Travel Guide: First We Eat Workshop

I haven’t been back to school since I graduated college, but I like to think I’ve still learned a lot since that day. However, some things require a true expert, and one of my goals for 2016 was to learn more about photography. So I took a trip to the Virgin Islands with First We Eat, a food photography workshop that left me creatively hungry (even though my stomach was full) to keep on learning, traveling and eating…

I had been stalking Eva Kosmas Flores on Instagram for years when I came upon a post about the most glamorous dinner party I’d ever seen. It turned out the party was hosted as a part of her First We Eat series of photo workshops. My foodie, blogger and aspiring photographer senses were all on high alert. I had to know more, and less than a few months later I had not only booked my own flight but convinced my friend from BitesFromMe2U to join me on a real adventure! We were off for the First We Eat time of our lives…

Led by fellow bloggers, this workshop is perfect for new DLSR camera users or those who (like me) just upgraded their lens and technology. If you’re already a camera expert, their classes might be a little basic for your taste, but either way you’re sure to leave with plenty of inspiration thanks to round table discussions, advice based on their own successes and new contacts in the food world. In just our small class, while we all has blogs, we also had two sommeliers, a personal chef, a butcher and more. I learned more about international vineyards and the right meat to pair them with in those four days than in my whole lifetime before.

Preview of one of our cocktail classes (more to come on this)

We all also discovered plenty about cocktails, thanks to Simply Red & Brown Spirited, who taught a very spirited series of classes on all kinds of drinks. We learned about classic cocktails, historical tiki drinks and even morning drinks to wake us up on the right sip. I’ll have more on those cocktails (and their easy to follow recipes) in future posts, so stay tuned! In the meantime, I recommend putting their campfire syrup on everything from pancakes to bacon to directly into your mouth. Each First We Eat workshop has a different focus, so you might not always be blessed with the Red & Brown folks, but each workshop has its own twist.

We also visited Good Moon Farms, who not only supplied our amazing produce for the trip’s meals, but also gave us a tour of their amazing mountainside farming technique. They grow local and exotic produce, as well as housing an impressive collection of animals like nine (count em NINE) cats and even a few crabby friends too. This tour was a little bit sweet, a little bit tart, and a true taste of the island.

Finally, our group  spent a day on the nearby island of Virgin Gorda, previously the home of our island guide (and phenomenal food photographer herself) Aysegul Sanford of Foolproof Living. We hit beautiful beaches, visited a hilltop bar with epic views and climbed through natural beach-side caves. If you are ever wandering the Virgin Islands, make sure you have time for this little gem.

For more scenes from my First We Eat Experience, take a look at the photos below:

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