FamilyFarmed.org EXPO in Chicago and IACP Awards

This weekend in Chicago, the FamilyFarmed.org EXPO will happed at the Chicago Cultural Center. Friday and Saturday, March 10-11, workshops, speakers, and over 50 exhibitors will present information about organic and sustainable food and farming, as well as showing two important films: "The Future of Food" (produced, written and directed by Deborah Koons Garcia, widow of Jerry) and "The Real Dirt on Farmer John," which I've seen twice and written about here on my blog.

Anne Bramley, producer (and the woman with the great voice) of the EatFeed podcast, invited me to be part of a panel called "The New Grapevine: Marketing with the New Media," which will focus on blogging, podcasting, and other new media tools online to help promote small farms. Another very well-known food blogger, Paul McCann of KIPLog's FoodBlog, is also on the panel providing technical know-how for farmers who want to learn to blog.

I am really looking forward to being in this wonderful city, and maybe hitting a farm or two on Sunday. We'll see if the weather cooperates.

Farmer John himself will be in Los Angeles on March 10 (I think, though it's not indicated on their site any longer).

After the conference, I will post a list of resources from our presentation.

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Not exactly farm-related, but nonetheless educational. My friends, Tracey Ryder and Carole Topalian, from EdibleCommunities, sent out this announcement this morning:

Exciting news for today: Edible Communities has been selected as one of the three finalists for the 2006 IACP Award of Excellence in Consumer Educational and Communication Materials! Congratulations to all of you – it is certainly an honor we have achieved as a result of the combined talent and energy from our entire “community.” Every one of our publications (that were in print by January 2006) were submitted. In addition to ECI, Bon Appetit Management Company and the California Table Grape Commission were also nominated in this category. Here’s what the IACP says about our category: The IACP Awards of Excellence are presented annually to honor members whose outstanding achievements and unending pursuit of excellence embody the highest standards of the association.

The winner will be selected based on the number of votes they get from the IACP membership – highest number of votes winning, of course. So, please encourage all of your colleagues and friends who are members of the IACP to vote!

This is the press release from IACP:

NEW YORK (March 6, 2006) – The International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) announced the finalists for the 2006 IACP Cookbook Awards, Bert Greene Journalism Awards and IACP Awards of Excellence at a reception for cookbook authors, editors, publishers and the food media at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York this evening.

To view the finalists of the Bert Greene awards click here <http://www.iacp.com/awards/bertGreene/2006.html> , to view the Awards of Excellence Finalists click here <http://www.iacp.com/awards/excellence/2006.html> .

All food and beverage books copyrighted and published in English during the 2005 calendar year were eligible for the coveted awards. This year, nearly 400 books were entered in the awards program, which is considered the country's premier awards competition for recognition of excellence in cookbook writing and publishing. A jury of 39 culinary professionals, including food writers, cookbook authors, and newspaper and magazine food editors, evaluated the books against a detailed list of criteria and tested scores of recipes before arriving at the list of finalists.

Three finalists were announced for each of the 13 categories; a complete list is attached. On April 1 at the annual IACP conference in Seattle, one finalist in each category will be selected to receive the IACP Cookbook Award as the best book for that category. One of the category winners will also have the distinction of being named the Best Cookbook of the Year.

Founded in 1978, IACP members represent a who’s who in the world of food and include cooking teachers and cooking school owners; caterers, chefs and restaurateurs; food writers and cookbook authors; editors and publishers of the world’s consumer and trade press; food stylists and photographers; vintners; television personalities; recipe developers and test kitchen personnel; public relations, marketing and advertising professionals; and many others with a special interest in the culinary arts.

For more information about the awards program or IACP, contact Maria Chapman at IACP Headquarters, 304 West Liberty Street, Suite 201, Louisville, KY 40202 USA; phone (800)-928-4227; fax (502) 589-3602; e-mail mchapman@hqtrs.com or log on to IACP’s Web site at www.iacp.com.

Do you belong to the IACP? Don't forget to vote! Congratulations to David Leite for his two nominations in the essay and internet categories.

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: "Chicago is an October sort of city even in spring." —Nelson Algren

Or how about this one: "Loving Chicago is like loving a woman with a broken nose." (Same guy.)

That's all for now. I'll be posting tomorrow: stay tuned. And thanks for visiting.