The RCA Annual Conference and Culinology Expo Part 2

Read Part 1 From the Conference Here.

Thursday I was up bright and early for my commute to the RCA Conference and Culinology Expo in Portland. Traffic was horrible but I made it in time to hear the last few minutes of their keynote address from Jon Luther who is the Chairman at Dunkin Brands.

Afterwards there was a networking break with coffee and an array of French pastries, including a selection of the best French Macaroons I have ever eaten.

The first class I attended was one I thought would be interesting because of some of the products/brands I work with. It was entitled; "Stunts, Fads, and Trends" and it was great hearing thoughts and ideas from individuals who had very distinct perspectives, plus the Widmere Brothers supplied everyone with beer (at 9:30 am!) with pretzel bites of course.

Afterwards was a general session held by David Landers (AOS, CCC, Seniors Chef Innovation or Campbells Soup Co.) I learned a lot about the product development process involved with creating things that you and I will purchase and consume. He then went over the top projected food trends of 2014 and (surprise!) there were samples for all of us.

Thursday afternoon the Culinology Expo was held, filled with suppliers in the culinary industry. I wasn't sure what to expect, but the majority of vendors were food related (instead of product related) and that meant tons of food samples to try and people to meet.

After a couple of hours networking and consuming, I left to home to catch Emma's first soccer game of the season.

Friday morning I was up and going again. Traffic was lighter so I was able to join everyone for breakfast before heading in to my last few educational classes. The first session was all about the Food Truck industry. It interested me because Portland is so prevalent for their variety of food trucks throughout the city. Laura Pohopien, (MBA, Ed. D, Lecturer) Dane Danhi (Chef and founder of  The Grilled Cheese Truck), and local Brett Burmeister (Managing Editor and Co-Owner of Food Carts Portland) and shared different views and aspects of their knowledge of food carts. The best part after learning more about the food trucks was knowing that Brett had 5 Portland Food Trucks brought in to feed everyone that afternoon.

First though, was one more general session, and this one was held by Chefs Jimmy Bannos and Jim Bannos Jr., Owners of the restaurants Heaven on Seven and the infamous Purple Pig. They shared tips on some of their fabulous Cajun and Mediterranean cuisines, and we were all given a sample of The Purple Pig's house almonds - and they were the best. Ever.

Then, what we were all waiting for - just outside with food trucks ready to feed hundreds of people! I waited patiently to taste a Pork Belly Cubano from Bunk Sandwiches. Then I ate way too many mini cupcakes from Hungry Heart Cupcakes! If you are in the area you have to taste their Dark and Dusty - it is so good.

After our leisurely lunch I attended my very last class - and it was all about spices - where I had the opportunity to smell more varieties than I even knew existed, and I learned about classifications and origins from Tim Ziegler, The Spice Master at Italco Food Products.

I left Friday afternoon feeling grateful for the unique opportunity I was given to see a tiny glimpse into a different industry. The R.C.A. conference was filed with multiple options for educational seminars, cooking competitions, and many networking events. The next Research Chefs Association Annual Conference and Culinology Expo will be held March 24th-27th 2015 in New Orleans, Louisiana!

~Melissa

Thanks to the R.C.A. for giving me a media pass - all opinions are of my own.

The RCA Annual Conference and Culinology Expo Part 1

As many of you already know, I was invited to attend the Research Chefs Association's Annual Conference and Culinology Expo this past week. The conference is held in a different city each year, and luckily they decided to pay Portland a visit this year.

I was honored to be one of the first few bloggers to be invited to attend the conference and was encouraged to participate in any portion of the events which were spread over the course of four days. I, having no food background other than my experimental baking as a child and simply family meals that I now prepare as an adult, didn't know what to expect. In fact, I had to Google the word Culinology to understand the meaning behind the word!

I was slightly intimidated, but my desire to learn more about this industry was stronger. I signed up for classes that I felt I could walk away from with knowledge that I could share with you.

And that I did.

My first class of the day was entitled; "For the Love of Cheese" and pretty much covered the entire history of cheese in just over an hour, along with tips on creating your own cheeses. We then sampled 18 different varieties. I was in cheese heaven!

After the first breakout session we were greeted with blueberry muffins, croissants, and coffee in the foyer to network, and then continued to our next session.

Before I knew it, it was lunch time, and it was nothing less than amazing. I mean, you have to have exceptional food when you are feeding chefs, research chefs, students, Culinologists, product developers, and a small handful of much-appreciative bloggers, right? :)

After lunch there was a great session held by: Marshall Scarborough (Manager of Global Product Development at Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen), Bethany Hall (Senior Culinologist at Ingedion), and Jacquy Pfeiffer, who is the infamous Founder, Chef, and Dean of Student Affairs at the French Pastry School.

I learned about the process to make sourdough bread, and many tips that I never would have thought about on my own, and of course there was fresh sourdough with homemade jam for us all to sample.
Then Jacquy Pfeiffer demoed how he created jaw dropping works of art - with sugar. His candy making abilities and surprising sense of humor kept me thoroughly entertained even though some of the terminology went way over my head. :)

I then met up with other local bloggers Sarah from Killer Pickles and Fabiola from Not Just Baked and decided to all drive over to the Hilton where the New Member & First Time Attendee Reception was held. It was a beautiful networking session held on the 23rd floor overlooking our beautiful city, and the room was filled with delicious foods and drinks to match.

Following the reception was another reception! This was the Opening Reception and was held a few blocks over at the Portland Art Museum, which was a larger networking event with local restaurants providing bites of their best cuisines for us to try.

I drove home that evening (it's about an hour commute one way) refreshed, rejuvenated, excited. Although I'll never be in the food industry other than blogging my little creations, I admire and am inspired from all of these individuals in the industry!

Click here to read part 2!

~Melissa