Cheese please!
In 2019, we had the pleasure of interviewing Vivian – Vivian Lucero in Otis, Oregon. She is a master cheesemaker, gourmet cook and gardener.
Her cheese looks fabulous. Unfortunately, she lives on the opposite coast from us so, we can only imagine how good it tastes. A few examples:
Vivian’s Stilton
Her Mont d’Or, ready for aging
Soon after we posted her interview, Vivian shared a recipe with us – Vivian Lucero’s Whey Caramel Sauce.
And now, she has given us her account of a cheese festival she attended a few weeks ago. It was apparently a great experience and we’re grateful to her for sharing it with us.
Vivian’s Trip
My husband, his daughter and I attended the Californian Artisan Cheese Festival in Santa Rosa, California on Saturday, May 7th. It was our first time attending this festival.
My husband Tom and his daughter
It was also our first big adventure away from our Oregon home since we all were sequestered by Covid in March of 2020.
It was held in the Grace Pavilion and Shade Park at the Sonoma County Event Center at the fairgrounds in Santa Rosa.
As their “signature poster” indicates, “Life Has Opened Up!” The attendance by so many was certainly an indication of how ready we all are to return to “normal.”
We were greeted by festival volunteers who handed us a nice souvenir – an insulated tote bag with an ice pack (to take home all that cheese!). It also included a wine glass (if you must have wine with your cheese). We did!
While the majority of the vendors were inside, there were picnic tables, wine tasting and music outdoors. After all, it is sunny California.
There were as many wineries, breweries, distilleries, specialty gourmet treats, meats, pickles, candies, pastries and more as there were creameries.
King Street Giants perform jazz
There were so many and the lines were so long we didn’t have an opportunity to sample everything, but we certainly made an effort.
For an extra ticket fee of $15, one could enter an hour earlier. The fee for general admission was $60 and included all tastings, tote and wine glass.
We were really there for the cheese and had we known the lines were going to be so long for the tastings, we would have paid the extra fee to enter an hour earlier.
Local cheese loving mice
The youngest cheese lover
Man’s best friend loves cheese, too.
I was thrilled to meet this “cheesehead” from Puerto Rico. My mother was born there and I am Puerto Rican.
Of the 72 participants at the event, there were only 15 cheesemakers. We expected there would be more since it was a “cheese festival.” There were no classes or demonstrations included in the festival.
We tasted several cheeses and came home with Morsey’s Water Buffalo Camembert and Buffalo Burrata. AMAZING!
Morsey’s is the first water buffalo creamery in the U.S., started in 1978. Morsey came from Egypt and couldn’t find buffalo milk or cheese here so he decided to start raising his own buffalo. Now, he has over 400. He sells his buffalo milk, cheese and buffalo milk ice cream.
Vivian trying Morsey’s Buffalo Burrata. Amazing!
We also came home with Nicasio Valley’s award winning LaFranchi Ranch Organic Farmstead Cheese.
At the age of 17, Fredolino Lafranchi immigrated to America from Switzerland. In 1919, he and his wife established Lafranchi Dairy in the western Marin town of Nacasio, California. The LaFranchi family continues the traditions of their father, creating amazing cheese on their family farm.
And then there’s Marin French Cheese. Founded in 1865, it is the oldest cheese company in the U.S. and remains in its original location in West Marin. Their triple cream Brie won best of show in the World Cheese Competition twice!
We opted to sample the lesser known creameries to us and ones we had never tasted before.
Popular California creameries such as Laura Chanel, Cowgirl Creamery, Cypress Grove, Point Reyes and others were also represented.
It was so fun to explore the variety of cheeses available by so many talented cheesemakers!
We tasted award winning cheeses – delectable, unusual and unique variations of many of the cheeses I like to make.
When we got home on May 9th, I spent the week making cheese from milk I picked up at one of the places on your Good Milk List. I spent the whole week making cheese!
I made a port infused cheese in a Manchego mold (I didn’t have the right size mold) though I thought I had everything!! It looks beautiful! I also made a smokey pepper cheddar, Butterkase, and an Alpine style tomme. (I recently bought another aging cooler so I can now make more cheese to age longer.)
In short, I came home inspired to expand my repertoire and to experiment with creating one-of-a-kind cheeses that could rival any of the cheeses represented at the festival.
Next, I would like to attend the World Championship Cheese Contest!
Cheese on!
