Food bloggers meet and munch at SXSW Interactive

From cooking contests to chef documentaries, panels on restaurant criticism and food blogging, the South by Southwest Film and Interactive conferences have taken on a distinctively foodie flavor this year.

But the biggest food event of the weekend wasn't officially affiliated with the festival. More than 50 food bloggers from around the country convened at Whole Foods Market on Saturday and Sunday for the TechMunch Food Blogger Conference, a series of panels and workshops that featured notables both inside and outside the food industry. The theme? How to take advantage of technology to channel a passion for food into a successful blog. (On Saturday, I moderated a panel with Kat Kinsman of CNN's Eatocracy, L.A. Times food editor Rene Lynch and Tampa Tribune food writer Jeff Houck about how bloggers can work with traditional media outlets.)

Village Voice restaurant critic Robert Sietsema, covering his face with a mask, helped kick off the South by Southwest Interactive food programming on Monday in a discussion about ethics in the ever-growing world of restaurant criticism.

Nadia Giosia, host of the Web series-turned-Cooking Channel show "Bitchin' Kitchen," was one of the stars of an afternoon panel about using gratuitous food photography to help build your business, called "The Moguls of Food Porn."

The film festival featured two documentaries profiling two of the world's best chefs: El Bulli's Ferran Adrià in "Cooking in Progress" and New York wünderkind Paul Liebrandt in "A Matter of Taste."

For 10 years, "A Matter of Taste" director Sally Rowe filmed Liebrandt as he went from restaurant to restaurant, trying to find a home after becoming the youngest chef to earn three stars from The New York Times.

Though the documentary showcases Liebrandt's artistry, the 34-year-old chef of Corton in Tribeca wanted to sample the spectrum of Texas food during his first trip to the state, first driving to Lockhart to sample brisket and spare ribs at Black's Barbecue and then hitting up David Bull's newly opened, prix-fixe only restaurant Congress downtown.

"I can't come to Texas and not eat barbecue," he said in an interview Monday morning. "And Congress has a great concept and great food."

You didn't have to have a festival badge to get in on the food action spawned by South by Southwest. Dozens of home cooks competed in two different pork-themed cooking contests on Sunday, the Bacon Takedown at Emo's and the Pork Experiment at Club deVille.

Throughout the weekend, owners of Austin food carts and trailers capitalized on the throngs of hungry festivalgoers who were crammed into the downtown space. Last year, hardly a cart could be found serving food during peak daytime eating hours, but this year, dozens of trailers leased space to sell food near the Convention Center and used Twitter to share information about discounts and changing locations.

The festival, not to mention the rodeo and state basketball tournament, transforms restaurants throughout the city, but none as much as Max's Wine Dive, which rented its prime space on the corner of Third Street and San Jacinto Boulevard to CNN for an undisclosed but presumably hefty fee to create a hub called CNN Grill. In the upstairs, CNN staffers and VIPs can order from a menu designed by famed New York restaurateur Danny Meyer, whose catering company is working with Max's staff to prepare the food. No sign of Max's can be found in the entire space, from the large sign outside (replaced with a rotating neon CNN Grill sign) to the embroidered chef coats worn in the kitchen. With a pop-up restaurant upstairs, dozens of CNN employees are churning out reports from a pop-up newsroom in the basement.

Kat Kinsman, who heads up the channel's newly recharged food coverage, was busily preparing for another pop-up event: a secret supper to be hosted Tuesday night at an undisclosed location and hosted by unnamed chefs. The dinner will be the centerpiece of a larger package on Austin food that will be posted online and on the air in coming weeks, Kinsman says.

As the music festival takes over the city, the focus on food will shift from celebrating and analyzing food trends to simply filling the bellies of the hungry music lovers, including Rachael Ray, who is hosting her annual food-filled Feedback party at Stubb's on Saturday. RSVPs for the event are full, but here's a recipe for flank steak tost-achos, one of the dishes she's planning on serving: