PETALUMA, CA — The United States’ premier public artisan cheese event, the 8th Annual California’s Artisan Cheese Festival, has announced this year’s roster of experts leading seminars and workshops on Saturday, March 22, 2014. The weekend-long Festival takes place March 21-23 and brings together artisan cheesemakers, chefs, brewers, sommeliers, wine makers and passionate guests for three days of touring, tasting and learning about artisan cheese.
Bringing attendees face-to-face with the experts who work with and create some of America’s best artisan cheeses, the Saturday seminars and workshops tend to sell out early every year. Some of the experts that will be leading seminars this March are:
Janet Fletcher, author and co-author of more than 20 books on food and wine and San Francisco Chronicle cheese columnist, will be leading two seminars: “What’s Up with that Rind?” and “Cheese & Beer: Strategies for Harmony.” Some of Janet’s many books include “Cheese & Wine,” “The Cheese Course” and “Fresh from the Farmers’ Market.” She writes a weekly cheese column for the San Francisco Chronicle and is a former staff food writer whose journalism earned three James Beard Awards and the IACP Bert Greene Award. Her writing on wine and food has appeared in numerous national magazines, including Saveur, Bon Appétit, Fine Cooking and Food & Wine.
Award-winning author and lecturer Laura Werlin will be leading the “MELT!” seminar as well as “Explore Pinots and Their Cheese Companions” with Master Sommelier, Tim Gaiser. An expert in American artisan cheese, Werlin received the prestigious James Beard award for her book “The All American Cheese and Wine Book,” which was the first of its kind to focus entirely on cheese and wine pairing. Her new book, “Mac & Cheese, Please!” along with two of her other books, “Great Grilled Cheese” and “Grilled Cheese, Please!” are odes to the world’s favorite heart-warming comfort foods. She also received a prestigious James Beard Award nomination for her book, “Laura Werlin’s Cheese Essentials.”
After becoming a professional brewer in 2004, Rich Higgins’ passion for beer led him to passing all three levels of examination from the Cicerone Certification Program®, and in 2010 he became the third Master Cicerone® in the world. The accreditation certifies him as an excellent interpreter of palate and the ways in which beer develops and heightens a meaningful dining experience. Rich will join Michael Landis, American Cheese Society Certified Cheese Professional and Training & Merchandising Manager at Gourmet Foods International, in leading a seminar entitled “Terroir de Sonoma: Exploring the Unique Flavors and Attitudes of Sonoma Beer and Cheese.” With a passion for quality and respect for authenticity, Rich and Michael are dedicated to celebrating beer and food in Sonoma County.
Bob Peak, Co-owner of The Beverage People, will teach attendees how to make mozzarella in a seminar called “Cheese Making – Italian Style.” Bob began working with The Beverage People in 2003 after serving as General Manager at Vinquiry, a well-known Sonoma County wine laboratory, for three and a half years. In addition to wine, he expanded his hobbies to brewing and, later, cheesemaking. Bob enjoys making quick and fresh cheeses like mozzarella, paneer and fromage blanc, and is especially proud of his own recipe for a cheese he calls Petaluma Blue. Using tools and supplies from The Beverage People – a retailer of cultures, molds, tools and all supplies for home cheese making – this class will begin with whole milk, show production and stretching of mozzarella curds, and finish with cheese for sampling.
Sheana Davis, the owner of The Epicurean Connection as well as a talented chef, cheesemaker and educator, will be leading a seminar entitled “Historic Cider and Honest Cheese.” Inspired by Sonoma County’s long history of apple and dairy farming, this seminar will introduce guests’ palates to a wide range of regional craft cider styles that pair perfectly with local artisan cheeses.
In addition to actively managing their 70 head herd of dairy goats, Gianaclis Caldwell is the cheesemaker and owner (along with her husband, Vern Caldwell) of Pholia Farm in southern Oregon. Gianaclis will be leading two cheesemaking seminars entitled “Spicing it Up” and “Classics and Basics, Always the Best.” Gianaclis is the author of two books, “Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking: The Ultimate Guide for Home-Scale and Market Producers” and “The Farmstead Creamery Advisor: The Complete Guide to Building and Running a Small, Farm-Based Cheese Business.”
Judy Creighton, a Certified Cheese Professional from the American Cheese Society, will be leading an informative seminar and tasting entitled “A Cheese History of the World.” This seminar will lead attendees on a tour through time, tasting a selection of bloomy, washed-rind, tome, alpine, grana and bleu cheeses chosen specifically from a selection of milks and terriors.
Louella Hill, also known as The San Francisco Milk Maid, will be leading an intermediate cheesemaking seminar entitled “Make Moldy Cheese with The San Francisco Milk Maid” for those who want to skip the ricotta and mozzarella. In this class, attendees will be learning to make a truly moldy, truly delicious wheel of Stilton-style blue cheese. This class will also explain why blue cheeses differ from one another, which cultures are used and how to create a cheese that is aged and complex. All participants will take home a mini wheel of cheese that they will then age at home for several more weeks.
After years of dreaming about opening her own cheese shop, Sarah Dvorak left the comforts of her cubicle in the fall of 2009 on a mission: cheese. She traveled across the country visiting dairies and cheese makers, seeking a deeper knowledge and connection with the craft. On this trip Sarah found the soul for Mission Cheese and in April of 2011 she opened the doors in the Mission District of San Francisco. Mission Cheese exclusively sells and serves American artisan cheeses, focusing on education, community and celebrating this burgeoning industry. Sarah and her business partner, Oliver Dameron, who is also a Certified Cicerone, will be leading a tasting seminar entitled “The Perfect Bite – Food and Beer Pairing” where they will taste and discuss the different flavors that cheeses take on depending upon which craft brews they are paired with.
What is more indulgent than pairing a California sparkling wine with a local artisan cheese? In this tasting seminar entitled “Beautiful Bubbles and Artisan Jewels,” Collette Hatch, the Madame de Fromage from Oliver’s Markets in Sonoma County, will discuss the aspects of certain cheese’s characteristics that make it the perfect pairing with California bubbles.
All seminars will take place at the Festival’s host hotel, Sheraton Sonoma County–Petaluma (745 Baywood Drive, Petaluma, CA 94954). Seminar times are 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 22. The ticket price for the seminars and workshops includes a catered lunch by Petaluma Market from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. Tickets are $95 per person for the cheesemaking seminars and $65 per person for all other seminars. Several participating authors will also be signing and selling their books between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. in the main lobby of the Sheraton Sonoma County.
Tickets to the Festival’s other weekend-long events are still available, including Friday’s Farm Tours and Meet the Cheesemakers Reception, Saturday’s Grand Cheese Tasting & Best in Cheese Competition, and Sunday’s Cheese and Bubbles Brunch and Artisan Cheese Tasting & Marketplace. 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 All American Printing, American AgCredit, Bank of Marin, Beehive Cheese Company, Bellwether Farms, Casitas Valley Creamery, Central Coast Creamery, Clover Stornetta Farms, Cowgirl Creamery, Culture magazine, Cypress Grove Chevre, Donald & Maureen Green Foundation, Edible East Bay, Edible Marin and Wine Country, Ellipses Public Relations, Exchange Bank, Fiscalini Farmstead Cheese, Garden Variety Cheese, John Boos, Lagunitas Brewing Company, Laura Chenel Chevre, Leafware, Marin French Cheese Company, Mike Hudson Distributing, Nicasio Valley Cheese Company, Oak Packaging and Supply, Pennyroyal Farm, Petaluma Creamery/Spring Hill Jersey Cheese, Petaluma Market, Petaluma Post, Pisenti & Brinker, Pt. Reyes Farmstead, Pug’s Leap, Redwood Hill Farm, Relish Culinary Adventures, Rustic Bakery, Sheraton Sonoma County – Petaluma, Tomales Farmstead Creamery, Valley Ford Cheese Company, Whole Foods, Willapa Hills Cheese and World Centric.
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 $55,000 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
