Lighting the Fire
Friday, September 30, 2011 at 10:23AM Kim Tillinghast, Austin
I’m a wannabe foodie. The first four letters I have no issue with, and would venture to say love, but to be a foodie one must know a significant amount about the culinary arts. And while I am privileged to know many foodies, I am a severe amateur when it comes to rubbing elbows with 1,000 of them.
With great pride, I’ll tell you that Austin is quickly escalating as a culinary force to be reckoned with, and it was recently chosen by an organization leading the culinary charge on a global level, to play host to 
its 33rd annual conference. I was privileged to attend and be exposed to an incredible network of foodies from the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP), wearing two hats: proud pro bono member of the PR and social media committee and event sponsor via a combined partnership of Edelman Food & Nutrition and Edelman Southwest.
Themed Light Your Fire: Sparks from the Culinary Edge, the IACP conference brought together nearly 1,000 members, exposing this incredible network of foodies to Austin via a series of workshops, demonstrations, panel discussions and special events. Fortunate for the city as a whole, the conference also inspired an estimated $1.6 million in visitor spending, which was happy and impressive news.
For those unfamiliar, the IACP was founded in 1978, and its 3,000 members from 32 countries represent a distinguished roster of food professionals. They include cooking teachers and cooking school owners; caterers, chefs and restaurateurs; food writers and cookbook authors; editors and publishers of the world's consumer and trade press; food stylists and photographers; wine professionals; television personalities; recipe developers and test kitchen personnel; public relations, marketing and communications professionals; and many others with a special interest in the culinary arts. You know, just a few of your average Joes. What’s more, Julia Child, Jacques Pépin and Rick Bayless have been members, and joining us in Austin were cookbook authors Amanda Hesser, Deborah Madison, Shirley Corriher and Dorie Greenspan; Chef Jacques Pépin, Mexican Cuisine Expert Diana Kennedy, Food Network’s Ellie Krieger and Chef/Cookbook Author John Besh. Talk about being upstaged.
But for four delicious days, I did my best sponge impression as sessions and demonstrations addressed everything from modern French cooking to urban farm trends. I tweeted and retweeted and left business cards and blind tasted, thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to combine my personal love with some valuable networking for the agency. Given that Austin boasts an impressive community of food bloggers, farmers markets and urban farms, and it was a proud moment to watch key industry trends be exemplified by our fair city, and watch the general public participate in a handful of open events and fundraisers, mingling with the culinary elite. A meeting of the mouths, if you will. And above all, it was fascinating and encouraging to see that the passion for food is not only alive, but growing at a rapid pace.
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