The 3 Best Gourmet Bites in Disney World, Plus What I Learned atFoodBlog Forum 2015

Those of you who follow along on social media saw all the fun happenings from my time at Food Blog Forum held at Walt Disney World last week. I like to call Food Blog Forum the "creme de la creme" of Food Blogging conferences. If selling out in 2 seconds flat is any indication as to how popular this conference is, it's no surprise that Disney World and the other sponsors were about to go above and beyond to make our experience stellar! 

There are plenty of ways I could recap this experience and I promise you that there will be mini-recaps in my upcoming recipe posts too but for this post, I'm going to just give you a quick play-by-play followed by an "appe-teaser" of a few of my favorite dishes from the fabulous lunch the team at Walt Disney World served us. 

Early Friday morning, The Mr. and I hopped a flight from LAX to MCO. After a little over 4 hours in the sky, we had touched down in Orlando and were ready to go... maybe me a little more so than The Mr.

Thanks to Disney’s Magical Express we didn't have to worry about waiting for our luggage at baggage claim, the team at Disney picked up our bags and delivered them to the hotel within a few hours. I picture little birds and woodland creatures marching around picking up the luggage off the turnstile. Once we were on the Magical Express bus, it was about a 30-40 minute ride over to the Grand Floridian.

If you've read my past FBF recaps, you’ll know that I've dubbed this hotel “The Ritz Carlton of Disney” and it’s no secret why. The property is gorgeous, the service is great, and the convenience of being on the Monorail track is unparalleled. Upon pulling up, I quickly darted to check-in. You see, I had to make my way over to The Four Season Orlando to meet up with the rest of the FBF group for an opening cocktail reception. 

Since I had already missed that bus, literally, I shared an Uber with Jenny of Picky Palate and my girl Heather from Heather Likes Food. In no time at all we were reunited with our fellow Bloggers to nosh and chat! 

I have to say, there are a LOT of conferences out there for bloggers and some of them are very similar. You’ll have a session on food photography, one on monetization, and may even get to chat with a few brand reps. But, to me, the most valuable thing that I get out of a conference is the one on one time with fellow bloggers. They are the ones who have the same questions you do, deal with the same frustrations, and trying to make this passion into a full time gig. I am very grateful for the women (and men) that I have met through blogging conferences and am so glad that I have them in my virtual community to rely on.

My wonderful Blogger Buddies! My Baking Heart, Heather Likes Food, and The Kitchen Prep.

After the reception, it was back over to the hotel to meet up with the Mr. for dinner. My blogging-bestie, Jessica from My Baking Heart brought her hubby too so we had a double date over at Ohana in the Polynesian Resort. We dined on Hawaiian fare, tropical cocktails, and even had a chance to watch the fireworks at Magic Kingdom through their giant picture windows. It was great! We wrapped up the night a little early knowing that we had a BIG day of learning ahead of us!

With my trusty Kasey’s Kitchen notebook and a hot green tea in my hand, I was ready for a full day of learning, innovation, and inspiration. Here’s the Reader’s Digest version since I really could go on for hours…

The day was kicked off by a talk with Victoria Finn of Disney Creative. Her job is to create cool things for Disney. I repeat, her JOB is to create cool things for Disney. Obviously this woman had my undivided attention right away. She was captivating, talking about how to stay creative and how to brainstorm in all of her Tina-Fey-like-adorableness. I wish I could have just 15 minutes with her to pick her brain. Talk about my dream job!

Next up was a talk from Todd and Diane of White on Rice Couple. If you’re familiar with these two, you know that their food photography is out of this world. They spoke for about an hour on different techniques and tips to elevate your photography and food styling. My favorite quote from Diane was, “Take a bite, cut it up, make it real” in regards to the food that you shoot… however I think that philosophy applies to life as well.

The following session was from Bjork and Lindsay Ostrom of Pinch of Yum along with Jaden from Steamy Kitchen. They spoke to use about new monetization strategies and the concept of being “Expert Enough”, meaning that you don’t have to be the top authority on something to confidently talk about it. This all played into Jaden’s tips for knowing your worth as a blogger and negotiating.

In my opinion, we were spoiled by the next session. Enid, the Community Manager from Pinterest came in and spoke to us on how we can maximize our exposure on the site. As a blogger, you are pretty much self-taught in all aspects of “job”. You have to learn how to be your own agent, marketing consultant, branding specialist, social media manager, photographer and for me, chef! The fact that we had someone on hand from one of the top traffic drivers for blogs was so valuable! If there’s one tip I can share from Enid it’s stop posting horizontal pictures on Pinterest. It’s a waste of space!

The session after lunch (don’t worry, I’ll get to lunch in a minute) were the Expert Roundtable Discussions. They broke us up into small rooms with about 10-12 bloggers in each room. Each speaker from the conference as well as brand reps, would come into the rooms for 15 minutes each and we could just ask them whatever we wanted. It was awesome! Real, raw conversation with top bloggers, brand reps, and photographers. To me, this was the most valuable time from the conference. I’m so glad they did this, it’s what many of the other conferences I've gone to in the past were lacking. 

Okay, Okay. Now the important part, THE FOOD! We were absolutely spoiled by the Food and Beverage team at Walt Disney World, which I'm not going to lie, I was relieved after the last FBF in WDW lunch experience (serving kids meals to food bloggers...no thanks). Set in the beautiful California Grill in the Contemporary Resort, a dozen or so chefs from the top Disney restaurants from all over the resort to share their top dishes with us. It was phenomenal.

There were dozens of fabulous dishes to try but here are my favorites... in no particular order. Pardon the iPhone pictures...there was no way I was delaying my dining to fumble with the DSLR.

1. Braised Pork Belly with Goat Cheese Polenta and Country Applesauce from California Grill - Ok, maybe there's an order because this dish was by far my favorite. The candy-like crystallization on the pork belly was what foodie dreams are made of. Oh, and the creamy polenta was the prefect compliment. I could have eaten at least five of these bad boys, but two had to suffice.

2. Sauteed Shrimp and Scallops with Seasonal Vegetables and Mushrooms served in Puff Pastry with a Creamy Lobster Sauce from Be Our Guest - I'm now seeing what all the rage over BOG is about. The food is incredible, especially for a Magic Kingdom restaurant which in my experience has always been, meh. This dish was rich in flavor, showcasing the beauty of the seafood and pairing it with a french flair with the light Puff Pastry. C'est Magnifique!

3. Braised Beef "Bolognese" with House-made Cavatelli from Trattoria al Forno at Disney's Boardwalk. Being the known Pasta-holic that I am, it's not wonder that I fell for the carbolicious dish! What I found interesting was the spin on a traditional bolognese sauce by using a beautiful braised beef instead of the traditional ground beef. So hearty and comforting!

Food Bloggers at Work!! 

The major knowledge nugget I took away from FBF is to stop comparing myself to other bloggers. It's a vicious trap that I find myself in from time to time (I blame Los Angeles) but it's so easy to get discouraged when you see other bloggers doing things or working with brands and you instantly think that you must not be good enough or that you're not doing things the right way. In the final session led by Elise Bauer of Simply Recipes, she talked about how useless it is to compare yourself to others. Even Elise, who has been running one of the top recipe sites for years falls victim to "Blogger Burnout" and admitted that comparison is the often the culprit.

Want to see more from my trip to Food Blog Forum and Walt Disney World? Check out my Instagram feed or search #KKinDisney! 

A Bit More Disney! FBF Recap Part 2

So as some of you know, I had the chance to spend last weekend in Walt Disney World at the Food Blog Forum 2013 Conference.

Take 100 of the most talented Food Bloggers from all over the country, stick them in the happiest place on earth and what do you get? You are about to find out...

You can read about my journey getting to the conference here.

I had spent the night prior to the conference at another Disney hotel with Heather of Heather Likes Food. She and I hit it off right away, which is a good thing because she was in store for "Kasey's Disney Whirlwind Tour". This is an event that can easily make or break any friendship.

We raced over to Disney's Grand Floridian first thing Friday morning (with the Jefferson's theme song in our heads). I mean, can you get a load of this place. As I like to call it... The Ritz Carlton of Disney World.

Does anyone recognize that piano?? Hint: Think TGIF!

After we received our official FBF 2013 badges it was up to the monorail to hit up Epcot. A land of rides, innovation and food from around the world. Yeah, this is pretty much the number one park for a foodie. 

After a spin on the new Test Track, lunch at The Land and a Grand Mariner Slushie in France, it was time to head back to the hotel and freshen up before the Welcome Reception.

Heather and I playing in "Paris", Lemon Tarts, Grand Marnier Slushies and Mrs Potts!

We bolted back to the hotel in time to get situated in our rooms and I had the chance to meet my new roomie. Alicia (Alicia Carlson Photography) and I were assigned to room together and come to find out, we both majored in Broadcast Journalism at Emerson College and had plenty of stories to share about one grueling professor. I guess it really is a small world after all! Sorry, couldn't resist.

Alicia and I at the conference. Making Marsha proud!

We enjoyed a brief reception in the Convention Center lobby which felt like a Meet and Greet of all the wonderful people I've been chatting with the few months leading up to the event. We were presented with a selection of intricate dishes that are offered at Disney's Grand Floridian. I wish I had a bit more time to enjoy the food but it was hard to chat and chow down at the same time.

Shortly after, it was time for me to hop on the Disney Transportation bus to MGM (Disney Hollywood Studios - but I refuse to call it that) for an intimate dinner hosted by Glam Media and Foodie.com at The Brown Derby. It was wonderful to have the chance to talk to a group of bloggers on a smaller scale and learn more about the opportunities that are out there for us. We enjoyed a number of elaborate appetizers and I even had my first bite of Bison!

Jessica (My Baking Heart) and I enjoying our specialty cocktails up top and of course a fun group shot!

The Conference Day started bright and early at 8am and was non-stop until 5:30. It was PACKED with information and inspiration from FBF founders Jaden and Scott Hair (Steamy Kitchen), Todd Porter and Diane Cu (White On Rice Couple). We were also brought up to date with the latest technology for food bloggers thanks to Elise Bauer (Simply Recipes) and Babette Papaj (Bake Space). Conference coordinators Julie Deily (The Little Kitchen) and Lindsay Landis (Love and Olive Oil) joined a panel with David Leite (Leite's Culinaria) and Jeff Houck (Tampa Bay Tribune) to discuss building a community with your blog and keeping your authentic voice. 

Since this is a Food Blog conference, you didn't think they were going to make us starve, did you?? Disney presented us with a whimsical spread of their revamped Kid's Menu. For someone who was born with an elaborate palate I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed but I can see what they were going for. The presentation was fantastic, 100% Disney all the way, but the bland flavors on each dish made me wrinkle my nose. The one standout for me however was the Turkey Pot Pie which can be found at Cinderella's Royal Table. That was packed with flavor and made me want a second helping!

How adorable is the presentation of these dishes from Disney!?

After the conference sessions wrapped and all the prizes were raffled off (Thanks Kitchenaid and Oxo!) it was time to dart back over to MGM for a private dessert reception and Fantasmic. I had the pleasure of hanging with these lovely ladies for the night!

Diana (The Kitchen Prep), Jessica (My Baking Heart), Yours Truly, Alicia (Alicia Carlson Photography), Heather (Heather Likes Food), Annelies (The Food Poet)

Of course Disney put out a wonderful spread of sweets and treats.... and a cordial bar. Amaretto on the rocks please!



Now I do have to confess, a few of the girls and I decided to ditch the Fantasmic show (I've seen it dozens of times) and hit up a few rides. I opted for my favorites, The Great Movie Ride and Rockin' Rollercoaster before the park closed!

Since I knew Magic Kingdom closed at 1am (!!!) I rounded up a few troops and made our way over there on the hunt for Dole Whip! We were able to hop on It's A Small World, The Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain before closing down the park a little after 1:30 :-)

 

Our group with our coveted Dole Whips! Thanks NoshOnIt for the pic!

The following morning I dragged my exhausted behind out of bed and made my way over to the brunch that was being hosted at Whole Foods Market Orlando. You could tell that the staff at WF put so much time and care into each dish! My favorite would have to be the pulled pork on habanero cornbread! YUM!

After brunch I was faced with the difficult decision... spend my three remaining hours at the hotel pool... or hit up Epcot. If you know me at all, you know what my answer was! I hit up Epcot with Alicia, Vijay and Charles for the quickest tour around the World Showcase I have ever experienced in my 35 times at Disney World. If you can believe it, we had time to hit every country, stop and eat in France and get stuck in a torrential downpour, all within 45 minutes! THAT was a record!

Even a downpour in Epcot could keep us from having fun!

In the end, the event that seemed like it took forever to happen was over in a flash (like most good things) and I made sure to savor every minute. I am so grateful for the knowledge I gained and the friends I made. I hope you all enjoy seeing the tips from the conference put into action over the next few months here on Kasey's Kitchen! To see all my photos from the trip, click here!

A Foodie Fantasy: My Time at Food Blog Forum 2013 [Part 1]

See all my Instagram Photos by searching the # above!

Once upon a time in a far away land filled with fancy cars and shining stars lived a girl who had a food blog. She would whip up recipes with a dash of this and a bit of that, creating magical spells for your taste buds.

One day, she opened up her trusty MacBook Spell Book and asked, "Google, Google on my Mac, show me events that of food, will not lack". In an instant, the perfect event was revealed, the Food Blog Forum Conference was being held in Walt Disney World. Now this was quite the perfect combination for this young lady for she has been in love with the "Happiest Place on Earth" for as long as she could remember. She thought to herself, "If this event doesn't scream, 'ME', then I don't know what does!?"

With that she set multiple alarms to insure she did not miss out on registration. When the fateful day came, she propped up her laptop to the event page in anticipation and the minutes were counting down... 3...2... Then, a beckoning call from afar, "Kasey, can you come help me with something?" her colleague exclaimed. She rushed through the task only to return to her computer and see the dreaded words, "SOLD OUT". Her heart was crushed and tears came to her eyes. "I never cry! What is wrong with me?" she thought to herself.
With her fingers crossed, she added her name to the wait list and carried on her day, feeling more deflated than a Macy's Parade balloon on Black Friday.

A few weeks later, a cartoon bird flew to her window...ok, it was an email... With a notice that a spot had opened up and it was here's if she wanted it!

Ok, now back to reality!