PETALUMA, Calif. — The United States’ premier artisan cheese event, the 11th Annual California Artisan Cheese Festival, which takes place March 24-26, 2017, today announces the participants in the Festival’s finale events: the Bubbles & Brunch and Artisan Cheese Tasting & Marketplace on Sunday, March 26. Charlie and Michael Kalish, aka the Cheese Twins, will demonstrate their cheese knowledge and cooking expertise with decadent, cheese-centric dishes at this four-course brunch event featuring Gloria Ferrer sparkling wine. The brunch and cooking demonstration by the Cheese Twins will take place on Sunday morning before the weekend's popular grand finale, the Artisan Cheese Tasting & Marketplace.
Charlie and Michael Kalish are two cheese industry professionals who also happen to be twin brothers and recent television stars! After winning Season 7 of “The Great Food Truck Race” on The Food Network, the brothers were given their own show, aptly called “Big Cheese” which is now airing on The Food Network. For Sunday's Bubbles & Brunch at the California Artisan Cheese Festival, the Cheese Twins will be dishing up their cheesy favorites paired with Gloria Ferrer sparkling wine, such as Bellwether Farms Ricotta Stuffed French Toast with Strawberry Coulis and Chocolate Cheese Truffles with Nicasio Valley Foggy Morning. Throughout the meal, the Kalish brothers will share stories about their escapades training as cheesemakers and cheese agers in Europe, details about their new television show, and what they have in store for the future. The twins will also be fielding questions and performing live cooking demonstrations while guests enjoy brunch, adding to the festive and interactive atmosphere.
Not only will guests be treated to sparkling wine and cheese-centric cooking demonstrations throughout this unforgettable brunch, but attendees to this sit-down, four-course feast will also gain VIP access into the Artisan Cheese Tasting & Marketplace at 11 a.m., an hour before it opens to the public.
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 and pairing demos featuring some of the Bay Area’s best chefs, including a grilled cheese cooking demonstration by the Cheese Twins at 12:30 pm; a butter-making demonstration by award-winning writer and chef Michele Anna Jordan at 1:45 pm; and a Raclette demonstration by author and restaurant consultant Clark Wolf, and Chef Daniel Kedan of Backyard at 3:00 pm. Several of the weekend’s cheesemakers and chefs are also authors, and many will sell and sign their cheese-inspired tomes at the Marketplace. The chef 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.
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)
Chevoo (Sonoma)
Cowgirl Creamery (Point Reyes Station)
Cypress Grove Chevre (Arcata)
Face Rock Creamery (Bandon, Oregon)
Ferndale Farmstead (Ferndale, Washington)
Fiscalini Cheese Co. (Modesto)
Laura Chenel’s Chevre (Sonoma)
Marin French Cheese Company (Petaluma)
Nicasio Valley Cheese Co. (Nicasio)
Nicolau Farms/Sparrow Lane (Modesto)
Orland Farmstead Creamery (Orland)
Pedrozo Dairy and Cheese Co. (Orland)
Pennyroyal Farm (Boonville)
Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co. (Point Reyes Station)
Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery (Sebastopol)
Shamrock Artisan Goat Cheese (Willits)
Two Rock Valley Goat Cheese (Petaluma)
Valley Ford Cheese Co. (Valley Ford)
Vintage Cheese (Traver)
Willapa Hills Farmstead & Artisan Cheese (Doty, Washington)
Breweries, cider-makers and wineries pouring their products at the Marketplace include:
Atelier by JCB (Yountville)
Barber Cellars (Petaluma)
Black Kite Cellars (Anderson Valley)
Drake’s Brewing Company (San Leandro)
Estate 1856 (Healdsburg)
Gordian Knot Winery (Healdsburg)
Hanna Winery and Vineyards (Healdsburg)
Heidrun Meadery (Point Reyes Station)
Hook & Ladder Winery (Santa Rosa)
J. Richards Winery (Cloverdale)
Jacuzzi Family Vineyards (Sonoma)
Joseph Jewell Wines (Forestville)
Kelley & Young Wines (Geyserville)
Kokomo Winery (Healdsburg)
Korbel Champagne Cellars (Guerneville)
Lagunitas Brewing Company (Petaluma)
MacPhail Family Wines (Sebastopol)
North Coast Brewing Company (Fort Bragg)
Paul Mathew Vineyards (Forestville)
Pennyroyal Farm Wines (Philo)
Pierce Ranch Vineyards (Monterey)
Red Branch Cider Company (Sunnyvale)
Seismic Brewing Company (Santa Rosa)
Sonoma Portworks (Petaluma)
St. Florian’s Brewery (Windsor)
Wandering Aengus Ciderworks (Salem, Oregon)
Wrangletown Cider Company (Arcata)
Artisan food purveyors and other vendors include:
Atelier Fine Foods (Yountville)
Black Pig Meat Company (Sebastopol)
California Artisan Cheese Guild (San Francisco)
California Endive Farms (Rio Vista)
Capa Bunga (Windsor)
CC Made (Berkeley)
Chico Honey Co. (Orland)
Clover Sonoma (Petaluma)
Cookie…take a bite! (Santa Rosa)
Copperfield’s Books (Petaluma)
Creminelli Fine Meats (Salt Lake City, Utah)
Culture Magazine (Massachusetts)
Dandelion Chocolate (San Francisco)
Diane’s Sweet Heat (Humboldt)
Dick Taylor Chocolate (Eureka)
Essentia Water (Bothell, Washington)
Farm Chocolate (Sebastopol)
Farm Fresh to You (Capay Valley)
Firebrand Artisan Bread (Oakland)
Friend in Cheeses Jam (Santa Cruz)
Golden State Pickle Works (Sonoma)
Hendley Hard Goods (Santa Rosa)
Hiroko’s Ceramics (Sonoma)
Interiors by Lynn (Rohnert Park)
Kelly’s Jelly (Lake Oswego, Oregon)
Lemon Bird Preserves (Wrightwood)
Marin Agricultural Land Trust (Point Reyes Station)
Mi Distinctive Tastes (Ukiah)
Napa Cakes Panforte (Napa)
Nugget Markets (Northern California)
Petaluma Visitor’s Program (Petaluma)
Future Farmers of America, Petaluma High School (Petaluma)
R&J Toffees (San Jose)
Redwood Empire Food Bank (Santa Rosa)
Revolution Bread (Petaluma)
Rustic Bakery (Petaluma)
SinfulSalt (San Francisco)
Sonoma County Agricultural Preserve & Open Space District (Santa Rosa)
Sonoma Land Trust (Santa Rosa)
TCHO Chocolate (Emeryville)
The Olive Press (Sonoma)
Valley Fig Growers (Fresno)
Volo Chocolate (Healdsburg)
The Bubbles & Brunch takes place from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Sunday, March 26, 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. Adult tickets to the Marketplace are still available and are $45. There are also $20 tickets for children twelve and under. Each adult 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.
Throughout the weekend, guests will have the opportunity to experience popular cheeses as well as new, limited-production and rare artisan cheeses while supporting California farmers and cheesemakers in their ongoing effort to advance sustainability. Tickets to most of the Festival’s events are still available, including a couple of the Artisan Producer Tours exploring Northern California farms from Marin County to Sacramento; many of Saturday’s educational seminars; Saturday night’s Cheese & Cocktails Celebration; and both Wine and Dine with the Cheesemaker Dinners. Tickets for all events can be purchased at www.artisancheesefestival.com.
Those interested can also follow updates by “liking” the Artisan Cheese Festival on Facebook and following the event on Twitter. 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 American AgCredit, Beehive Cheese Company, Bellwether Farms, Central Coast Creamery, Chevoo, Clover Sonoma, Cowgirl Creamery, Creminelli Fine Meats, Culture Magazine, Cypress Grove Chevre, Donald and Maureen Green Foundation, Edible Marin and Wine Country, Edible East Bay, Essentia Water, Exchange Bank, Face Rock Creamery, Ferndale Farmstead, Fiscalini Cheese Company, Go Local, Hotel Petaluma, John Boos/Boos Boards, Lagunitas Brewing Company, Laura Chenel’s, Marin French Cheese Company, Mike Hudson Distributing, Nicasio Valley Cheese Co., Nugget Market, Oliver’s Markets, Pennyroyal Farm, Pisenti & Brinker LLP, Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company, Pure Luxury Transportation, Real California Milk, Rustic Bakery, Seismic Brewing Company, Sheraton Sonoma County-Petaluma, Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District, Valley Fig Growers, Valley Ford Cheese and Creamery, Whole Foods Market and Willapa Hills Cheese.
About California Artisan Cheese Festival
A 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization, California 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 $90,000 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 Artisan Cheese Festival
