PETALUMA, CA — The United States’ premier artisan cheese event, the 7th Annual California’s Artisan Cheese Festival, today announces the participants in the Festival’s finale events: the Stark Reality Brunch and Artisan Cheese Tasting and Marketplace on Sunday, March 24, 2013. Chef Mark Stark of Stark Reality Restaurants will be hosting “Let the Cheese Shine” brunch and cooking demonstration on Sunday morning before the main event of the day, the Artisan Cheese Tasting and Marketplace.
Recently announced as a contender for the 2013 James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurateur, Chef Mark Stark will be preparing a Spanish-inspired brunch in honor of his newest restaurant in Healdsburg, Bravas Bar de Tapas. Not only will guests be treated to a glass of VML Blanc de Noir Sparkling Wine upon entry, but this sit-down, three-course brunch will also feature a cheese-centric cooking demo by Chef Stark and all attendees will gain VIP access into the Artisan Cheese Tasting and Marketplace at 11 a.m., an hour before it opens to the public.
Stark Reality Brunch Menu – Let the Cheese Shine
Citrus Salad with Bellwether Farms Fromage Blanc, Rhubarb Honey and Olive Oil Granola
Spanish Omelet with Yukon Gold Potato, Spring Onion,
Fennel & Nicasio Foggy Morning
Smoked Salmon & Meyer Lemon Aioli
Serrano Ham & Cypress Grove Midnight Moon Torta
with Black Truffle and Sunny Side Farm Egg
Bringing together more than 70 Californian artisan cheesemakers, restaurants, breweries and wineries, this walk-around tasting and marketplace is one of the weekend’s most popular. With a two tents set up outside of the Sheraton Sonoma County this year, there will be over 20,000 sq. feet of space for guests to comfortably navigate their way around this popular marketplace, a 25% increase in space from last year. During the event, guests will be 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 will be three chefs’ demos representing some of the Bay Area’s best chefs, including Duskie Estes of Zazu Restaurant at 1 p.m., Condra Easley of Patisserie Angelica at 2 p.m. and Austin Perkins of Nick’s Cove Restaurant, Oyster Bar & Cottages at 3 p.m. Several of the weekends’ cheesemakers and chefs are also authors and many will be selling and signing their cheese-inspired tomes at the Marketplace. The chefs’ demos will be taking place inside of the Sheraton Sonoma County and the book signings will be taking place inside of the tent throughout the day. Book signings and demos are included with admission to the Marketplace.
Cheesemakers showcasing their products at the Marketplace include:
Beehive Cheese Company (Uintah, Utah)
Bellwether Farms (Petaluma)
Bleating Heart Cheese (Sebastopol)
Bohemian Creamery (Sebastopol)
Central Coast Creamery (Paso Robles)
Cowgirl Creamery (Point Reyes Station)
Cypress Grove Chevre (Arcata)
Garden Variety (Royal Oaks)
Laura Chenel’s Chevre (Sonoma)
Marin French Cheese Company (Petaluma)
Nicasio Valley Cheese Co. (Nicasio)
North Bay Curds and Whey (Tomales)
Orland Farmstead Creamery (Orland)
Petaluma Creamery (Petaluma)
Pennyroyal Farm (Boonville)
Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co. (Point Reyes Station)
Pugs Leap (Petaluma)
Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery (Sebastopol)
Shamrock Artisan Goat Cheese (Willits)
Spring Hill Jersey Cheese (Petaluma)
Two Rock Valley Goat Cheese (Petaluma)
Valley Ford Cheese Co. (Valley Ford)
Weirauch Farm & Creamery (Penngrove)
Willapa Hills Farmstead & Artisan Cheese (Doty, Washington)
Winters Cheese Company (Winters)
Breweries and wineries pouring their products at the Marketplace will include:
Black Kite Cellars (Anderson Valley)
Cassata-Sonoma (Glen Ellen)
Clif Family Winery (St. Helena)
Half Moon Bay Brewing Company (Half Moon Bay)
Handley Cellars (Philo)
Lagunitas Brewery (Petaluma)
North Coast Brewing Company (Fort Bragg)
Russian River Vineyards (Forestville)
Sonoma Valley Portworks (Petaluma)
Turkovich Family Wines (Winters)
Wandering Aengus Ciderworks (Oregon)
Artisan food purveyors and other vendors will include:
2 English Ladies (Chico)
Artistic Woodcrafts (Riverside)
The Beverage People (Santa Rosa)
Black Pig Meat Company (Healdsburg)
Café Mugshot (Petaluma)
California Artisan Cheese Guild (Oakland)
California Endive Farms(Rio Vista)
Cassata-Sonoma Olive Oil (Glen Ellen)
Cheese School of San Francisco (San Francisco)
Cheese Shop of Healdsburg (Healdsburg)
Clover Stornetta Farms (Petaluma)
Copperfield’s Books (Petaluma)
Culture Magazine (Massachusetts)
Friend in Cheeses Jam (Santa Cruz)
Grace and I (Los Angeles)
Grilled Cheese Guy (Oakland)
Hot! Panini (Santa Rosa)
Interiors by Lynn (Rohnert Park)
Jimtown Store (Healdsburg)
Marin Agricultural Land Trust (Marin)
McEvoy Ranch(Petaluma)
Negranti Sheep Dairy (Central Coast)
Noren Designs (Sebastopol)
Olivier Napa Valley (St. Helena)
Oren’s Kitchen (El Cerrito)
Patisserie Angelica (Sebastopol)
Petaluma Visitor’s Center (Petaluma)
Poco Dolce (San Francisco)
Potter’s Crackers (Sacramento)
Redwood Empire Food Bank (Santa Rosa)
Rosso Pizzeria & Wine Bar (Petaluma)
Rustic Bakery (San Rafael)
Sonoma Land Trust (Santa Rosa)
TerraSonoma (Sonoma)
The Strudel Guy (Santa Rosa)
Three Twins Ice Cream (Petaluma)
Tres Classique (Ukiah)
Village Bakery (Sebastopol)
The Stark Reality Brunch will take place from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. 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 will take place under two large tents in the parking lot of the Sheraton Sonoma County. The Marketplace opens to the public at noon and goes until 4 p.m. Tickets to the Marketplace are still available and are $45 per person, including an insulated tote, a wine glass with the festival logo and unlimited samplings of cheese, beer, wine and other artisan products.
Tickets to several of the Festival’s other weekend-long events are also still available, including Friday night’s inaugural Meet the Cheesemakers Reception, several of the Saturday seminars and the Saturday night Best in Cheese 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 Ag Credit, Bank of Marin, Basin Street Properties, Beehive Cheese Company, Bellwether Farms, Bleating Heart, Casitas Valley Creamery, Clover Stornetta Farms, Cowgirl Creamery, Culture magazine, Cypress Grove Chevre, Donald & Maureen Green Foundation, Exchange Bank, Garden Variety Cheese, John Boos, Keller Estate Winery, Lagunitas Brewing Company, Laura Chenel Chevre, Marin French Cheese Company, Maverick Media, McClelland’s Dairy Organic Butter, Mike Hudson Distributing, Nicasio Valley Cheese Company, North Bay Curds and Whey, Petaluma Market, Petaluma Post, Pennyroyal, Pisenti & Brinker, Pt. Reyes Farmstead, Pure Luxury Transportation, Pugs Leap, Redwood Hill Farm, Relish Culinary Adventures, Reynolds Packaging, Shamrock Artisan Goat Cheese, Sheraton Sonoma County, Spring Hill Jersey Cheese, The Cheese School of San Francisco, Tomales Farmstead/Toluma Farms, Whole Foods Markets, Willapa Hills Farmstead, Wine Country Party & Events and Winters Cheese Co.
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 will donate 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 $45,000 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