May 31 – June 2, 2013
Philadelphia, PA

Register by April 15, 2013 to participate in the Amazing Apps Culinary Challenge! (You could win an iPad and $500 of OXO tools!)

We have a wonderful array of hands-on learning, intensive networking and one-of-a-kind dining events lined up. Take a sneak peek at this year’s highlights below. Stay tuned as we reveal more about our fabulous weekend in the coming weeks.

Culinary Challenge

This hallmark of Eat Write Retreat programming takes on an exciting new twist, with the Amazing Apps Culinary Challenge sponsored by California Figs, California Ripe Olives, US Potatoes and California Raisins. Mystery boxes of ingredients, tools and recipe inspiration will be shipped right to your door!

Read all of the delicious details here, then register before April 15 to take part. You could walk away with a brand new iPad at our Saturday night Gala Awards Ceremony!

Core Curriculum

Food Writing in the Age of Sponsored Posts — Monica Bhide

Our food writing education expands to multiple sessions over three days. Noted food writer, Monica Bhide will guide you in during a variety of workshops aimed at shaking up your routine and grabbing your full attention. You’ll come away refreshed, inspired and full of ideas for bringing your stories to life.

During our core session, Monica will challenge you to stretch beyond your comfort zone as you craft a multi-platform piece highlighting mystery tools from OXO. Then Monica will re-visit her teachings throughout the weekend, emphasizing the techniques that every great writer should implement when approaching a new story.

Photography & Food Styling — Carolyn Ketchum and Sarah W. Caron

Stunning visuals are a must these days, especially for a food blog. Our readers eat first with their eyes, and a captivating photo can help build readership as much as an engaging story can.

But great photography doesn’t always require the latest gadgets, a premium lighting package and pricey editing software. Successful bloggers Carolyn Ketchum and Sarah Caron will share “grass roots” tricks of the trade that have allowed them to prosper professionally while still considering themselves amateur photographers.

From utilizing natural light and emphasizing the basic appeal of a dish, to entry-level software packages and semi-manual settings, Carolyn and Sarah will walk you through the choices and best practices of a home photographer. Their photography education will begin in a core workshop, and continue through “refresher moments” during other sessions of the conference, with ample opportunity to apply their insights “on the spot” to improve your results.

What’s more, this invigorating session is presented at Eat Write Retreat in partnership with Watermelon and Jarlsberg USA. During the workshop, you will benefit from direct feedback from the PR pros in charge of their brand’s image, including frequent collaboration with stylists and photographers. Stephanie Barlow and Ronnie Campbell (National Watermelon Promotion Board and Jarlsberg USA, respectively) will give pointers and insights into what they look for in brand imagery as the session unfolds, giving us a crash course in best practices when working with clients.

Hazelnuts & Bolts — Jesse Gardner, Carolyn Ketchum and Valerie Coffman

Culinary Exploration

We’ll spend time learning about various culinary traditions, deepening your understanding of different foods, growing cycles, cooking techniques and nutritional benefits.

What’s In Your Water?  – Deanna Segrave-Daly, RD

We cook, clean and yes drink it everyday, yet we generally take water for granted without thinking much about its quality and properties. And, with an ever-increasing number of bottled waters available all touting various health benefits, do we know what’s in our water bottle?

In this session, you’ll discover why all waters are not equal. Just as terrior plays a role in wine and food, so too can it impact the properties of all naturally sourced waters. Learn why waters taste differently and take a taste-test of waters that are currently available.

Deanna Segrave-Daly, RD, nutritionist and wellness expert, will illuminate the importance of daily hydration beyond the classic “eight glasses a day” theory, fully exploring the additional nutritional benefits of natural mineral waters.

Clearly there’s more to water than meets the eye and you will leave this session with a thorough understanding of all your water choices and why there are true nutritional benefits in select waters.

One Potato, Two Potato! – with the BBQ Queens

Get grilling with award-winning cookbook authors The BBQ Queens! This interactive session will open with the Queens sharing their top 10 tips for grilling potatoes – you’ll be amazed by the versatility of potatoes on the grill! Next, the Queens will demonstrate their signature grilled potato flatbread recipe and then, you’ll have the opportunity to create and grill your very own version of the potato-topped flatbread. In between, you’ll also be educated on each of the seven unique potato types – Russets, yellows, whites, reds, purples, fingerlings and petites – a new potato type for every day of the week. We hope you’re hungry because this session is sure to inspire!

Quickfire Sessions

Contact High – Joy Manning

You’ve probably heard the term “power networking,” a phrase that evokes quick bursts of sweaty exertion. “Power networking” is what you do when you’re panicked because you lost your job. But that isn’t how you do it–at least, not the kind of networking that really helps find opportunities and grow your readership. The best networking is more like religion–it’s an inner sanctuary you tend to a little bit every day and commit an hour to at least once a week. Like religion, if you turn to networking only when you need it, it isn’t going provide the bridge over troubled waters it’s so famously supposed to. Good networking is a lifestyle–a fun one!–and this short, perspective-changing session will show you how to start living it. Joy will review a list of 5-minute actions, one of which you should take daily like a vitamin, as well as a few bigger networking initiatives to take when you have more time. At the end of the session, attendees will jump start their networking streak–a mad-libs style email template that they will customize at the end of the session and email to someone they would like to have in their network.

Timing Is Everything: Juggle Multiple Blogs–or Your Blog and Your Life–Like a Pro – Debbie Koenig

If you treat your readership like a hungry baby, always needing to be fed, you’ll never feel like you’ve got this blogging thing under control. Instead, approach the audience more like a preschooler: Nurture it, feed it, and provide enough structure that readers know what to expect, when. This might mean writing posts a week in advance, creating a far-reaching editorial calendar, or establishing regular theme days. In this quickfire session, you’ll walk away with a schedule that works for your life and your blog—whether you blog on multiple sites, work full-time or both!

More, More, More!

Networking — We structure Eat Write Retreat so that you have access to the sponsors all weekend long. Not only is there ample time to pitch your ideas, but you’ll find that you establish meaningful, lasting relationships that will serve you well going forward. The same applies to fellow attendees. You’ll make lifelong friends during your weekend with us.

Dining Events — Philadelphia is a food-lover’s paradise. From old world to avant garde, if you’re hankering for it, chances are it’s a bagel’s toss away. We’ll pack as much of Philly’s culinary highlights as possible into 48 delicious hours.

Sponsors — We are stacking the deck with oodles of fabulous sponsors who are interested in connecting with you! Our sponsors will join us all weekend, as well as taking your pitches during the one-on-one “Pitch to the Pros” session, so the networking opportunities are endless.

SWAG — Bring an empty suitcase. We’re not kidding.