Cowgirl Creamery comes of age in Petaluma

<p>Did you know that Petaluma is one of the cheese capitals of the world? For the past several years Cowgirl Creamery, the producer of the award-winning organic cheeses, has been operating in stealth mode from a bustling warehouse facility in Petaluma’s Foundry Wharf. What’s that? You say you’re certain Cowgirl Creamery makes its cheese in a quaint, renovated barn in Point Reyes Station?</p><!-- Nothing to do. The paragraph has already been output --><p>Well, you’re absolutely right. And now, after years of growth and a burgeoning demand for their delicious products, Cowgirl Creamery makes cheese here in Petaluma as well. The Petaluma production facility is enclosed in an inauspicious warehouse at 419 First St. along Petaluma’s riverfront. </p><p>Peggy Smith and Sue Conley, the original “cowgirls” behind Cowgirl Creamery, began making cheese in that aforementioned barn in Point Reyes Station in 1997. As its base, they used organic milk from the neighboring Straus Family Creamery, a move that distinguished their product from most other regional cheese producers.</p><p>They made small batches of cheese, by hand, utilizing environmentally sound and ecologically sustainable practices. They looked to the past for inspiration, studying the great cheeses of the world and receiving personal tutelage from renowned cheesemakers. They peeked into the future, developing a vision of where all of this could lead. And they worked very, very hard.</p><p>To make a long story very short, the cheese was good. Exceptionally good. After aging the cheese to perfection, they drove it “over the hill” from Point Reyes to Petaluma and then delivered it by van to the rest of the region.</p><p>Savvy Bay Area chefs were anxious to add Cowgirl Creamery cheeses to their menus, and non-professional cheese aficionados rushed for the stuff at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market (even before that edifice’s renaissance). Local retailers found it difficult to keep the cheeses in stock, the demand easily outpacing supplies.</p><p>Sean Barker, Cowgirl Creamery’s lead driver for the past seven years, recalls the early days. “Our original Petaluma warehouse was basically a dungeon – one stall, a roll-up door, one computer, no windows. We’ve come a long way.”</p><p>Despite the limitations, Cowgirl Creamery managed to get its product to market. Cheese was flying off the shelves. “When I’d deliver to Rainbow Grocery in San Francisco,” Barker recounts, “the cheese buyer would announce my arrival over the speaker system. Most of the cheese was gone before I left the store.”</p><p>Cowgirl Creamery cheese was becoming a full-fledged phenomenon. And upon learning of the phenomenon, the news media sought out the cowgirls. Stories about Cowgirl Creamery ran in our local periodicals, and then USA Today, the New York Times, and the Washington Post called requesting interviews. The cat was definitely out of the bag.</p><p>Michael Zilber has been retail manager of Cowgirl Creamery’s Point Reyes location for four years. From his cheese counter at the renovated barn, within the confines of Tomales Bay Foods, Zilber witnesses first-hand the adoration visitors express for the cheese.</p><p>“They’re astonished to see how humble the operation is,” he says. “Some of them even expect to see cows. But what they seem to appreciate most is the authenticity of our cheese, that we’re honest to the source.”</p><p>Back on this side of the hill, cheesemaker Eric Patterson oversees production at the Petaluma facility. He exudes pride as he gestures at the shiny new 400-gallon cheese vats. “Despite appearances,” he says, “we still make cheese like we did at the beginning. Batch sizes are the same; the approach is the same. Maybe we’re more efficient now. We still treat it as an art.”</p><p>When Patterson first signed on with Cowgirl Creamery, he figured he’d stay for a year or two, learn some valuable tricks of the trade, and then launch his own goat cheese-making operation. Six years later, he’s still fully engaged in Cowgirl Creamery.</p><p>“We make good cheese,” he says, “and it’s great to work for Peggy and Sue. Why change?”</p>