Who We Are

Lynne brings a background rich in culinary expertise and food education, and a dedication to the renaissance of artisanal cheeses that is sweeping the U.S. She began her career as owner-chef of a popular LA restaurant then turned her professional training into teaching home cooks. She teaches professional chefs, food writers and specialty retailers about artisan cheese, and helped create an award-winning communications program promoting California’s artisan cheese industry.

Following her dairy-inspired bliss, she coordinated California’s Artisan Cheese Festival in 2007 and 2008, both enormously successful weekend events attended by over 1700 consumers. Current projects include national publicity programs for an esteemed artisan cheese company, consumer classes on cheese and wine pairing, and acting spokesperson for Real California Cheese. Lynne is founding president of the California Artisan Cheese Guild, serves on the conference committee of the American Cheese Society 2008 Conference in Chicago, and is co-curator of Cheese for the inaugural Slow Food Nation event in San Francisco, August 2008.

Ian has a diverse background in marketing, publicity, design, artisan foods and wine. After graduating from the University of California at Santa Barbara with degrees in English and Sociology, he started a benefit promotion company, worked in promotions for a local radio station, and marketed and sold real estate in Santa Barbara. Ian returned to San Francisco after traveling in the U.S., Europe, and Asia and worked in marketing and design for Harper Collins Publishers until his passions led him back to the world of artisan food. Ian is currently working closely with the artisan food community and serves on the advisory committee of California’s Artisan Cheese Festival. He thrives on being directly in touch with current trends in art, culture, business, and literature and is currently attending the MBA program at Saint Mary's.