Faculty Bios
Judy Creighton |
Judy Creighton, a core instructor at The Cheese School, is a cheese educator and former owner of cheese and wine shops in San Francisco for 25 years, as well as a consultant for retailers, distributors and importers. She served as a judge in the 2003 and 2006 American Cheese Society competitions. She is a guest lecturer at City College of San Francisco Hotel & Restaurant Program and also presents cheese and wine seminars for wineries as well as corporate and non-profit events. She has presented cheese tastings for Bon Appetit magazine and writes a cheese column for the Calaveras Enterprise in Murphys, CA. |
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Colette Hatch |
Colette Hatch, a core instructor at The Cheese School, is an internationally known authority on food and wine whose career spans more than three decades and covers all aspects of food and wine marketing and management. After earning a degree in Hospitality Management from the Lycee d'Etat Poligny in Jura, France, Colette managed several fine hotels in France, England and Corsica and later completed a presitigious apprenticeship at the Michelin three-star restaurant Jeunet. Upon moving to the US, Colette combined her front-of-house management experience with her food and wine expertise as sommelier and service consultant at Restaurant du Village, a four-star restaurant in Chester, CT. She also founded and managed the catering operation at Au Musee restaurant, part of the Wadsworth Athaneum in Hartford. Since moving recently to the emerging culinary mecca of Sonoma County, Colette has established a consulting practice serving specialty food retailers, wineries and restaurants throughout the Bay Area. |
Ariel Clute |
Ariel Clute is an Assistant Director at The Cheese School. Ariel spent several years as a professional cheesemonger at Cheese Plus as well as at The Pasta Shop in Market Hall. She is a graduate of the California College of the Arts where she earned a BFA. |
Sheana Davis |
Sheana Davis of The Epicurean Connection is a native of the Sonoma Valley. Sheana celebrates 20 years in the culinary world focusing on organic non-GMO foods, recipe development, cooking classes and seminars featuring craft brews, artisan and farmstead cheese, and hand-crafted foods. |
Lynne Devereux |
Lynne Devereux brings a background rich in culinary expertise and food education, developing engaging educational programs for both professional and consumer audiences. She is a specialist in California artisan cheeses and enthusiastic supporter of the American artisan cheese industry who also coordinates the enormously successful Artisan Cheese Festival in Petaluma, California. For Context Marketing in Sausalito, she served for over six years as Cheese Educator for the California Milk Advisory Board. Prior to joining Context, she served for seven years as Director of Teacher Training for HomeChef Cooking Schools, and prior to that, Lynne worked as a product specialist for KitchenAid portable appliances. Lynne has led spirited lectures, seminars and demonstrations at the Culinary Institute of America, the Copia center in Napa, the Food & Wine Show in Aspen, and many other forums and venues. |
Wil Edwards |
A native of New York City, Wil Edwards got his start as a dairy professional at Harley Farms Goat Dairy in Pescadero, CA, where he remained for almost eight years before moving on to follow his passion for culinary education. He is currently creating his own venture, designed to bring the public into the intimate world of a variety of artisan food producers, allowing participants to discover the heart and soul of the people behind the food we eat. Wil teaches classes and gives demonstrations at Draeger's Cooking School as well as at other venues throughout the Bay Area. |
Janet Fletcher |
Janet Fletcher is the author of Cheese & Wine: A Guide to Selecting, Pairing, and Enjoying, just published by Chronicle Books; The Cheese Course (Chronicle Books); and several other books on food and wine. She writes a weekly syndicated cheese column for the San Francisco Chronicle, where she is a staff food and wine writer; her work for the Chronicle has won three James Beard Awards. She also authors the “Cheese Focus” column for Specialty Food, a trade publication, and writes frequently on wine and food for numerous national publications, including Metropolitan Home, Bon Appétit, Fine Cooking, Saveur and Food & Wine. Fletcher trained at the Culinary Institute of America and at Berkeley's celebrated Chez Panisse restaurant. She lives in Napa Valley with her winemaker husband. |
Raymond Hook |
Raymond Hook’s true love of quality and freshness is the driving force behind his ever-blooming career in the art and business of fine foods. Respected by many for his rare expertise in fine artisan cheeses, Hook is known by his friends and clients simply as "The Cheese Guy." Hook is well known for his depth of knowledge, passion and infectious enthusiasm that he brings to his work, and his clients understand that he only represents products that have earned his respect. Ask him about the selection he’s featuring this month and, with a big grin, he’ll tell you a charming story about one cow and a woman in pastoral Washington who handcrafts only a few wheels of delicious cheese. Hook is a board member of the California Artisan Cheese Guild, and has been featured in Saveur Magazine, Chef Magazine, Cooking Light, Food Arts, and also on The Food Network. |
Laura Martinez |
Laura Martinez is the owner of The Artisan Palate, a company that supports the flourishing artisan food industry through tasting events, copy writing, freelance food writing, and celebrations of real food. Her food training comes from a deep appreciation of the aromas and flavors produced by seasonal, local, and regional foods, ongoing research for food-related stories and articles, several practical yet enjoyable years behind The Pasta Shop’s cheese counter, ongoing coordination of sensory and taste evaluations for the California Olive Oil Council, volunteer work with CUESA at the San Francisco Ferry Plaza, service as a founding board member of the California Artisan Cheese Guild, and a lifetime of happily cooking for a large and appreciative family. |
Melissa Schilling |
Traveling the world, Melissa Schilling developed a passion for food and wine. She lived within striking of Rioja when she was just 20 years old. While earning her Master of Science in Agriculture she began working in a tasting room in the Edna Valley. Next she spent time in Napa amongst historic vineyards such as BV Vineyard 1, Beckstoffer, To Kalon and Winery Lake - working for several wineries. Now at home on the Central Coast she organizes cheese and wine tastings, waxes poetic on farming organically and adores Pinot Noir and Albarino. Melissa lives at the beach with her pooch, Freddie Mercury. |
Arielle Segal |
Arielle Segal is an Assistant Director at The Cheese School. Born in Paris -- where she says 'cheese is king' -- and enjoying frequent return visits there throughout her time growing up in the SF Bay area, Arielle is intent on taking her naturally developed interest and expertise in 'this small piece of the big culinary picture' to another level. Arielle trained as a cook under Chef Ed Vigil at The Olema Inn, and has worked in several other restaurants and catering operations. She is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College. |
Tabitha Stroup |
Tabitha Stroup is not fond of rules and finds them especially odious when it comes to food, wine and enjoyment. Having earned her Bachelor of Science in Social Anthropology and Food Science at Cal Poly and then going on to the California Culinary Academy – the girl knows her stuff. A bonafide fromage expert, she will guide you on a journey of pleasure and leisure. She has served as pastry chef at Theo’s and the Dream Inn and knows every vine, wine, nook and cranny in the Santa Cruz Mountains. She lives on her own private vineyard with her kitty, Oscar Wilde. |
Mark Todd
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Mark Todd has worked in wine and cheese for over 15 years. He has worked professionally with such vintners as Robert Stemmler and Keith Mietz and is also an accomplished home brewer. Mark has been a consultant to the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board and the United States Dairy Export Council, and has travelled, spoken, and written extensively for both organizations. A founding member of the California Artisan Cheese Guild, Mark has made beverage and cheese pairing a major focus of his professional life and is commited to bringing these simple pleasures to the widest possible audience. |
Juliana Uruburu
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Juliana Uruburu directs the cheese selection, merchandising, education, and promotions for the Bay Area's renowned Pasta Shop. Working with cheese for over 20 years, she is a frequent panelist and cheese judge at industry conferences including the American Cheese Society and is the head cheese judge for the California State Expo. Recognized as an individual dedicated to promoting quality cheese and consumption, Juliana was recently inducted into the Guilde des Fromagers, dedicating her life’s work to promoting the consumption of cheese. |
Sara Vivenzio |
Sara Vivenzio, the founder and Director of The Cheese School of San Francisco, is just plain crazy about cheese. Before opening The Cheese School in July 2006, she was a professional cheese monger and the primary cheese buyer at Cheese Plus, a leading specialty cheese retailer in San Francisco’s Russian Hill neighborhood. Before moving to San Francisco to pursue her passion for cheese, Sara was an award-winning advertising executive in New York City. |
Abby Ward |
Abby Ward is an Assistant Director at The Cheese School. Abby is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and has experience in several highly acclaimed professional kitchens, including the Sagamore Resort in upstate New York. Abby's inspiration comes from a culinarily adventurous aunt who always came up with new dishes for Abby and her family to enjoy. Abby has been discovering and learning about cheese in particular since moving to San Francisco [in 2007], and keeps very busy in her 'spare' time as co-Founder and Chef for a pair of catering companies, Bon Vivant SF and Kitchen Fire. |
Laura Werlin |
Laura Werlin is positively passionate about cheese and has written four highly acclaimed books on the subject: Cheese Essentials (Stewart, Tabori & Chang 2007), The All American Cheese and Wine Book (Stewart, Tabori & Chang 2003), Great Grilled Cheese: 50 Innovative Recipes for Stovetop, Sandwich Maker, and Grill (Stewart, Tabori and Chang 2004), and the pioneering The New American Cheese (Stewart, Tabori & Chang 2000), Her passion and expertise on these topics have landed her on The CBS Early Show, the Television Food Network, Martha Stewart Living Television, and numerous local television and radio segments from coast to coast. She also writes for national magazines including Food & Wine, Fine Cooking, Saveur, Cooking Pleasures, Cooking Light, Country Living, and several others. Laura is on the board of the American Cheese Society and is an active member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, Women Chefs & Restaurateurs, the James Beard Foundation, and the San Francisco Professional Food Society. She is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley. |
