Title: 3rd Annual California Artisan Cheese Festival
Location: Petaluma, California
Link out: Click here
Description: California’s Artisan Cheese Festival returns to Sonoma County for another four-day
celebration of the continuing evolution in artisan cheesemaking. Featured again this year are the esteemed cheesemakers, experts, authors and chefs who make this weekend uniquely rich and satisfying.

Start Date: 2009-03-20
Start Time: 18:00
End Date: 2009-03-23

Last year it was all about pomegranates. You couldn’t and still can’t go into a grocery store without seeing row after row of new products containing pomegranate juice.

This year it seems from the folks I’ve spoken with, cheese is the new pomegranate juice.

Consider the following anecdotal evidence…


I spoke with numerous checkers over the past few weeks from three different grocery chains who reported cheese flying off the shelves… And keep in mind checkers are pretty numb to what passes by them… It takes a lot to catch their eye…

The launch of Culture magazine… A magazine devote to cheese…

Several of the major food makers are expecting huge jumps in the sales of mac and cheese this year…

Cheese shops I spoke with tell me there has been no drop in cheese sales, higher end cheeses are selling still selling well and there has been a big increase in folks asking about American Artisan Cheeses.

Then there’s the predicted trend of a return to comfort foods… Which includes mac & cheese as well as cheese burgers.

We would love to hear your thoughts on the trend, or if you have a favorite cheese use the comments section to promote it…

And if you just find you can’t get enough cheese stories, I found this video by Jeffrey Roberts, author of The Atlas of American Artisan Cheese…

The most famous cheese shop in America is jumping on the recession bandwagon… Murrary’s in New York City is offering a new cheese class titled, The Recession Diet… The class is described this way…

“New year. New president. Same hardships for the economy. During times of crisis, many food-lovers are forced to resort to box wine and cheap brie, but this does not have to happen to you! Associate Wine Specialist at Christie’s, Amanda Crawford, and former wholesale Manager, Nora Singley, will show you how to keep your purse strings tight and your taste buds happy. Chances are you’ll find some new favorites that will remain staples even after the economy (knock on wood) lifts itself up.”

If you’ve never been to Murrary’s, it’s worth the trip..

If your into cheese, but not up for the trip to New York, there’s a new magazine out called, “Culture”… Their website doesn’t offer the magazine’s contents, but you can download their centerfold cheese and get a sneak peak what’s now out in print…

And since I’m always looking for suggestions, I wanted to offer up my own for best cheese… My vote goes the to the Cow Girl Creamery’s Mt. Tam cheese…

As always leave your vote in the comments suggestion and a link back to their site. And if you’re in the cheese business, we would love to hear from you.