Any where else, other than a gathering of food bloggers, this would seem odd. But when a bunch of food bloggers congregated together at the Urban Element on Tuesday, February 2nd, this was the norm. Amazingly, the staff didn't even bat an eye when asked to "pose" with the various hors-d'oeuvres!
We were all there at the invitation of Chicken Farmers of Canada, for a social gathering of Ottawa Food bloggers, with appetizers, cocktails, a cooking demonstration and to hear Ron Eade give a talk on sodium and writing about food.
Ron didn't spend his entire evening talking about salt, but touched on alot of little things about food writing: the time it takes not only to write a blog, but to read and comment on others, the passion that comes through in some blogs, picture size, links and recipes. And one I've been guilty of lately - frequency of blogging. (I owe my blog a big apology for the neglect it's seen over the last few months.)
Pulled pork with smoked tomato jam
Cod cakes
Mini chicken pot pies
Mini chicken pot pies
Sundried tomato strata with C'est Bon goat cheese
Chicken dumplings with peanut sauce
Caramelized onion tarts and pear tarts with Bleu BénédictineI am allergic to penicillin, so fortunately I only took one small nibble of this tart, without any cheese, when I realized it had blue cheese on it and I really should not be eating it.
In-house pork rillette with Rochon farm zucchini relish
The food made for us by the staff was not only beautiful to look at, but pretty darn good too. I did find it ironic that an event hosted by chicken farmers had cod and pork as part of the appetizers, though the cooking demonstration for the evening was centered around chicken: chicken liver pate, made for us by Chef Candice Butler.
Not being a fan of anything involving liver, I pretended I didn't hear that part of the recipe and tried the pate anyways. It was tasty but quite rich, I had a difficult time finishing my piece.
The highlight of the evening, for me, was getting an opportunity to meet some local food bloggers. I admit, I had not known about all of them, or that there were quite so many in Ottawa, but it was a pleasure to be included in their company. Some, like Shari of Whisk: A Food Blog, I had been reading for ages and had exchanged emails with. While others, like Don of foodPrints, Rachelle of Rachelle Eats Food, Eva of Eva's Food World and Pearl of Eaten Up, I hope to make part of my regular reading and meet again at future events (which means I better stop neglecting my blog!)
Big thanks to Ryan of Fat Canary Communications for inviting me, to the Chicken Farmers of Canada for hosting this little party, and to the staff at the Urban Element.
The highlight of the evening, for me, was getting an opportunity to meet some local food bloggers. I admit, I had not known about all of them, or that there were quite so many in Ottawa, but it was a pleasure to be included in their company. Some, like Shari of Whisk: A Food Blog, I had been reading for ages and had exchanged emails with. While others, like Don of foodPrints, Rachelle of Rachelle Eats Food, Eva of Eva's Food World and Pearl of Eaten Up, I hope to make part of my regular reading and meet again at future events (which means I better stop neglecting my blog!)
Big thanks to Ryan of Fat Canary Communications for inviting me, to the Chicken Farmers of Canada for hosting this little party, and to the staff at the Urban Element.
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