We're back with yet another Speakers Announcement (and it's not our last!). We've got another great batch of talented people joining our previously announced speakers. This week, we're introducing our Freelancing Panel, our Tech Session and our session on Working With Restaurants. Let's get on with it!
FBC2013 Freelance Panel
All our participants on the panel are FBC Members who currently earn their living from their blogs or who have used their blogs as springboards to other freelancing opportunities. They're excited to share their tips with you on how to take the next step.
Dan Clapson - Freelance Food Writer
Dan Clapson is a freelance food writer based out of Calgary, Alberta. His array of published works covers everything from restaurant features and chef profiles to creating recipes and recapping hands-on culinary experiences. He writes regularly for Avenue Magazine, Food Network Canada and Metro News, among others. As well, Dan has spent time learning in the kitchen with some of the country's top young chefs. He believes a true appreciation of food culture comes by experiencing it from all sides, which is reflected on his popular blog, dansgoodside.com.
Dan is currently in the process of filming his first web series, as well as penning a cookbook. While he's not writing or eating, you can find him teaching university students how to cook through his non-profit cooking initiative, Start From Scratch. He thinks creme brûlées are overrated, but appreciates a good panna cotta. You can follow him on twitter @dansgoodside
Jan Scott - Freelance Food Writer, Editor and Event Planner
Jan Scott is a food writer/editor, blogger and party planner. Her blog, Family Bites, is a collection of fun party ideas and easy recipes designed for simple family fun. She is the Food Editor for www.savvymom.ca, and in addition to creating the tasty recipes and pretty pictures in the food section of the website, she is also responsible for producing the content for Party Savvy, the website’s popular monthly birthday party feature.
Prior to making the transition to freelance writer, Jan was an event planner for one of Toronto’s top private caterers, and coordinated everything from lavish children’s birthdays and simple weddings, to in-home cocktail parties and corporate events. She lives in Toronto with her husband, Rob, and their two boys, Ben and Jackson. You can follow her on twitter @FamilyBites
Aimee Wimbush-Bourque - Freelance Food Editor and Blogger
After ten years of working at renowned institutions such as Toqué! and Épice de Cru, Aimée Wimbush-Bourque left professional kitchens for good in 2004 to start a family and put down roots on her quarter-acre urban homestead. Now she’s a chicken-raising, jam-making, work-at-home mom of three, who freelances as the editor of the popular food blog, Simple Bites. There she manages the creative content and social media for the site, as well as a team of stand-up contributors. In under three years, Simple Bites has garnered a loyal and engaged audience and was named ‘Best New Weblog’ in the 2010 Canadian Weblog Awards, and listed by Saveur.com as one of 50 food blogs you should be reading,
She has blogged at Under the High Chair since 2006, earning a spot in Babble Top Mom Food Bloggers, as well as 3rd best Family & Parenting blog in the 2011 Canadian Weblog Awards. Aimée has also been featured in print magazines such as Working Mother, Pregnancy & Newborn, Parents Canada, and Best Health for her cooking and blogging tips. Time.com recently named Aimée as one of the Top 30 Pinners You Should Follow Now, but she will insist she’s not addicted to Pinterest. Instagram? Probably.
Aimée claims she could never cook without good quality spices, olive oil and sea salt, nor function normally without dark roast coffee or homemade cookies. She lives just outside of Montréal with her husband, Danny, and three beautiful children, and can almost always be found in the kitchen. Follow Aimee on twitter @SimpleBites
FBC2013 Tech Session
Our tech session features one of our own and one of our valued partners in turning Food Bloggers of Canada from an idea into a functioning reality! This session will focus on reaching as many readers as possible with your blog.
Melissa Hartfiel - FBC Co-Founder and WordPress Web Designer
Melissa Hartfiel is 1/3 of the founding team behind Food Bloggers of Canada where she is the resident design and tech guru. She is also the owner of Fine Lime Designs, a Vancouver based WordPress web and graphic design company. Much of her clientele consists of food, tourism and the arts with a focus on bloggers and small business.
In her spare time, Melissa moonlights as a professional food photographer and writes the food photography blog, Eyes Bigger Than My Stomach where she offers up food photo tips and Lightroom tutorials. She also regularly speaks to New Media students at BCIT on the perils of being a freelance designer and has penned a number of articles with tech tips to get the most out of your blog or website. She lives just outside Vancouver with her goofy lab Sam, an honorary member of the FBC founding team (he attends all the Skype meetings!). Follow Melissa on twitter @mhchipmunk
David Zille -WordPress Developer and Instructor
Dave Zille is the founder and president of dazil Internet Services Inc, a Vancouver based web development company, specializing in WordPress.
Dave has been in the industry for nearly 20 years and prior to founding the company, worked for a variety of organizations in various capacities – as a developer, project lead, supervisor and manager. He regularly speaks at WordCamps throughout BC.
In his spare time, Dave is a part-time instructor in BCIT’s New Media program, and enjoys spending time with friends and family in his Vancouver area neighborhood. You can follow Dave on twitter @dazil
FBC2013 Restaurant Blogging Session
Nearly half our membership consists of restaurant bloggers and to that end we wanted to incorporate a session on working with restaurants.
Chef Jason Bangerter - Executive Chef O&B Canteen | Luma
Jason began his culinary career in Toronto at George Brown College Chef School, followed by a three-year apprenticeship at Le Royal Meridian King Edward Hotel. He earned a much sought-after position as assistant to John Higgins, the captain of Culinary Team Canada. This role also led him to a short stint at Paris’ Hotel Le Meridian Montparnasse.
He soon headed overseas permanently to join the brigade at Mosimann's in London. Under Anton Mosimann, one of London’s leading chefs, Jason quickly rose through the ranks joining the opening teams for the Swissôtel Berlin in Germany and later Château Mosimann in Olten, Switzerland. Upon returning to London, Jason often assisted at Mosimann Academy and was next appointed Chef de Cuisine at the Kulm Hotel in the Swiss Italian Alps, where he was responsible for the hotel's private dining club Dracula.
In February 2002, he returned to Toronto, joining the team at Auberge du Pommier. Long hailed as one of the city’s best restaurants, Bangerter committed to raising the bar even higher. His efforts paid off, earning the restaurant numerous awards and distinctions.
In 2010 Jason took on the position of Executive Chef of Oliver & Bonacini’s two new restaurants at the TIFF Bell Lightbox: O&B Canteen and Luma. Since opening, Luma has been named one of North America’s Top Ten New Restaurants by Frommer’s Travel Guide, as well as one of Toronto’s top ten by local food reviewer James Chatto, and O&B Canteen has become one of the most frequented restaurants of the King West theatre district. Follow Jason on Twitter @chefbangerter
Alexa Clark - Publisher, CheapEats Restaurant Guide
Alexa knows three things really well: technology, food and people. Alexa grew up on an organic farm and in restaurant kitchens which has lead her to have experience working front of the house, back of the house, and from farm to fryer. Her professional career started in interactive tech and after 15 years she deliberately shifted focus to publish the CheapEats Restaurant Guide series. Currently she runs Plethora Press, a publishing company she founded with partner Gerry Thorpe for the CheapEats Restaurant Guide series. CheapEats guides are currently available for Toronto and Ottawa, with Vancouver and Montreal in the works.
Alexa started blogging in 2004 with blogs for CheapEats Toronto and Ottawa, her personal blog unsweetened.ca and a blog about the television show The Apprentice which she sold for a profit after 5 seasons. Alexa is a Founder of HoHoTO, Founder & Editor of FarFromOrdinary.ca, Co-chair of the Communications Committee for Second Harvest’s Toronto Taste, and Founder and Host of one of Toronto's hottest underground dining experiences the Secret Pickle Supper Club. Follow her on twitter at @alexaclark
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