California’s 7th Annual Artisan Cheese Festival coming up

Left: Housemade Ricotta Cheese Crostinis at the Grand Cheese Tasting and Best in Cheese Competition right: A wheel of Willapa Hills Farmstead Cheese at California’s Artisan Cheese Festival. Photo credit: Derrick Story

There are still plenty of tickets available for California’s 7th Annual Artisan Cheese Festival  which is taking place in Petaluma California March 22-24, 2013. There will be cheese-making seminars, beer and cheese pairings, tasting competitions and farm tours featuring top artisan cheese experts, authors, chefs and winemakers from all over California in attendance.

Some new and exciting additions to the lineup this year include a Meet the Cheesemakers Reception and a Farm Tour that takes guests to LaFranchi Ranch and Keller Estate Winery which features a sit-down three course lunch with guest chef Mayet Cristobal, the Executive Chef for Bon Appetit at the Getty Center in Los Angeles and the Getty Villa in Malibu. Throughout the weekend guests will have the opportunity to experience limited-production, rare artisan cheeses and learn about the art of making cheese, while supporting local and sustainable farmers and cheesemakers in California. Please check out www.artisancheesefestival.com  for more information and to purchase tickets.