PETALUMA, Calif. — The United States’ premier artisan cheese event, the 9th Annual California’s Artisan Cheese Festival, today announces the participants in the Festival’s finale events: the Bubbles & Brunch and Artisan Cheese Tasting & Marketplace on Sunday, March 22. Executive Chef Erik Johnson of J Vineyards will demonstrate the technique behind decadent, cheese-centric dishes at this three-course brunch event featuring bubbles from J Vineyards. The brunch and cooking demonstration by Chef Johnson takes place on Sunday morning before the main event of the day, the Artisan Cheese Tasting & Marketplace.
Executive Chef Erik Johnson joined J Vineyards in 2013 after spending time in some of the Bay Area’s best restaurants including Farallon and Dry Creek Kitchen. With a strong passion for local and sustainable food and wine, especially cheese, he oversees culinary operations at the winery, including an oft-changing menu in the property’s acclaimed Bubble Room. To further his love of artisan cheese, Chef Johnson regularly spends time outside of the kitchen learning the art of cheesemaking with some of Sonoma County’s most respected cheesemakers.
Chef Johnson takes center stage at California’s Artisan Cheese Festival’s annual Sunday brunch at the Sheraton Sonoma County-Petaluma. Not only will guests be treated to a glass of J Vineyards sparkling wine when they arrive at 9 a.m., but this sit-down, three-course brunch also features cheese-centric cooking demos by Chef Johnson and all attendees will gain VIP access into the Artisan Cheese Tasting & Marketplace at 11 a.m., an hour before it opens to the public.
Bubbles & Brunch Menu
Bellwether Farms Pepato Fondue
with Poached Eggs and Mixed Garden Greens
Duck Confit with Point Reyes Bay Blue Mousse,
Anson Mills Cornbread and Tart Cherry
Pain Perdu with Cowgirl Creamery Mt. Tam
and Brown Butter Apple Compote
Bringing together more than 90 of California’s best artisan cheesemakers, food vendors, breweries and wineries, the walk-around Artisan Cheese Tasting & Marketplace is one of the weekend’s most popular events. With two tents set up outside the Sheraton Sonoma County, guests comfortably navigate their way around this popular, 20,000-square-foot event, where they’re able to not only taste and purchase the offerings of each participant,* but also interact with the vendors, artisans, cheesemakers, brewers and winemakers. Throughout the day there are cooking demos featuring some of the Bay Area’s best chefs, including Austin Perkins of Nick's Cove at 12 p.m. and Condra Easly of Patisserie Angelica at 1:45 p.m. Several of the weekends’ cheesemakers and chefs are also authors, and many will sell and sign their cheese-inspired tomes at the Marketplace. The chefs’ demos take place inside of the Sheraton Sonoma County and the book signings inside the tent throughout the day. Book signings and demos are included with admission to the Marketplace.
* Due to liquor laws, brewers, cider makers and winemakers will only be able to sample, not sell their products during the event.
Cheesemakers showcasing their products at the Marketplace include:
Achadinha Cheese Company (Petaluma)
Beehive Cheese Company (Uintah, Utah)
Bellwether Farms (Petaluma)
Central Coast Creamery (Paso Robles)
Cowgirl Creamery (Point Reyes Station)
Cypress Grove Chevre (Arcata)
Dairy Goddess Farmstead Cheese and Milk (Lemoore)
Garden Variety (Royal Oaks)
Gypsy Cheese Co. (Bodega)
Laura Chenel’s Chevre (Sonoma)
Marin French Cheese Company (Petaluma)
Nicasio Valley Cheese Co. (Nicasio)
Orland Farmstead Creamery (Orland)
Pedrozo Dairy and Cheese Co. (Orland)
Petaluma Creamery/Spring Hill Jersey Cheese (Petaluma)
Pennyroyal Farm (Boonville)
Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co. (Point Reyes Station)
Pugs Leap (Petaluma)
Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery and Green Valley Organics (Sebastopol)
Shamrock Artisan Goat Cheese (Willits)
Two Rock Valley Goat Cheese (Petaluma)
Valley Ford Cheese Co. (Valley Ford)
Weirauch Farm & Creamery (Penngrove)
Willapa Hills Farmstead & Artisan Cheese (Doty, Washington)
Breweries and wineries pouring their products at the Marketplace include:
Baeltane Brewing (Novato)
Black Kite Cellars (Anderson Valley)
Bucher Vineyard (Healdsburg)
Clif Family Winery (St. Helena)
Russian River Vineyards (Forestville)
Crispin Cider (Walnut Creek)
Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards (Sonoma)
Half Moon Bay Brewing Company
(Half Moon Bay)
Heidrun Meadery (Point Reyes Station)
Kelley & Young Wines (Geyserville)
Lagunitas Brewing Company (Petaluma)
McEvoy Ranch (Petaluma)
Navarro Vineyards & Winery (Philo)
North Coast Brewing Company
(Fort Bragg)
Paul Mathews Vineyards (Forestville)
Ravenswood Winery (Sonoma)
Sonoma Cider (Healdsburg)
Sonoma Valley Portworks (Petaluma)
Specific Gravity Cider Company (Sebastopol)
VML Winery (Healdsburg)
Wandering Aengus Ciderworks (Oregon)
Artisan food purveyors and other vendors include:
Beer Belly Brewing Supply (Windsor)
Black Pig Meat Company (Sebastopol)
Brown Dog Mustard Co. (Concord)
California Artisan Cheese Guild (Oakland)
California Endive Farms (Rio Vista)
CC Made Inc. (San Anselmo)
Clover Stornetta Farms (Petaluma)
Copperfield’s Books (Petaluma)
Creminelli Fine Meats
(Salt Lake City, Utah)
Culture magazine (Massachusetts)
Diane’s Sweet Heat (Humboldt)
Farm Fresh to You (Capay Valley)
Friend in Cheeses Jam (Santa Cruz)
Grace & I (Los Angeles)
Haverton Hill Creamery (Petaluma)
Hiroko (Sonoma)
Humboldt Hot Sauce (Arcata)
iLeoni (Petaluma)
Interiors by Lynn (Rohnert Park)
Jakes’s Castro Kitchen (San Francisco)
Kelly’s Jelly (Lake Oswego, Oregon)
Marin Agricultural Land Trust (Marin)
Marlo’s Bakeshop (San Francisco)
McEvoy Ranch (Petaluma)
McClelland’s Dairy (Petaluma)
Mi Distinctive Tastes (Ukiah)
Mountain Valley Water (Hot Springs, Ark.)
Nugget Markets (Greater Sacramento Area and Marin County)
Petaluma Visitor’s Program (Petaluma)
Future Farmers of America, Petaluma High School (Petaluma)
Poco Dolce (San Francisco)
Quesalera (Chico)
Redwood Empire Food Bank (Santa Rosa)
Revolution Bread (Petaluma)
R&J Toffees (San Jose)
Rustic Bakery (San Rafael)
Simple & Crisp (Seattle, Washington)
SinfulSalt (San Francisco)
Sonoma Land Trust (Santa Rosa)
Sonoma Clean Power (Sonoma County)
TCHO Chocolate (Emeryville)
The Cheese School of San Francisco (San Francisco)
The Cheese Shop of Healdsburg (Healdsburg)
Three Twins Ice Cream (Petaluma)
Valley Fig Growers (Pleasanton)
Viansa Winery & Marketplace (Sonoma)
Yelp (Bay Area)
The Bubbles & Brunch takes place from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Sunday, March 22, inside the Festival’s host hotel, the Sheraton Sonoma County, Petaluma (745 Baywood Drive, Petaluma, CA 94954). Tickets are $115 and include VIP access into the Marketplace an hour before the public at 11 a.m. The Marketplace, located in tents in the parking lot of the hotel, opens to the public at noon and ends at 4 p.m. Tickets to the Marketplace are still available and are $45 or $20 for children twelve and under. Each ticket includes an insulated tote and a wine glass with the festival logo and unlimited samplings of cheese, beer, cider, wine and other artisan products.
Tickets to several of the Festival’s other weekend-long events are also still available, including Friday night’s Cheesemongers’ Duel, several of the Saturday seminars and the Saturday night Chefs vs. Chefs – The Best Bite competition. Tickets for all events may be purchased at www.artisancheesefestival.com.
Those interested can also follow updates by liking the Artisan Cheese Festival on Facebook. All events are priced separately and the Sheraton Sonoma County – Petaluma is offering special discounted rates on rooms for festival-goers.
Generous sponsors of the Artisan Cheese Festival include All American Printing, American AgCredit, Beehive Cheese Company, Bellwether Farms, California Milk Advisory Board, Central Coast Creamery, Clover Stornetta Farms, Cowgirl Creamery, Creminelli Fine Meats, Culture magazine, Cypress Grove Chevre, Donald & Maureen Green Foundation, Exchange Bank, Ellipses Public Relations, Fiscalini Cheese Co., John Boos/Boos Boards, Lagunitas Brewing Company, Laura Chenel Chevre, Leafware, Marin French Cheese Company, Mike Hudson Distributing, Mountain Valley Water, Nicasio Valley Cheese Company, Nugget Markets Inc., Oakland Packaging & Supply, Oliver’s Markets, Pennyroyal Farm & Creamery, Petaluma Creamery, Petaluma Market, Pisenti & Brinker LLP, Pt. Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company, Pure Luxury Transportation, Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery, Relish Culinary Adventures, Rustic Bakery, Sierra Nevada Cheese Company, Sheraton Sonoma County, Simple & Crisp, Sonoma Clean Power, The Cheese School of San Francisco, Tony’s Fine Foods, Valley Fig Growers, Valley Ford Cheese Company, Willapa Hills Cheese and Yelp.
About California’s Artisan Cheese Festival
A 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization, California’s Artisan Cheese Festival strives to increase cheese appreciation, educate consumers about artisan cheeses, support the cheesemaking community and its sustainability and celebrate the creations of California’s many farmers and cheesemakers. The festival began in March 2007 as the first-ever, weekend-long celebration and exploration of handcrafted cheeses, foods, wines and beers from California and beyond. In keeping with its dedication to the community, the Artisan Cheese Festival donates 10% of all ticket proceeds to Sonoma Land Trust, Marin Agricultural Land Trust, Petaluma Future Farmers of America, California Artisan Cheese Guild and Redwood Empire Food Bank. To date the Artisan Cheese Festival has contributed more than $70,000 to these non-profit organizations that work to support the artisan cheesemaking community and its infrastructure in California. For more information, visit www.artisancheesefestival.com.
Source: California’s Artisan Cheese Festival