{"id":37575,"date":"2019-11-25T13:07:01","date_gmt":"2019-11-25T18:07:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/?p=37575"},"modified":"2020-12-07T15:59:09","modified_gmt":"2020-12-07T20:59:09","slug":"california-creativity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/california-creativity\/","title":{"rendered":"California Creativity"},"content":{"rendered":"

P<\/span>aso Robles\u2014located halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco\u2014is perhaps best known for its robust wine industry; Its proximity to the coast along with ideal growing conditions make it a mecca for tourists and vintners alike. But the city is also home to a number of small farms and dairies. It\u2019s hard to know the average Californian\u2019s perception of a farm, but there\u2019s likely a certain expectation of small-scale producers\u2014that the operations have been handed down through generations and a level of instinctual practice and hereditary knowledge is at play. But talk to any rancher or farmer in the Central Valley and you\u2019ll quickly find that precision is key to strong production and there\u2019s little room for error when it comes to staying afloat.<\/p>\n

A Well-Rounded Career<\/strong><\/h3>\n

With nearly 30 years of experience in the dairy industry, Reggie Jones, founder and head cheesemaker at Central Coast Creamery, knows his way around a wheel of cheese. While some would assume his passion was cultivated by a life surrounded by dairy, it was actually quite the opposite. \u201cI got into cheese by happenstance,\u201d Jones says. \u201cI had a degree in biological sciences, and no job.\u201d After signing up at a temp agency, he was placed in a lab at a large-scale cheese factory and things just clicked. Jones quickly moved his way up to plant manager, overseeing the production of over 2,000 pounds of cheese a day and a team of over 400 people. Later in his career, Jones worked for a group that specialized in whey refining technology before taking over regional sales for a large seller of cultures and enzyme.<\/p>\n

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Reggie Jones, founder and head cheesemaker at Central Coast Creamery<\/p><\/div>\n

Jones always knew he wanted to open his own creamery. From his point of view, there was a clear gap between small-scale niche producers and the colossal creameries churning out cheese for the masses. \u201cI made a comment to my wife 20 years ago that [there will be] very big cheese factories and very small ones, and nothing in the middle. You can\u2019t be in the middle and make commodity styles and compete with the big guys, and you can\u2019t make artisanal [if] your equipment\u2019s too big, so you can either be small or large.<\/p>\n

For his cheeses, he knew which direction to go: \u201cI wanted to be small and make quality products. I thought that more complex flavor profiles were the next logical step for American palates.\u201d But that didn\u2019t mean he couldn\u2019t bring everything he\u2019d learned from large-scale operations with him to this new endeavor. \u201cThere\u2019s no doubt that the road I traveled gave me the experience required to make it happen,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

For Jones and his wife, Kellie, co-owner of Central Coast as well asa biochemist and pharmacist, Paso Robles felt like the perfect place to start. \u201cWe conceptualized the company in 2007, and while coming up with a name ,thought about where we [wanted] be. Paso Robles was this burgeoning wine area and [while] there were a couple cheesemakers here, they were very small.\u201d<\/p>\n

Production space was cheaper than areas with a more established cheese scene, like Point Reyes or Sonoma, and it helped that nearby California Polytechnic State University was Kellie\u2019s undergraduate alma mater.<\/p>\n

Playing the Long Game<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Most new cheesemakers ease into things, starting off with soft cheeses that age quickly to kick-start sales. Instead, Jones began with Goat Gouda (now a multi-award winner). \u201cWe wanted [it] to be four or five months old. So, you\u2019re in business, then you have to wait to see what the final flavor profile and result is,\u201d says Jones. Keeping his day job as regional sales manager, Jones spent Central Coast\u2019s early months refining his process and seeking out dairy producers; it was important to him that the milk was local, single-source, and came from happy animals. This was an easy enough task for their cow\u2019s and goat\u2019s milk cheeses, but sheep\u2019s milk proved to be hard to find. So Jones turned to Europe.<\/p>\n

Ewenique, made with 100 percent sheep\u2019s milk, was initially produced for Central Coast in Holland using milk from Spain. From an economic standpoint, it made perfect sense: Sheep\u2019s milk is easy to come by in Europe, and usually at a very reasonable price point. Ever aware of the importance of supporting domestic producers, once Jones was able to secure a constant supplier of sheep\u2019s milk cheese in 2018, they brought production home to Paso Robles. \u201cIt became a philosophical problem. We saw how tough it is, not only for our dairy producers here but also for our fellow cheesemakers. You see every year, people going out of business\u2014a lot of that has to do with cheap imported cheese coming from overseas. We didn\u2019t want to be a part of that problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the years, the creamery\u2019s line has grown to include numerous award winners, like Goat Cheddar; the Alpine-style Bishop\u2019s Peak; semi-firm, mixed-milk Seascape; and Holey Cow, a creamy, whole-milk Swiss style\u2014the only of its kind produced in California.<\/p>\n

Process and Culture<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Nearly all of Central Coast Creamery\u2019s cheeses are aged at a lower humidity, keeping them semi-firm with a tight natural rind and a noticeable lack of mold. From the start, one of Jones\u2019 main goals was to create cheeses that would appeal to a variety of palates and could withstand nationwide distribution. This meant foregoing a lot of the aging and packaging experimentation that most small producers are wont to do.<\/p>\n

Every step of Central Coast\u2019s process is meticulously planned, from their milk processing schedule\u2014sheep\u2019s milk on Mondays and Fridays, cow\u2019s milk on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and goat\u2019s milk Wednesdays and Thursdays\u2014to the forming of their wheels, which are rotated and pressed multiple times to ensure the fortitude of their rinds. The thought that goes into the development of each cheese is equally matched by the care Jones puts into the company\u2019s culture.<\/p>\n

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Clockwise from top: Semi-hard Seascape, a mixed cow and goat’s milk cheese; a variety of Central Coast Creamery cheeses; wheels in brine; wax being applied to Goat Gouda<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

To wit: All of Central Coast\u2019s milk suppliers are family-run farms located within a few hundred miles of the creamery. The whey from each batch of cheese is stored until local pig and cow farmers pick it up and add it to their feed. The creamery is closed on weekends to allow employees time for themselves and their families. Recently, Reggie and Kellie\u2019s teenage daughter, Avery, has followed them into the cheesemaking business, launching Shooting Star Creamery and experimenting with her own line of cheeses. \u201cShe\u2019s following [our] road map,\u201d says Jones. \u201cIt\u2019s very smart because Central Coast Creamery has all the distribution channels already setup\u2014it should be easier for her to get products approved.\u201d So far, Shooting Star is off to a great start, winning third place Best of Show at the 2019 American Cheese Society Judging and Competition with Aries, an aged Alpine-style sheep\u2019s milk cheese.<\/p>\n

Risk and Reward<\/strong><\/p>\n

One would hope that making exquisite cheese was enough to sustain a business, but artisan cheesemaking is often a losing game. It\u2019s hard to know which cheeses will be hits and which will fall flat\u2014even those well-received by judges and distributors can be ignored by consumers. One of Jones\u2019 favorite cheeses, Bishop\u2019s Peak, will soon be retired due to lack of sales. It\u2019s a story many producers know, not just within the cheese industry but across the food world. Yet, this struggle also lends itself to innovation\u2014in Central Coast\u2019s case, the creation of Dream Weaver, the creamery\u2019s first washed-rind goat\u2019s milk cheese, as well as several soft cheeses currently in development. \u201cIt\u2019s funny how you can have a concept and then it completely changes,\u201d Jones says. \u201cYou have to keep evolving.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Wheels in various life stages at Central Coast Creamery<\/p><\/div>\n

Central Coast Creamery will be doing even more to make itself a household name. Their first retail store is opening soon in Santa Cruz, and another shop will follow shortly after in San Luis Obispo. The Santa Cruz shop will be run by a cheesemaker, with the hope that customers will get in-depth explanations on the creamery\u2019s process as well as accurate descriptions of flavor profiles for all the cheeses. \u201cPeople are going to come into the store and ask questions and they\u2019re going to be able to get our whole story,\u201d Jones says.<\/p>\n

Eventually, Jones hopes to open a second creamery in the southeastern US to bring a special line of cheeses to the East Coast and expand their network of dairy producers. But for the immediate future, the focus remains here in California, where this creamery will continue to churn out quality wheels and build up their presence in the cheese world and beyond.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Paso Robles is perhaps best known for its robust wine industry. But the city is also home to a number of small farms and dairies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37577,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26354,11],"tags":[],"coauthors":[21408,810],"class_list":["post-37575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","category-travel"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCalifornia Creativity - culture: the word on cheese<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Paso Robles is perhaps best known for its robust wine industry. 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