Laura's Appearances
& Important Dates in the World of Cheese

March 24, 2010 - Cheese School of San Francisco
Cheese and Beer
www.cheeseschoolsf.com

March 26 - 28, 2010 California's Artisan Cheese Festival, Petaluma, California
Come to Petaluma in Sonoma County for an artisanal cheese extravaganza. Spectacular cheeses from California, Oregon, and Washington are the stars of the show where you'll get to meet the cheesemakers, sample their cheeses, taste wines from local, small producers, and attend cheese seminars conducted by the cheesemakers themselves as well as by cheese educators and retailers. I'll be among the presenters and will be conducting two seminars. The first one is "Cheese Essentials", in which I'll be leading a tasting of the eight basic styles of cheese paired with two amazing wines, including the brand new Migration chardonnay, the first-ever white wine by this Duckhorn Wine Company brand.

Plan on a few laughs in the second seminar when I team up with Seattle's Beecher's Handmade Cheese founder and entertainer extraordinaire Kurt Dammeier as we present Washington cheeses and Washington wines. You'll not only walk away with tips on how to pair cheese and wine but you'll also learn about Washington cheeses, which is a sector of American cheese growing by the minute. Make sure to buy tickets for the Festival soon, which is held at the lovely Sheraton in Petaluma.

The Friday night barn dance at Green Spring Farm featuring great food, cheese, and beer and the Saturday night extravaganza, "Curds, Cooks, and Cuvees: A Moveable Feast of Eight Courses Featuring Great Cheese, Food and Wine," are both events you definitely won't want to miss. I promise.
www.artisancheesefestival.com

April 8 - 11, 2010 Pebble Beach Food & Wine, Pebble Beach, California
I'm pretty much over the moon to be participating in the 3rd annual Pebble Beach Food & Wine extravaganza. I'll be presenting cheese and wine pairing while in the company of luminaries like Thomas Keller, Jacques Pepin (this year's most-deserved honoree), Iron Chef Michael Symon, Michael Chiarello, and the awesome chef at Meadowood Resort, Christopher Kostow. The Pebble Beach setting absolutely can't be beat, and the amount of fantastic wine and food can't be either. If you live in the Bay Area, it's easy to check out just for the day, but you'll be happy if you stay the weekend.
www.pebblebeachfoodandwine.com

April 26, 2010 - Cheese School of San Francisco
All American Cheese and Wine
www.cheeseschoolsf.com

May 8 2010, Ominvore Books, San Francisco, California
This shop is a culinary treasure. For anyone that loves food and loves reading about it this a must-visit destination. Owner Celia Sack is constantly sourcing culinary books that only she seems to know exist. But not to be overshadowed by the past, Celia also features present-day authors as well. On this day, I will be that author and will be talking about the rise of American cheese and serving a little of it too.
www.omnivorebooks.com/

May 16 - 19, 2010 Blackberry Farm, Walland, Tennessee
If there's a more exciting ongoing food and wine program than the one at the spectacular Blackberry Farm, I'd like to know about it because it's hard to imagine. I am thrilled to have been invited to lead a two-and-a-half day celebration of cheese, which will include cheese education, cooking, eating (lots), cheese and wine pairing, and a tour of the farm where cheesemaker Alex Spannaus makes his award-winning sheep's milk cheeses. By all accounts, Blackberry Farm is a very special property, and I can't think of a better place to focus on and celebrate cheese than one where it all begins: the farm.
www.blackberryfarm.com

June 18 - 20, 2010 Food & Wine Magazine Classic at Aspen, Aspen, Colorado
I am thrilled to once again be leading the cheese seminars at this crème de la crème of events. I mean, Aspen? Food & Wine? Together??? I'm particularly excited about this year when one of my seminars will be devoted to the humble yet exalted grilled cheese sandwich. I'll be presenting four sandwiches from my book Great Grilled Cheese and pairing them with four wines. I'll also be showcasing and pairing the four spectacular cheeses that will be in each of the sandwiches in their unmelted form. But great grilled cheese isn't all. Once again I'll team up with Chicago's fantastic wine guy, Brian Duncan, for a seminar on French cheese and French wine pairing. Mais oui!
www.foodandwine.com/promo/classic

August 25 - 29. 2010 American Cheese Society Annual Conference, Seattle, Washington
This annual conference is a must for anyone that loves cheese, wants to learn about it, and wants to taste just about every cheese being made in the United States. This year's conference is going to be particularly special not only because of a great line-up of events but also because the keynote speaker is none other than Michael Pollan, author of the groundbreaking The Ominvore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto, and his new book, Food Rules: An Eater's Manual. Few people have affected the national dialog on food more than Michael Pollan. Check out the American Cheese Society website for the latest information, which includes a humorous and informationalvideo promoting the conference.
www.cheesesociety.org

View Laura's past appearances.

Laura buys cheese from an Italian shepherd at the bi-annual Slow Food cheese conference held in September, 2005 in Bra, Italy.
Photo by Jeff Roberts.