It was a day filled with inspiration. From beautiful photography, to mind-bending flavours, rich culinary history to cutting-edge contemporary cuisine. Miss out on the action? Here’s a taste of some of our favourite quotes, tweets and experiences from the first ever Eat Out DStv Food Network Conference.

@Eat_Out delegates: get thee to the brekkie tables. There are mini jam doughnuts and teeny herby scones!

Luke Dale-Roberts: Food for thought: thought for food

“When I think of a dish, I visualise it as a whole. I can taste it, see it, and understand it. And I work backwards from there.”

@Huiskok First few minutes of Chef Luke's talk #eatoutconference + already I want to remember him in my will. Food to die for.

“One day about four years ago, I was on a split-shift and I was running back to work. It was late winter, and the sun was low over the vines. On the one side of the road it was early spring. The new shoots were coming through green and on the other side, there was beige wheat. It was definitely winter there. I saw that the road was splitting the seasons. And that’s when I started to work with thought-provoking food; with thematic food.”

@silwood Serious knife skills @ashheeger101 cutting edge precision #eatoutconference (on the Test Kitchen video)

Dominic Davies, food photographer, winner of the James Beard Award for Photography for his work on Heston Blumenthal’s Big Fat Duck Cookbook

“I became a food photographer by mistake”

On shooting The Big Fat Duck Cookbook, “I’d never heard of Heston Blumenthal. I’d never eaten in a Michelin-starred restaurant. I didn’t care.”

On one particular photograph: “This was a nightmare of biblical proportions. I can barely stand to look at it now. We were pouring gazpacho down the funnel while suspending a ball of ice cream which had to be lit by a flame.”

“If you were to take two steps back you would see a vacuum cleaner at the top and bottom, sucking the smoke. There was lots of duct tape too; it was very Heath Robinson.”

Andrew Stellitano, British food stylist

“This was laser-cutting a tortilla, and frying it. I had to go to quite a few studios to convince them to let me put my stuff through their machine…”

“At this point I realised that chocolate doesn’t stand up very well to laser-cutting…”

“Screen-printing filo pastry is very difficult. It’s so delicate…”

@Anelde Now watching a documentary on synaethesia. I think that's how you spell it… A condition where your senses get jumbled. #eatoutconference

James Wannerton, British synaesthesia sufferer, in a video project with Andrew Stellitano and Dominic Davies:

“Rhubarb is the taste I get whenever I go on the Underground. It must be something to do with the sound of the motors.”

"If I'm eating a sweet I like to be reading the sports section of a newspaper – it's quite fruity"

After James interpreted places in Cape Town, and the audience were given the items to taste while looking at Dominic’s photographs of the place:

@eat_out: Table Mountain taste like pear drops (according to synesthesia sufferer). Hmmm #eatoutconference

@KaminiPather Epping market tastes like a chocolate digestive #synaesthesia #eatoutconference

@JennyMorrisChef #eatoutconference this Gobstopper is leaving me Speechless!!!

@NickJ_Robson I think I'll save Paarl for later (Gobstopper) #synaesthesia #eatoutconference

@RelaxWithDax I must say, the #EatOutConference has been fantastic so far. I would have tweeted more, but I've been too enthralled.

Margot Janse – An international perspective on SA restaurants

“I have taken buchu to Brazil, baobab to Bangkok and chakalaka to Amsterdam."
"I discovered the power of Africa, and how it creeps into your soul."

"I don't just want lamb cheeks; I want the cheeks from everything else – a wildebeest, a warthog…"

“Life is bloody tough for so many people around us. We can't work with blinkers on anymore."

@sumienbrink Margot Janse, what an inspiration! Ons maak n plan in Afrika. #eatoutconference

"I came to hear about food, and I was inspired to be a South African." Africa Melane of 567 Cape Talk thanking Margot Janse,

Hetta van Deventer-Terblanche – South African storytelling on a plate

“After 1994 South Africa really opened up. We served boerewors sushi… I shudder to think what else.”

"Why did Jan van Riebeeck plant roses in the Cape? Not for cut flowers, but rose water."

@ToffieEvents Everyone's loving the sweetie dessert table! #eatoutconference pic.twitter.com/d3X0MA99

Yum. Dessert at #eatoutconference pic.twitter.com/TvDC0T66

@SusanReynard Following #eatoutconference and #DAcongress updates on twitter. Must admit speakers at former sound more riveting! Bet snacks better too…

Massimo Bottura – Come to Italy with me

“I used to hide from my brothers under the kitchen table, with my grandmother’s pasta flour falling on my feet.”

"Believe in what you're doing, listen to your heart and mind and palate."

@Eat_Out @massimobottura just quoted Bob Dylan. How cool is he?!

“In 2000-2001 no one was coming to the restaurant and we had to throw away terrines of foie-gras!” Five year later, the dish – like the ice cream bar on a stick – was voted one of the 10 dishes to change modern gastronomy.

@tandysinclair @massimobottura wife reminding him to finish talking about the menu #gottolovelove #EatOutConference

The panel discussion: led by Eat Out editor Abigail Donnelly with Reuben Riffel, Steve Maresch, Giorgio Nava and Nick Thorogood.

Nick Thorogood of the Food Network “If we were out with any of the chef in the US we would have to have security. It’s the new Rock n Roll.”

“The average person who buys a cookbook cooks one recipe. That’s a statistic. The average person who watches our show makes nothing. It is that beautiful vicarious experience."

Giorgio Nava on when first cooking in SA: “I asked what kind of potatoes I could order. He said ‘we have big or small.’”

@huiskok: Would you mind giving your credit card details when booking at a restaurant? Panel Discussion #eatoutconference

@ChantelErfort A standardised policy is required re #noshows says @reubenriffel #eatoutconference

@aussiewinechick: Excellent comment from @tandysinclair wrt deposits on bookings. EFT viable and fair #eatoutconference

@amarykhan66 @Eat_Out Thank you so much for hosting a lovely day goodybag's filled with some of my fave' things:) #eatoutconference pic.twitter.com/ZSOJHYTa

@CapeTownMag End of the first ever #eatoutconference. It most certainly has the potential to become the cuisine equivalent of #designindaba. Take note.

@carofood24: The #eatoutconference was really well done today. A day of foodie inspiration. I loved how SA was celebrated.Thanks to all!!