The California Artisan Cheese Guild recently voted in Felice Thorpe Charlton as their new president. Dedicated to promoting California artisan cheese through partnerships, outreach and education, Felice’s term was announced at the non-profit trade organization’s annual meeting on February 9th, 2020.
“I feel right at home in the cheese and dairy community and am so excited to be working with the kind and hardworking cheese producers in California,” says Felice about her love for the industry. “Months of labor and intensive work go into the process and, as a state, we are making innovative world-class cheese without compromise.” On her recent promotion to CACG President, she proudly states, “My work leading the Board of the CACG will focus on promoting California’s high-quality cheese to our neighbors and beyond.”
Comprised of hundreds of members spanning the northern coastal counties to the southern border, from the Central Coast to the San Joaquin Valley, the California Artisan Cheese Guild is a collaborative group of makers, mongers, distributors, food writers, and food safety experts. Founded to support this dynamic cheese community, the CACG is the foremost cheese organization in the state. Celebrating the quality and diversity of artisan cheese produced in California, the organization hosts and participates in dozens of events and educational forums each year, including the California Cheese Festival, happening this year on March 27th, and the San Francisco Cheese Festival, which takes place every September.
Growing up on a farm in Bolinas, California, CACG’s new president, Felice, has strong roots in California agriculture and has long been passionate about handcrafted foods. Formerly the National Sales Director for Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company, to her, food is not just delicious and essential, it is culturally symbolic and communicates a sense of place. Graduating Mons Academie Opus Caseus, an expert in cheese pairings and a 2019 Cheese Judge for the Good Food Foundation, Felice is a full-time Cheese Specialist for Northern California Chefs Warehouse; a publicly traded specialty food distributor known for purveying high-quality artisan ingredients for chefs. As CACG President, Felice will work diligently to keep the traditional craft of cheesemaking alive, preserving and promoting the flavors unique to the Golden State’s regions through education and awareness.
