I just got back from a whirlwind trip to San Francisco where I attended the Culinary Expo portion of the IACP (International Association of Culinary Professionals) Annual Conference. Many thanks to Jeff Albucher for his help and encouragement to me to get there. 
I managed to run into several Atlanta friends while there, Author and Herstorian Millie Coleman, Chef Instructors Rosemary Rutlan, Carlin Brenig, and Glen Mack who is head of the Cordon Bleu empire now.
I saw lots of fun things at the expo like this Maille Mustard Tap:
and this great California Endive display:
I was pretty out of my element when it came to plant life, the flora there was very alien to me. I got very excited when I recognized a small patch of weeds!
I got to talk to a few good leads, one book publisher, several educational organizations, and lots of distributors for products that could be useful to my clients such as the Monroe Avocado that has half the fat of a Haas variety!
The rest of my time was filled with zipping around the amazing city of San Francisco, visiting Chinatown and the unforgettable store “The Wok Shop” on Grant Avenue. The proprietor there was a woman named Tane, and she knew her stuff! She told us she was going to be speaking at the conference on Wednesday about Woks, and I’m sorry to have missed that.
Great food was had at Burma Superstar, Marnee Thai, and a little hole in the wall Chinese tearoom down a back alley that I would have never found without my native guide. 
I had a great time, learned a lot about an iconic city, and left so much undone that I will just have to go back again soon!