The Food Bloggers of Canada Conference. The journey there.

The Food Bloggers of Canada Conference. The journey there.

The journey to the Food Bloggers of Canada Conference promised to make it a trip to remember.

The Food Bloggers of Canada Conference. The journey there.

Who knew the weather would play such a roll for FBC members across Canada.

Wednesday evening before I was to leave, I received a call to inform me that my flight to Toronto had been cancelled. I was rescheduled on a earlier flight Thursday morning. Much earlier, like 5 hours earlier…. After a moment of slight panic, I took a deep breath and headed to my closet. No problem, it just meant I had to get busy packing, it was looking like a long evening ahead.

Between getting everything ready and nerves of excitement, (I had not been in a plane since I was a young child) headed to the biggest city in Canada, I was indeed anxious about the conference. Though you Tweet with many on a daily basis it still felt like I was walking into a room full of strangers.

I planned to arrive there a day early so I could get my bearings. Sleep late and try and get rested up. And give me plenty of time to meet with fellow bloggers at the airport for the drive out to Hockley Friday afternoon.

After finally falling asleep around 2:30 the alarm rang at 4:15, my journey was about to begin. With just enough time to get ready and enjoy one steamy mug of hot coffee it was time to head to the airport. It was dark and calm out. Very nice for a drive out to the edge of the city. It is not often I am out & about during that hour of the day but I find that whenever I am, I marvel at the serene calmness of the world. Close to dawn yet still oddly silent. I just love it!

Unless I could be at home sleeping in my nice comfortable bed. Lord knows I could have used it. I arrived to find out that the plane was full. And there was no other way out until the following morning. Same time. Same place. The lovely woman from WestJet told me to go home and get some sleep.

On the drive home I realized all my travel plans out to the resort where now not going to work. I got home, brewed a fresh pot of coffee and enjoyed the 6:30 am sunrise.

early morning sunrise

By 7:00 I received a Tweet from Michelle in Edmonton, her flight was also cancelled. There was an ice storm in Toronto playing havoc with many peoples travel plans.

We all seem to hit the Facebook page at the same time. Many now looking for rides out to the resort because of changing travel plans. Deep down inside worrying if we would make it there at all.

I lucked out and there were offers of rides for latecomers to Toronto. As fate would have it, she was also my roommate for the weekend! As we headed out of the city the conversation flowed. Of course, it soon turned to a passion we both share. Photography!

Thank you again Heather. You were a fantastic roommate and I enjoyed hanging out and chatting with you throughout the weekend. The ride to Hockey Valley and then to Orangeville were greatly appreciated. As was the help in getting my over full suitcase zipped. That was most definitely a team effort.

On my way into Toronto between flights, I caught a Tweet in Edmonton before I boarded my plane that there was an ice storm out at the resort and that the power was out. Yikes. This definitely was going to be a conference to remember. On the drive out the closer we got to Hockley Valley the more ice covered the trees and fences were. It was quite stunning.

Though I imagine the drive a few hours earlier were probably quite hairy. Unsure of how the evening would go with no power we joked about roasting hot dogs outdoors over the fire. And really that would have been fine, we were just so pleased to be there.

The power had been restored just before we arrived. We checked in, got registered, then headed up to our room to get ready for the Cocktail reception. When the elevator doors opened there stood the lovely Michelle from The Tiffin Box. You would never have known her flight left Edmonton at 1 that morning. She looked amazing! It was so nice to finally meet her in person. We have been Tweeting each other for a long time and I was so very glad she made it to the conference.

The Welcome Dinner

A quick change, a few curls and we were headed downstairs to mingle. The room was a swarm of food and drink, hugs and loud conversation. I was busy scoping out name tags trying to place names and faces with the tiny avatars from social media. I briefly chatted with some of the sponsors, trying out the wonderful samples they were offering.

fbc2013 welcome dinner

And what a dinner it was. This was the conference that set a very high bar for food expectations for conferences to come!

Every course had wine pairings with a description of the wines and the vineyard they came from by Luke Orwinski from Rosewood Estates Winery.

poutine

Like any good Canadian conference our meal started with an amazing rendition of Poutine paired with the Rosewood 2011 Chardonnay Reserve. It was unlike any Poutine I have ever experience. Truly outstanding.

prime rib

The main was a fork tender Wellington County Prime Rib with Yorkshire pudding, sautéed Windy Field’s mushrooms with a red wine jus. The wines were a Henry of Pelham Baco Noir & Rosewood Merlot.

dessert

Our meal was finished with a luxurious Chocolate Trifle of stewed berries, chocolate genoise, vanilla custard with Chantilly cream paired with a Henry of Pelham Icewine.

Every moment of the evening was perfect. The food was outstanding. The event started off with huge expectations for the weekend ahead.

kitchen aid milkshake bar

You would have never known the power was out for most of the day. Truly a testament to the amazing staff at the Hockley Valley Resort, the entire planning crew from the FBC and all of the sponsors who took part in the cocktail reception. The evening was flawless.

kitchen aid milkshake bar

Kitchen Aid

Like any good Food Blogger Conference following dinner we were led to the next room over where Kitchen Aid had set up a milkshake bar! The ballroom had been transformed into a movie theater where everyone could relax and unwind from the day’s events.

Exhausted I fell into bed that night and reflected on the day. I realized that not once was I nervous about being there. From the moment you walked in it was like being a room full of friends. All gathered because of common passions with a need to learn more and meet fellow foodies from across our great country. Where it was okay to take pictures of each course of our dinner and Tweet between bites of the amazing meal before us. A fantastic feeling indeed!

 

 

Published by Redawna

Garden & Food Writer/Educator/Photographer. NFT artist. Management Professional. Community Builder. Entrepreneurial spirit.

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