Saturday, October 25th 2008 there’s another reason to enjoy Fall in San Francisco: Cheese Plus’ 4th Annual Fall Harvest Artisan Food Festival taking place at Cheese Plus on Saturday the 25th. It’s free—with more than 2 dozen Bay Area food artisans will be on site offering taste samples of their finest foods.
See you there!
Here’s Cheese Plus’ Ray Bair preparing cheese samples at Slow Food Nation where I discovered lots of new cheeses and took many pics.
A bucolic country goat farm in the San Francisco Bay Area?
My quest to find Harley Farms led me to the back road of Pescadero, a small town which, as noted has a back “road,” not “roads.” It’s perhaps most famous for Duarte Tavern’s old time artichoke soup but Harley Farms is well on its way to becoming a main attraction. (Just Google it and you’ll see).
On my visit, Dee Harley and Ryan were still decompressing from Slow Food Nation weekend. Harley Farms’ cheese is in such demand, they’d work all day then spend nights trying to churn out enough for the anxious masses. It’s no wonder: Their delicately fresh cheeses have won numerous First Place awards from the American Cheese Society, among others.
Dee showed me the beautiful upstairs hall, overlooking the goats, with a long wooden table and chairs they’d made by hand themselves over the years. Definitely a place to get married or throw a “slow party.”
In the store you’ll find lots of playful signs and gifts along with a full spread of cheeses to taste. (The pepper coated log is my favorite. Somehow the pepper brings out the goat flavor.) Learn all about the varieties and ask Dee your questions.
When you visit: The beach at Pescadero is very accessible. I highly recommend bringing a cooler, planning a late morning at Harley Farms, picking up cheese, and heading to the beach for a picnic along with extra cheese for home. You’ll find great artichoke laden bread in town.
If you can’t visit: Enjoy this tour, in which Ryan gives me an overview of Harley Farms. (It’ll make you find a way to visit.)
A highlight of volunteering at Slow Food Nation’s Taste Pavilion was discovering Veldhuizen Cheese, a farmstead* cheese maker, which produces so little that it is rarely available outside of Texas. They sell most to restaurants in the area, although they have a store at the farm as well as online.
*Means the cheese maker also produces the milk from his/her own animals.
Veldhuizen makes 10 types of cheeses including the blue, cheddars, and a gruyere style.
I had the pleasure of tasting the Bosque Blue. As you can see in the photo, it is very veiny and the “white” part has a yellow hue due to the cows feeding largely on grass. Only 15% of their diet comes from grain at the Dublin, Texas farm, 65 miles southeast of Fort Worth. (Take a memo: Strive to be a cow here in your next life.)
Stuart explained that he grew up on the dairy farm and knew what hard work it was to make a living. He thought he didn’t want to be in the business. But in 1999 a hankering called. His wife researched how many cows they’d need to make cheese.
They started with 20 cows and now have 40, in a profitable operation. The rest is history. They enjoy being a small operation so their cheese will remain a rare, coveted delight.
You can read more on how they got started their website. Good people, great cheese. I hope you can experience it!
Short clip on his background…
See more photos from Slow Food Nation
In any other setting I would have been delighted to feast on a 2 pound chunk of Humboldt Fog goat cheese along with an equally hefty slab of Rogue Creamery blue from Oregon.
But the fact is, this was Maine, adjacent to a town boasting a cheese company, and in a state that’s home to at least several cheese producers (like Seal Cove chevre).
Yes I reluctantly paired some blue with my “buy local” bitter grapes. 
For food entrepreneurs and the people who love them, Susie Wyshak--consultant, author & speaker--writes about successful food businesses; observations on trends and customer experience; and, offers ideas from her travels and encounters with makers, farmers, and experts. Pin It
