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Greetings!
Thank you for subscribing to the Cheese Plus newsletter. I send these out periodically to keep you informed of activities at the store, new or notable foods we offer, and my travels around the food world. I hope you enjoy it. If you have any questions or comments feel free to reply.
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Slow Food Nation
Labor Day Weekend at the Cheese Pavilion
Slow Food Nation was a 3 day event held here over Labor Day
weekend. The event was held in numerous
locations around San Francisco, including lectures, an open farmers market, a 2 day concert, and a Taste Pavilion featuring 12 food
categories. I was fortunate to volunteer
my time this last weekend at the Cheese Pavilion alongside dozens of other
volunteers.
Walking into the Taste Pavilion at Fort Mason
was immediately amazing. Just outside
the Festival Pavilion to my right a beer garden, and to my left a row of ovens
both wood fired and gas, and an amazing display of the worlds most classic
styles of bread. I've been in the main
building many times over the years participating in events both as a consumer
and as a retailer, but I had yet to see the building so well decorated and
designed. Along the perimeter of the
building were 12 mini pavilions each designed by its own architect. Of primary importance were that the materials
were or would be recycled after the event.
A large sign proclaimed that this event was a fully compostable event;
each trash and recycling station had a person nearby to assure you put your
waste in the proper receptacle.
As I strolled through the hall I walked past all the mini
pavilions: pickle/chutney, fish, charcuterie, honey/preserves, tea, coffee,
chocolate, ice cream, spirits, olive oil, the green kitchen (cooking classes),
and wine on my way to the Cheese Pavilion where I would spend the next 2
afternoons and evenings. The Cheese
Pavilion was decorated in contrasts. An
interesting labyrinth of hay bales fashioned into a mini amphitheater/lounge,
surrounded by large photos of cheeses and quotes, and a backdrop of
bright red milk crates form Straus Organic Creamery - which reminded me of a
stack of amplifiers from a heavy metal video.
The Cheese Pavilion featured only American cheeses, with a
particular slant toward raw milk and farmstead production. In fact, all Pavilions were exclusively
American from the 450 bottles of wine from states as diverse as Georgia and New York, to
the chocolate roasted and blended in the US, and those fantastic pickles and
cured meats I couldn't seem to eat enough of.
The folks at Slow Food sent out an invitation to American
artisan cheese producers offering to buy their cheese to be se served on a
composed cheese plate at the event. In
total there were 54 cheese makers represented, each sending a maximum of 25 lbs
of cheese each. After a brief meeting
with the team leaders for the event, I rolled up my sleeves, donned the Slow
Food Nation apron we were given, and began cutting wheel after wheel of cheese
into small batons and triangle wedges.
An amazing selection of unique cheeses passed under my hands - a salty,
mineral-y goat cheese from Oregon; a robust and buttery Bosque blue from Veldhuizen
Family Farm outside Ft. Worth, Texas; rounds and rounds of sticky stinky
Winnemere from Jasper Hill dairy in Vermont to which I started mimicking the
Crosby Stills and Nash song Guinevere - "Winnemere
has a smelly rind, like yours, baby like yours...".
In the "Hay Bale Amphitheater" we had demonstrations and
discussions by authors like Laura Werlin, cheese makers like Mike Gingrich,
Jennifer Bice, and Mary Keehn, and blogger/educators like Tami Parr from the Pacific Northwest Cheese Project. As
the line for the cheese plates wrapped around the corner and out the door
outside and alongside the pier, I was sent out with tray after tray of cheese
samples to entertain the folks. With
glasses of wine in hand, their Slow Dough (taste coupons), and the view of this
wonderful City
- with Coit Tower
to the right and Alcatraz out in the Bay - it
was a pretty nice line to wait in.
It was incredible to see so many folks in town for the
event. I visited with a couple from the
Carolinas, another group from Portland, some
fine cheese heads from Wisconsin,
and dozens of local Bay Area food lovers.
One gentleman from Utah
told me how he attempted to make a batch of yogurt on the hood of his car a few
days ago. He said it was good but a
little runny. Another person told me of
their attempt at fresh mozzarella, and another at making his own Mexican-style
heavy cream for a taco feast that weekend.
Wow! So many enthusiastic food
lovers coming together to taste, talk and explore the best in American artisan
foods.
Throughout the weekend I worked with the best and brightest
of the Bay Area cheese world. The
Cowgirls were gracious and professional; heading up the operations,
donating many staff members, the logistics, refrigeration and
trucking. Debra and Diana who represent
Redwood Hill in Sonoma Co. and Jasper Hill Dairy in Vermont kept us on our toes. A number of enthusiastic Slow Food members who just
wanted to help out were also on hand to cut cheese and greet the guests. You could see how bright eyed they were at
the opportunity to serve, taste, and learn.
An instant crash course in cheese from a few experienced cheesemongers,
and between bites, an opportunity to give back to an organization they believe in.
I was told the event at the Taste Pavilion was to host 7000
ticket holders, but just learned that as many as 14000 ticket holders were
there throughout the weekend. It just blows me away to see
so many people participating in the "slow" movement - if you don't already know, the term slow food is the opposite of fast food. I often speak about the importance of supporting
the independent farmer or producer. How
this creates sustainability financially by providing the farmer/producer a livable
income, and keeps the soil and crops alive as well. As a child I worked on my family's farm. Today the farm is gone, sold away, the county
seat a dried up community of what once was thriving. But I consider myself a lucky one who did
have a chance to taste traditional and authentic foods, and to live close to
the soil, if only for a few summers.
Some of my favorite food memories of that time are gone with the farm,
into prepackaged and predictable internationally branded commodities.
Slow Food Nation, if only for a few days, was
a window into our culinary heritage, a chance to embrace the idea
that food is unique and inspired. A product of the people, the soil, and the history of our great nation. It starts with the carrots and ends with the caviar, and along the way we can all do our part in little ways by supporting traditional and authentic foods at farmers markets and independent grocers, by growing our own lettuces in a window box, and always tasting and asking questions about the origins and creation of our foods.
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Cheese Plus on TV
Good Question with Ken Bastida
Cheese Plus was featured on KPIX, CBS channel 5 on Tuesday night. Ken Bastida dropped by the store to ask us why Swiss cheese has holes.
See the video here.
Oh, by the way - they're called eyes, not holes. |
Cheese Plus Best of Baylist
We've been nominated for Best Cheese Shop
 Cheese Plus has been nominated for San Francisco Chronicle and SFGate.com best of Baylist. If you'd like to cast your vote for us please click here and follow the prompts.
Thanks for your continued support! |
Fall Harvest Festival
Saturday, October 25th
It's that time again. Our 4th annual Fall Harvest Artisan Food Festival is coming up. While we're working on the details you should mark your calendars and save the date. Sample tasty treats from over 20 local Bay Area artisan food producers. Stay tuned for more updates. |
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See you in the aisles!
-Ray Bair
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