I walked into the store at 9:10am on Wednessday, which I had been told would be the least-busy time at Cowgirl Creamery and thus the best for me to come in and indulge in a few minutes of the manager's time. It was a beautiful sight, seeing all the artfully arranged cheeses in plain sight, without crowds of tourists glued to the counters.
When I walked in, I felt nervous and dorky. I was unsure if anyone there remembered me as the cheese-o-phile student. I hung around the counter and smiled. Rachel, the manager smiled back and waved me over, "You want to ask em some questions?", she asked.
"Yes!", I said. First I asked her what do you DO on a daily basis, as the store manager, what are your daily goals? She said she had to keep the store going in a number of ways- she had to make sure every cheese was properly taken care of and wrapped up and presented in its place on the counter. There was also a certain ammount that had to be prepared during the day- pre-packaged things, unlike the cheeses which are all cut to the desired size. Then she had to do inventories of various sorts. Ultimately, she has to make sure the store opens, with all the cheeses taken out of storage and arranged on the counter, and closes, with all the cheeses securely stored back in the "walk-in" fridge that is their substitute for a cheese cave. She described the main principle she had to juggle as the store's manager- financial success (or any case, cutting even) and loyalty to the store's goals.
"How would you describe the store's goals or mission?", I asked her.
She said their mission was to promote artisinal cheeses and run a store indifferent to the capitalization and generic-ization of cheese. It's a lot of work to make cheese the traditional way, she said, the work never ends and we want to respect this devotion and hard work. "AND"- I interrupted- "the artisinal cheeses TASTE better!".
In our conversation, Rachel mentioned the Cheese Nun as a documentary that gave a good sense of what is so important and worthwile about traditional, artisan-style cheese-making. She was pleased to hear that I already seen, and been inspired by, the movie! I'll take this time again to encourage anyone with an interest to SEE THE CHEESE NUN!
Then, I began to ask Rachel questions about her personal interest and involvement with cheese. I asked her how se got the position she has as the manager of the store. She responded that she's always loved and worked with food. She had been working as a baker at a local restaurant that bought cheese from Cowgirl Creamery, and thus had contact with them. When she spoke to a cheese seller at Tomales Bay Foods and mentioned she was leaving her job at the restaurant, she was encouraged to apply for a job at the Cowgirl store at the Ferry Building, which needed more people. She applied, got the job, and "the rest is history!", she concluded.
Rachel said she'd always enjoyed cheese. She said part of her interest in cheese is due to her knowledge of the devotion many individuals, families, and companies have towards cheesemaking and even the making of one particular cheese. She loves to see the variety of dligiently and traditionally made cheeses coming out of the area and the world.
Upon asking another staff member at the store what he finds so appealing about cheese, I received a sincerely "deep" answer:
He descirbed that, in a continuingly superficial and capitalistic society of commercialization, it is nice to see something REAL and hand-made that comes from the earth and is naturally flavored by time, and mold, and milk. He laughed as if he had said something silly or embarassing but then smiled confidently and said "I just really like it, you know?"
I was thrilled to find at least two smart, motivated people who shared my fascination of cheese in its authenticity and with its incredibly variety.
I then asked Rachel about something I'd always wondered about: In her experience, is there any communication between the cheese MAKERS, or chees eon a production level, and the cheese SELLERS and marketers, or cheese in the market? She said that, in the case of Cowgirl Creamery, any communication of this kind went by way of the cheese buyer of Tomales Bay Foods, who dealt with the actual cheese makers and then did business with Rachel and other Tomales Bay Foods store managers seperately. Rachel said that her udnerstanding was that if the buyer noticed a cheese was not selling very well, she would make suggestions to the cheese makers (such as: This cheese is getting too salty, or the texture is not right, or this batch was sort of bland). The cheesemakers will then keep this advice in mind as they make changes to the cheeses they make and their methods of production.
This excited me. I like the idea of there being this kind of communication. I like the idea that the cheese makers can change their product in small, effective ways based on how it sells and the suggections of cheese buyers. I like the idea that cheese sellers can give suggestions to the cheese makers in order to help them improve their cheese and help it to sell better.
"Is your job fun?", I asked Rachel. "YES!" she repplied, but I could sense a "but". Sure enough, she said she really enjoyed her job and could easily say that it is the 'funnest" job she's ever has. And yet, she wanted to make it clear that it is not an easy job at all. She said that she loves working with food but that it is alsoa retail job, with the usual nuissance that come with retail. I asked her more about this. She said a great customer comes in and knows very little about cheese but enthusiastically asks to try "whatever is really good right now!" and gives everything a taste. But she then describes some of the less enjoyable customers. She says they get a lot of customers who ask them for cheeses the store does not have "and this is fine" she says, except that some of them get upset and yell at her for not having the cheese in question in stock, "WHY don't you have [insert nam of cheese here]!!! And you call yourself a cheese shop!". These customers refuse to try anything new, insisting upon only what they came for, even if it is not available. She also relates the story of a man who walked into the store and asked for "the most expensive cheese you have". She said he clearly did not care what the cheese was or what it tasted like.
I rolled my eyes and then gave a sheepish grin- "So, would you like to tell me about YOUR favorite cheeses that are in the store now and, maybe, give me a taste of a few?" She smiled, realizing what I was up to. "Sure", she said, "and let me know if there's anything you see that you'd like a taste of".
She first gave me a taste of a grainy, light-orange Gouda called "Coolea". "If I had to pick a cheese I'd want to take home with me, this would be it", she said. I tasted the cheese- it was delicious! I ended up taking a small hunk of this cheese home with me after all.
She then gave me a taste of a cheese that was "like fontina" but much more complex and flavor-ful. She said that people sometimes came and told her they wanted to make a non-traditional pizza and asked her what cheese she recommended. "This is what I suggest to them", she said, referring to the fontina-like cheese. It had a soft, thick, creamy texture, like a fontina and tastd buttery and sweet at first and then had an almost bitter bite to it. I liked it.
I pointed at a cream/white, tasty-looking cheese. It's called "Roccolo" She told me it was an Italian, washed-rind's cow milk cheese. I liked it a lot and bought a piece. It has a really nice mixture of flavors, both creamy and sharp.
Then she gave me a taste of a smoothe, aged goat cheese. I liked it, but not as much as the Roccolo.
Then the name "St. Jorge" caught my eye. This was a cheese I'd hear a lot about. It is made here in the Bay Area by a Portuguese family who it after a traditional Portuguese cheese. They have a very traditional-style farm and cave in the area and their cheese had become quite popular, sellign to popular local restaurants and shops. I personally liked it, but did not love it right away. A few seconds after having tasted it, I decided I liked it a lot.
I was really pleased with my trip to the Cowgirl Creamery. Rachel was very friendly and helpful- she seemed sincerely interested in my project and seemed to want me to learn as much as I could from her. It was a success! I bought my two cheeses, smiled at everyone in the store, and sheepishly slipped out to get myslf soem bread at Acme Bread right next store and take my delicious snack to the park.
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