Meet Cheesemakers...tonight!

Tonight, at a lovely space that goes by the name of Local: Mission Eatery, there is an amazing opportunity to spend time with cheesemakers/magicians from 4 creameries new to the bay area. They will share the story of their journey into cheese, what keeps them going through the back breaking work of it all, & give us a little glimpse of the soul behind the delicious-ness waiting for us at the cheese counter. Their time is precious & tonight we are very lucky.

We will be tasting cheese from Bohemian Creamery made by Lisa (here at right), Bleating Heart made by Seana Doughty, Barinaga Ranch made by Marcia Barinaga (cute as a button with her sheep below), and Nicasio Valley Cheese Co made by Rick LaFranchi & family (his sister Jan will actually be in the house to represent). Oh, and we will also be pairing them with California beer & wine...not bad for a Tuesday night!

There are still a few tickets left, so buy them here & come have some fun & connect with lovely makers of CHEESE!

Measuring Progress

Progress with the shop is moving right along and I plan to do my best to keep the updates coming as we navigate the loopty-loops of opening up shop. This progress I speak of is largely due to this fella. Meet Josh Lowe (450 Architects), Mission Cheeses' architectural designer. The story of how I found Josh goes a little bit like...

Oliver: "I think I know someone who we could talk to about the details of architecture"

Me: "Wait...do we need an architect?" (delusional)

Oliver: "Well, it would be worth talking to him just to get a better understanding of the process" (smarty)

Me: "Alright. Sounds good. Let's meet for dinner."

We had dinner with Josh & his wife Carleigh & the rest is really history. Peeeas & carrots!

Needless to say, Josh & I have been seeing a lot of each other these days as we storm ideas for the space that will bring Mission Cheese from fantasy land to reality. He has challenged me to express the soul of MC into words & pictures, which he is translating, as we stare at our computer screens, into the design of the space. He rocks & I feel so stinking lucky to know that Mission Cheese is in such good hands.

This past Tuesday we spent over 2 hours taking every last measurement of the space (he actually did all of the work while I tried to figure out how to measure from the floor to the ceiling with a floppy measuring tape...which Josh executes effortlessly in this photo). Sounds like a snore, but I find this whole process to be fascinating. Can you imagine the excitement when walls, tables, chairs, & cheese knives start rolling in?

Josh, these curds are for you!

Cheese, It's What's For Dinner?

It has taken a few days of pondering the perfect way to share the Good Food Awards judging experience, and...I think...I've...got it! Make sure you have your volume on (very important!), press play below (give it maybe 20 seconds to get going...wait for it), scroll (slowly), & get excited.

Hoedown from Rodeo from Eleanor Stewart on Vimeo.

Cute!!!














Ohhhh....






Ahhhhh...







OH MY!




Really...










Get real!













YES!!!











Is that...oh yeah.














Amazing!













(fist pump, fist pump!)




























Eh hem. In summary, it was delightful day of tasting semi-soft cheeses from across the country with Daphne Zepos (cheese writer, importer, & educator extraordinaire), Juliana Uruburu (Director of all things cheese at Pasta Shop), & Eskender Aseged (Chef & creator of Radio Africa Kitchen). I was truly honored to be a part of the first annual Good Food Awards. Winners will be announced on their website November 15 & more fun to come in January!

Go ahead, do a heal click, no one is watching.

Scrumptous Events for October!

After a weekend of celebratory toasts with some of my favorite people on the planet...this show is officially on the road. The flood gates have lifted. The levee gave way. We have blast off. Full speed ahead. Well...you get the point. There's a lot to do to get Mission Cheese ready for her coming out party. BUT, there is always time for cheese-tastic events, 3 cheese-tastic events to be exact (2 for you 1 for me!). So, without further ado...let's start with some fun for you! (dork.)

Saturday, October 9th 5-11 pm (Yes, THIS Sat!) - Underground Market in Oakland
We missed 2 markets while biking down the Oregon coast (I survived! It was actually very awesome), but we will be at this Saturday's market serving up Raclette to as many people as we possibly can. They have more vendors than ever before AND it is all outdoors & much easier to navigate than the one in SF. So, I highly recommend it. Here is a list of the vendors that will be there in addition to yours truly.

Sunday, October 10th (this one is for me!) - Good Food Awards Judging takes place
In honor of the Global Work Party happening on 10/10/10, I will be volunteering my time to judge delicious cheese for the Good Food Awards organized by Seedling Projects. I will be tasting 50 different artisan cheeses & reporting back on the experience...not the winners, which will be announced at a par-tay in mid January. Seems more like a dream come true & less like volunteering...but I'll take it! (Seriously, all links in this paragraph are truly worth clicking on...amazing people doing amazing stuff!)

Tuesday, October 26th 7-9 pm - Mission Cheese & Local: Mission Eatery present...Meet the Cheesemaker!
We are teaming up with Local: Mission Eatery to bring you the opportunity to meet 4 fairly new remarkable NorCal cheesemakers & taste their cheese paired with local beer & wine. You know how much I adore cheesemakers, so this is your chance to hear their story & feel the love yourself. Marcia of Barinaga Ranch, Lisa of Bohemian Creamery, Seana of Bleating Heart, & a member of the LaFranchi family (it's a family dairy!) of Nicassio Valley Cheese will be joining us for the event & I just couldn't be a pinch happier. Tickets are $65, and I believe there are only about 30 of them. So...get yours while the gettin' is good!

I told you they were cheese-tastic...and really, all-around-FUN-tastic! Wouldn't you say? I do apologize for my overly geek-tastic (daaaa hahaha) behavior this post. Sort of.