CHEESE WIZARDS
Ed Schwartz
And wizards they are – Sue Conley and Peggy Smith , founder of the prestigious Cowgirl Creamery in Pt . Reyes Station . The story of their rise to the highest ranks of cheese-dom is a testament to their determination , hard work , and skill .
Sue Conley and Peggy Smith
The long journey began in 1971 when Sue and Peggy were freshmen at the University of Tennesse in Knoxville . They had to find work , and they found jobs as waitresses in a local restaurant .
After college , they returned home to Washington , DC . By this time , they had fallen in love with the “ camaraderie , theater and energy ” of the restaurant business . They worked hard at several restaurants until they saved enough money to buy a much used Chevy van , and with a friend and $ 700 in cash , took Horace Greeley ’ s advice to “ Go West , young ladies .” For six months , Sue and Peggy drove that-a-way and picked up a jazz singer who had a house in San Francisco . They went back to DC to save up some more money and came back to the Bay Area for good .
That was the time when Alice Waters was beginning to change the restaurant world with her back to nature food movement . Peggy gained a job at Alice ’ s Chez Panisse Café . Sue enrolled at City College of San Francisco in its hospitality / restaurant management program . Soon Sue was working with Bette and Manfred Kroening in starting Bette ’ s Oceanside Diner , a wonderful East Bay retro eatery with stools , jukebox and , most importantly , great food . I ate there any time I could .
After 11 years at Bette ’ s , Sue purchased a home in Pt . Reyes Station , a town where there were more cows than folks . One of Sue ’ s first visitors was Ellen Strauss . They liked each other immediately . Ellen and her husband owned a ranch , and the subject turned to many of the dairy farmers in the region falling on hard times . Ellen ’ s son , Albert , was starting an organic dairy and Sue wanted in . The team was selling this great milk to local restaurants , and the dairy was prospering .
Sue wanted a new challenge and called Peggy when Sue found a rugged historic barn in Pt . Reyes Station . The loved the idea of restoring the barn and starting a food business in it . Cheese came up as a great idea because they had the Strauss Dairy as the source of great milk . It was a three year long and difficult political process to get the permits – always a problem in West Marin – but it all came to fruition in 1997 as Tomales Bay Foods was born in the restored rustic barn with the Cowgirl Creamery as part of the enterprise , including one room with a large glass window to view the cheese making process .
The first product was an excellent cottage cheese . After rising to that challenge , the Cowgirls produced their first hard cheese – Mt . Tam . It was a delicious success and put them on the Bay Area culinary map . Next up was my favorite – Red Hawk . It is still the standard in my book .
Let me taste you through some of the current offerings :
Mt . Tam – from Holstein cows raised at the Strauss Dairy . It ’ s a true triple crème , elegant texture , smoother than silk , slightly salty aftertaste and sexy .
Pierce Point – from Jersey cows . A very rich crème , soft texture with a slight hint of local wild flowers where the contented cows grazed .
Red Hawk – The only cheese made in the restored old barn in Pt . Reyes Station . There ’ s a special kind of bacteria in the air that forms a slight red rind and a unique , slightly pungent flavor . This is my favorite , and I am certainly not alone .
Crème Fraiche – a slightly better version of sour cream – just not as sour and great stuff to use on all kinds of fruit and baked potatoes .
Fromage Blanc – very soft , silky texture ; very subtle . From Holstein cows .
There are also many seasonal kinds of cheese , too . And , just like wine , the taste of cheese is subject to various external conditions – of course , whether the milk comes from cows , sheep or goats , but also different breeds , the type of fresh grass , hay , wildflowers , rainfall , different cheese cultures and curd size , among others .
Cowgirl Creamery – 80 Fourth St ., Pt . Reyes Station . Oepn 10AM to 6PM , Wednesday through Saturdays . 415- 663-9335 . www . cowgirlcreamery . com
24 Marin Arts & Culture