If you really want to show someone how exquisite they are, nothing will get your message across better than the California Crafted Meat & Cheese Gift Basket. To ensure that your loved one gets the quality products they deserve, we teamed up with the makers of top-of-the-line artisanal cheeses and premium gourmet foods. Our partners aren’t just experts; they’re food artists, and we love them so much that we just have to introduce them to you. Meet the three artisans—Bellwether Farms, Cypress Grove Chevre, and Colombus— behind one of our most sophisticated gift baskets, and find out how they harness their passion to deliver delicacies to your doorstep.
Bellwether Farms
Bellwether Farms, a premier creamery on the beautiful Sonoma County coast, was established back in 1986 by Cindy Callahan, a former nurse. Their long tradition of making fine cheese started entirely by chance: When Cindy bought sheep as an easy way to manage the farm’s grass, a friend happened to suggest that she try milking the sheep. And so the dairy farm was born.
Today, Bellwether Farms uses fresh, rich and creamy milk from Jerseycows (which are rarer than traditional black-and-white cows and make the best milk for dairy products) to create first-rate cheeses. The cows are fed a healthy diet of fresh grass, alfalfa and grains to enhance the flavor of their milk, and they are never pumped with hormones. To give their goods a personal touch, Cindy’s son, Liam, makes every pound of cheese with his own hands.
The Callahans found inspiration for their famous Carmody cheese, which is featured in our California Crafted Meat & Cheese Gift Basket, on a trip toItaly in the ’90s. After traveling toMilan to see firsthand how Gorgonzola is made, Cindy tried making her own cheese that had a similar mild, creamy and buttery taste … and she perfected it. Tipping her hat to her hometown, Cindy named the delicious cheese “Carmody” after a road that runs right near her farm.
Cypress Grove Chevre
Just like the fortuitous discovery of Bellwether Farms, Cypress Grove Chevre has a similar history surrounded by luck. Mary Keehn started raising Alpine goats in the 1970s so that she could provide her children with a healthier source of milk. It so happened that she actually had a knack for rearing goats, eventually earning her national recognition as one of the country’s best Alpine goat breeders.
As her herd of goats and their supply of milk kept growing, Mary gave cheese making a try. And being the winner that she is, she nailed it. Now, with its remarkable collection of goat cheese flavors invented exclusively by Mary, Cypress Grove Chevre has become one of the most renowned and awarded sellers of goat cheese in the country.
We chose to feature Cypress Grove Chevre’s Purple Haze Goat Milk Cheese in our gift basket because of its unique and oh-so-flavorful blend of lavender and wild fennel pollen, which makes a delicious complement to a variety of sweet and savory foods. Plus, we simply couldn’t ignore its award-winning history: It was crowned Best of Show at the 2009 California State Fair Cheese Competition, and it earned the Best of Class title at the 2011 U.S. Cheese Championship.
Columbus
And what’s artisanal cheese without some choice meats to pair it with? The founders of Columbus left Italy to come to America in 1917, but they sure didn’t leave their authentic Italian traditions behind. With them, they brought their expertise in making artisan salame and premium deli meats, and they began selling it in their new digs—San Francisco, California. In today’s modern age, Columbus continues bringing us unforgettable old-world charm and flavor with their line of Italian fare.
So which Columbus product did we pick as our favorite? The Italian Dry Salame, and it’s not hard to see why. The flavor of these first-class cuts of slow-cured pork is further enhanced with aromatic spices and rich wine, giving the original Italian recipe some San Francisco appeal. Whichever way you choose to savor it—whether it’s in a sandwich or straight from the package—you’ll be captivated by the genuine taste that only the masters at Columbus can create.
Now that you’ve gotten to know the culinary maestros we’ve had the honor of collaborating with to bring you the California Crafted Meat & Cheese Gift Basket, tell us which story you found to be the most inspiring and why!
