Seattle. Summer weather. Sunshine. Good friends. Bigelow Tea. Food! That is what IFBC 2014 was. Here is the view from my room…
Farmstr
Thursday evening was spent with the Farmstr crowd. Games. Food. Fun times. What an great idea and business model from Janelle Maiocco. Small, local sustainable Sellers (farmers, urban farmers, ranchers, fishers, foragers) agree to Farmstr’s Quality Standards, create a profile, then post offers. “This gives local producers the ability to post what they have, when they have it, with self-determined prices, quantities and delivery schedule(s). Offers include product information, price, unit size, offer close date, delivery date and location(s).” Customers search on Farmstr for locally produced food and purchase items directly through Farmstr.
You can feel the good energy from the Farmstr team. They have the “collective passion, experience and domain expertise in food, agriculture, horticulture, restaurant, social, mobile, design, strategic marketing, engineering, user experience, implementation and management.” And it shows. Plus, there is a rooster on their cap!!!
KitchenAid® and Sur La Table
Friday WOW! What an experience for 50 bloggers who were given access to the kitchens of Sur La Table new headquarters to hear about classes, recipe development and a preview of new products – especially KitchenAid. Sur La Table has more than 100 stores across America, with a smokin’ website, and catalog. We learned about their highly regarded cooking class program. They walked us through an unsurpassed selection of exclusive and premium-quality kitchen and table items. 
Their chefs gave us a cooking class with some delectable dishes using KitchenAidmixer attachments to the max. We were treated to yummies and left with two bags full of swag, including a food processor attachment for our KitchenAid mixers. Did I say, “WOW!” Sur La Table is the art and soul of cooking!
Grand Opening Reception Hosted by Raincoast Crisps, Bristol Bay Sustainable Salmon and Accolade Wines!
Attendees were welcomed in style by the event sponsors as we wined and snacked on treats and light bites. I enjoyed the salmon but wish it had been sans toast for the GF crowd. Of course the Gift Suite was a grab and go experience. Wish the brands had been on hand to chat. I did have several meaningful encounters with other foodies that evening. That is always a great part of the IFBC for me.
Walking Seattle
I had to capture a selfie at the original Starbuck’s…
Of course no trip to Seattle would be worth anything without a walking tour including Pike Place Market. This is best done with a group of foodie friends.
Oh the finds at this farmer’s market. We don’t have them like that back home!!! And I had to watch the famous fish toss…
Did I explain the beautiful flowers for $5 and $10? OMGosh…I would be surrounded by fresh flowers all the time if I lived in Seattle…just look at this bouquet…
The first day and a half of IFBC was amazing. More to come…
You covered some of my favorite parts too! Looks like you enjoyed the conference!