IACP International Association of Culinary Professionals Conference

Last week I attended the IACP Conference (International Association of Culinary Professionals) here in Manhattan and had a great time meeting new friends as well as reuniting with old friends whom I’ve met at previous food conferences as well as through facebook, blogs and twitter.

The conference kicked off with a day of tours throughout Manhattan- everything from a trip to famous NYC restaurants to a train ride up to Stone Barns in New York State. The conference was Thursday thru Monday and it was a jam-packed schedule the entire 5 days.  The opening party on Friday night was held at a beautiful space down in Soho where famous Manhattan chefs displayed and served their signature dishes and cocktails to all attendees. It was a beautiful display- lots of seafood, pork and swanky cocktails!

I attended many panels – everything from How to Work With Brands, Food Styling, Legal Issues, Cooking Classes, Public Relations and Strategy for Your Platform. It was so lovely hearing from such talented culinary professionals and having the opportunity to converse with them after their panels.

Sunday was a fun day down in Soho where the conference held a Blog and Book Tour filled with new products, book signings and food samples from local restaurants.  I attended a few panels at the Culinary Schools here in NYC and watched everything from how to cook with a Wok- loved the stir-frying and how to cook and bake with teas- which I loved since I am a huge fan of any tea. I often bake with tea and even use it in my chicken and tofu recipes as well as dressings and drinks so this class was surely worth it.

The conference ended with a beautiful gala as well as an award ceremony where many famous authors were highlighted for their incredible work and newly published books.

The best part of this conference was connecting with many new faces- everything from The Food Network to Saveur Magazine and publishing houses to Cooking Light Magazine and Fine Cooking Magazine.

Overall, I was delighted to have been a part of such a special conference in my home city of Manhattan.

Many of us are already looking forward to next year in Portland!