February every year?
No, I think the dates are set according to the lack of clutter on the calendar at the time of year.
I’ve always dreamed of booking affairs around the globe in my diary
Definitely worth keeping an eye out for 
Nice to be footloose and fancy free, with the options open to you
Wow! That view!
Isn’t it breathtaking?
That view makes me want to go back!!! It is beautiful.
And how are those biscuits? Would not want to eat it. Frame it!!!
xx
Going to try to copy them … #newdecoratingsetjustarrived ;p
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