Photo: Brian Lee Photography

Updates

June 2009: Planning Begins

So long as food is central to the occasion, Portlanders are an easy bunch to assemble. And so was the case on a warm evening in May in Portland's Pearl District where 48 members of the city's top culinary brass gathered at the seminal eatery Bluehour to officially launch planning for the 2010 IACP Conference.

After a brief introduction by Host Committee Chair Mike Thelin and Program Committee Chair Ken Rubin, veteran Portland food writer/educator Diane Morgan led a lively roundtable discussion that included past IACP President Janie Hibler, renown Portland chefs Cathy Whims and Vitaly Paley, writers and editors from every major Portland newspaper and magazine, plus representatives from Travel Portland, Ecotrust, Culinary Tourism, and the top marketing and public relations firms in the town. The objective was to begin shaping the conference theme, "The New Culinary Order," into one of the most engaging, interesting, and fun IACP showcases to date. And if the ideas put forth at this meeting are any indication, then the 2010 Conference will be an occasion not to be missed.

Portland is a city that proudly celebrates the heritage and culture of the greater culinary world, but one that's renowned for dancing to its own tune and carving out its own path. How will this translate to the conference events? How about butchery classes, courses in cheese making and distilling, and of course, a primer on how to pull a perfect shot of Northwest-style espresso?

Attendees suggested culinary bicycle tours, dinners on restaurant rooftops, food cart crawls, wine blending, and much more. What else would you expect from the city with more breweries than any place in the world, close proximity to a major wine region, and the hotbed to one of the hottest micro-distillery movements on the planet?

Of course, Portland isn't all about booze. There's the urban chickens, the foragers in city parks, the pizza freaks, the olive oil importers, the artisan chocolate shops, the savory ice cream, the pig farms, the sausage makers, and some of the best coffee shops in the entire world. It's been said that Portland is a city that's food-obsessed, so could there be a better backdrop for the 2010 conference?

With a talented group of veteran IACP members deciding the direction of programming, and a passionate cadre of local culinary pros ready to play tour guide on behalf of the city they love, the IACP 2010 Conference will be an event you won't want to miss. Come to Portland in 2010 and share our common experience, the New Culinary Order.