When
we planned to organise the Indian Food Bloggers Meet, we wanted it to be an
exciting event that gave bloggers the opportunity to share their passion for
all things food, exchange ideas and listen to inspiring talks. We wanted it to
be an event that would go beyond meeting and eating :) Apart from being the
first ever national gathering of food bloggers, we wanted it to be a meaningful
and insightful experience that would hopefully add a generous helping of
inspiration and loads of value for every blogger who is attending it.
We
reached out to friends from within and outside the food blogger community — people
who we have known as inspiring, accomplished bloggers, to come share their
stories in different capacities — and we have been extremely fortuntate to have
virtually every one of them respond favourably.
We’re delighted to share the
entire lineup at IFBM 2014 with you today. Here’s a sneak peek at what the
agenda for 1st and 2nd August 2014 looks like.
Food Styling
The
best blogs that lure us back time and again are usually the ones with food that
looks stunning. And to tell you how to make your food look good, styled to the
T and eye-catching, Deeba Rajpal will
be sharing her tips and tricks about food styling. Talking about her own distinct
style of impeccable beautiful set-ups and a penchant for food props, Deeba will tell us what inspires her and what you too can do to achieve great results with
just a little effort and attention.
Food Photography
When
you’re a food blogger, just making your food look good isn’t enough. You have
to make your food photograph well too. Aparna
Balasubramanian is a food photographer par excellence, and all of us who
frequent her blog will agree that her pictures form an important part of the
story her blog tells. Aparna will be joining us to share some basic and simple
principles of food photography and how to shoot better looking pictures.
Food Writing
Good
food writing is what makes some blogs more memorable than others. If you’re the
kind of blogger that bookmarks a post as much for the story it tells, as the
recipe it shares, then you will enjoy this session by Rushina M Ghildiyal. After the successful release of her first
cookbook, A Pinch of This, A Handful of
That, Rushina will be talking to us about how to make every blog post
compelling and the kind that will be memorable in your reader’s minds.
Cookbook Publishing
Many
of us secretly nurture a dream to write a cookbook, to write out a food story
that’s waiting to be told and share our words and thoughts about food. But the
thought of putting it out there, finding a publisher and carving out an
audience, is intimidating and holds many of us back. Aparna Jain, author of the recently-published book, The Sood Family Cookbook, will be
joining us to share her journey from self-published author to cookbook writer,
telling you how you can make it happen too.
SEO and Social Media
Marketing
Most
of us and our blogs are nothing without the heaps of love and attention we get
online, via Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and the like. Nandita Iyer well known food blogger,
columnist and culinary trainer, along with SEO Expert Ashish Verma will share with you the best social media tools out
there, how you can use them and harness their potential to take your food blog
to the next level.
Beyond blogging
This
session is a panel discussion that brings a host of bloggers from various
backgrounds to one common table. Each of these bloggers have successfully taken
their passion for food and blogging to the next level by branching out into a
unique and niche field. Whether it is commercial photography, food styling for
food/culinary brands, or culinary training, cultural food walks or cookbookwriting — this discussion will give you a glimpse into the stories of some of
these bloggers we know and applaud for steering their careers to new
directions.
Apart
from these sessions, the Indian Bloggers Meet will also include the following:
Wine Appreciation — Aneesh Bhasin from Hipcask will give you a flavour of the various
kinds of wine there are to be had, a gist about pairing and techniques — minus
the snob value usually associated with wine!
Exclusive Book Launch — Harper Collins will be joining us to launch their new cookbook Spice Sorcery, by Husna Rahman, with a chance to talk to the author and grab your
very own copy!