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The 2010 International Food Blogger Conference is taking place in Seattle from August 27th - 29th. This year's keynote speaker is James Oseland, editor-in-chief of Saveur Magazine (Top Chef fans also know him as a judge on Top Chef Masters). Registration will be open to the public starting this Monday, August 19th. The $350 ticket price sounds steep but apparently the generous goodie bag will make it worthwhile. There's also a special room rate being offered by the host hotel, Hotel Monaco.
And for all you poutine fans out there, Smoke's Poutinerie and Major League Eating are hosting the first World Poutine Eating Championship in Toronto on Saturday, May 22nd. Despite the recent controversy about the contest being closed to Quebec participants (Quebec is the birthplace of poutine, afterall) I think it'll still be a fun time. I met Ryan Smolkin (owner of Smoke's Poutinerie) in Drummondville, QC last year (we were both there to attend the Festival de la Poutine) and he seems to take his poutine very seriously, taking the trouble to import authentic squeaky cheese curds from Quebec for his 20 varieties of poutine.
Professional registration for the championship is now closed but they are still accepting entries for amateurs. Just submit your "I once ate..." or "I love poutine so much..." story here and Smoke's Poutinerie will select 3 amateurs to compete with the pros. You have till May 15th to enter and you must be 18 years old and a resident of Canada (excluding Quebec). Pity I'll be in Vancouver on May 22nd, I think I'd be a shoe-in for this contest (see my posts for 12 poutine in 12 days & Poutine-Palooza: Festival de la Poutine). I guess there's always next year :)
