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Seven Insights From

The International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP)

2012 New York Conference

When hundreds of culinary professionals descend on the city of New York for their annual

conference, one can expect a vast menu of topics from amuse-bouche to substantial fare.

For some, the theme “The Fashion of Food,” at the IACP conference March 29 through April

2 in New York, made perfect sense given the meeting location in one of the world’s top

fashion capitals. For others, the discussion of the intersection of food and fashion trends

might have felt a tad too trendy, a little glib and maybe a touch uncomfortable for

something as serious as our daily bread. According to IACP, the conference was designed

to “examine, challenge and celebrate the ways in which the food world interacts with other

cultural currents” and “explore how food both initiates and responds to the never-ending

pursuit of the new. Whether or not the total conference delivered on its stated goal, I will

leave to more experienced cultural anthropologists and style mavens. Instead here are

seven insights for food communications and marketing professionals gleaned from some

key workshops and presentations.

1) Beware of Fashionable Food Fads but Tap into People’s Passions

The opening panel discussion, “The Fashion of Food,” featured some light-hearted banter

between New York Times reporter Kim Severson, Bon Appetit editor Adam Rapoport (a

former GQ staffer), Chef Marcus Samuelsson and Susan Lyne of the Gilt Groupe. And, what

was their rational for linking food and fashion? Each day you’re going to get dressed and

you’re going to eat. Digging just a little further than skin deep, the panel made the

distinction that just like fashion, food has become deeply personal and has now become a

way of expressing yourself. Lyne said her high-end website Gilt Taste is not just selling

food, but an experience and memories. The panelists advised eschewing short term fads

and focusing on trends that stick. Samuelsson recommended trusting the story you want to

tell and recognizing that story may often take years to develop. Implication: For food

marketers trends may spark ideas and creativity, but the personal passions and

experiences of the consumer are the real hook and reason to connect.

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2) Cities are Co-Creators in Food Trends

“How Food Can Make a City Famous” featured a panel of writers, academics and

anthropologists who explored why certain cities become well-known for their food culture.

Focusing on the food centers of London and New York, one presenter noted that

Community, Creativity, Infrastructure and Health were the pillars for how food culture is

expressed in those markets. Food represents the traditions of a community or sub-culture

within a city, for example, Indian cuisine, or the local pub culture in London. Restaurants

become a creative focal point for new ideas about food, and serve as a place where artists

exchange ideas in a local community. Both the London and New York panelists noted that

when creatives show up in a community, they inevitably turn to food and drink to meet and

confer with other like-minded spirits. A city will then establish infrastructure to support

growing food and beverage businesses. Additional jobs are added and a critical mass is

created. At this point, the community begins to consider health and looks more closely at

the consequences of food choices, including what we eat, where we eat, and how we eat

and the overall impact on wellbeing. Implication: Food marketers need to understand

the food culture of cities and where they sit in this continuum if an appropriate

message is to be crafted and accepted by the members of that community.

4) Writing for Short Form is a Challenge but it’s Inevitable

The panel “How to Write for Today’s Short Form Audiences” seemed challenged in offering

clear advice about specific writing techniques, but did highlight a variety of short-form

media that food writers should consider embracing. The editor of Saveur magazine

acknowledge that many food writers still love the long form but need to adapt to new

formats like e-books, recipe aps and recipe tweets to survive. Classic cookbooks can be

adapted as recipe lists or ingredient references in new mobile formats for the reader on-

the-go. Saveur is embracing e-books in a big way, and the Apple iBooks Author ap was

recommended as a free tool that makes creating an e-book simple. Panelists suggested

bullets instead of prose and starting sentences with active verbs. Implication: Food

marketers should embrace new short formats or risk being left behind, however, the

Saveur editor made the point that you can continue to pursue your core competency

while leveraging new short form tools.

5) Look Your Audience in the Eye

Chef, teacher and TV personality Sara Moulton hosted “How to Conduct a Killer Cooking

Demo” and demonstrated how the live food demo is all about establishing a relationship

and a connection with your audience. Her tips – plan and prepare every step, make it

personal, and tell stories about you. Moulton defined the best cooking demo as one where

“they listen to every word you say,” and said the goal of the demo is to “educate and

entertain,” and yes, she says you can do both. Deconstructing the demo, Moulton advised to

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define your brand at the beginning and end, tell personal stories of how you’ve worked

through life, share some “magic tricks,” never apologize and never explain when something

goes wrong (something she learned from Julia Child), and “smile constantly for no

particular reason.” Implication: The lesson for food marketers was Moulton’s ability to

tell it like it is. She described the live demo as a “performance” but in her very human

and engaging way, it never once looked like one.

6) The Local Food Discussion Can Be Polarizing

“Is Farm-to-Table Just the Latest Fashion?” promised a friendly debate between New Yorker

writer Adam Gopnik and Chef Dan Barber the creator of Blue Hill at Stone Barns, the

sustainable farm, restaurant and education center in Pocantico Hills, New York. Gopnik

had once described Blue Hill at Stone Barns as “a boutique farm” and the two created this

debate to do a deeper dive on issues of food and sustainability. At times the two did not

seem far apart in their ideology, but Gopnik took the position that food can be the most

vivid, symbolic representation of our values. Gopnik told the audience that you should not

eat sustainably to prove your virtue, but you should if it is an expression of your values.

Barber argued that American’s have lost their connection with cuisine, and that eating

sustainably makes sense if the act is connected to a cuisine. Barber explained that Stone

Barns is really not about the vegetables he serves, but it is a microcosm, and a model for a

set of relationships that could exist in any community linking a farm, food service and

education. He maintained that sustainable food is rooted in pleasure. In the end, both

speakers offered valid points, but it was the audience that was at times polarizing, with one

vocal member challenging Barber’s motives. Implication: The lesson for food markers is

to listen to both sides of the local food debate, and find that position at the center that

focuses on pleasure and personal values in order to connect with consumers.

7) Recipes Are More Than a Formula

Authors Dorie Greenspan, Anne Willan and Chef Daniel Boulud had a conversation about

historic recipes and illuminated the idea of a recipe as the most personal form of

communication. “Where do Recipes Come From? A Look to the Future by Looking at the

Past” discussed chefs and recipes from history, and the panelists talked about the power of

the recipe to communicate, not just a list of ingredients, but the personal voice of the

mentor, instructor or friend. Implication: A recipe still remains the most common form

of communication in the food world and food marketers should look to recipes as a

tool, not simply to convey a set of instructions and ingredients, but as a way to express

the distinct voice and values of the organization.

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8) Know the Patterns of Food Trends

In “Spotting and Translating Trends: How to Stay Ahead and Put Them to Use”

trendologist Kara Nielson of the Center for Culinary Development in San Francisco and a

panel of experts showed that food trends follow a distinct timeline and trajectory. The

panelists explained that a trend can be verified if it is creating a new consumer need. One

must always ask, “What need is the trend fulfilling?” For example, the panelists explained

that the trends of green living and sustainability fulfill a consumer desire to support the

local economy and support locally produced goods. The panel presented the five stages of

a food trend:

The trend first surfaces in fine dining or ethnic restaurants

The trend is then highlighted in gourmet food magazines and specialty retail

The trend is picked up by chain restaurants, high-end retailers and broadcast

food media

The trend hits the mainstream through coverage in women’s magazines

The trend is now part of “everyday” and is available on QSR menus and

through mainstream grocery store products

The panel tracked a variety of food trends from fried Brussels sprouts to sweet potato fries

and all matched the same trajectory. They made the point that trend adoption takes a long

time, and something like the acai berry has been following the food trend trajectory for

close to 10 years. They advised the audience to focus on “trends” versus “trendy” and

reinforced that a trend must always provoke an action by a consumer or meet a need. The

panel’s predictions for 2012 included tap wine, one-concept restaurants, minimalism, cake

pops and sous vide cooking. Implication: Food marketers should compare their

products to the trend trajectory, look to track a variety of relevant trends, and

determine where their product will fit a need, or “become what I need” to a majority of

consumers.

Tom Barritt is Associate Director of the Ketchum Global Food & Nutrition Practice advising clients on

storytelling and developing compelling narratives about food. He works with chefs and food

professionals preparing them to tell their story in traditional and social media channels and is a

blogger and food writer contributing to the publication Edible Hudson Valley. Contact Tom at

thomas.barritt@ketchum.com