The info you got at your meeting about "soaking" food was referring to pellets.
I have never had problems getting my fish to eat paste food. I have tried mixing with water, which works fine, but when you replace the water with orange juice concentrate(don't dilute it), cranberry juice or grape juice it adds another level of vitamins and minerals. It's a little sticky at first, but if you let it sit for an hour or so, it works fine. The fish really go after it then. As already said, you can add a lot of things to paste food. Besides being able to be assimilated better than pellets, it's a more versatile base for adding healthy and fresher ingredients.