Cheese takes the center stage on Treasure Island this Saturday!
The Event
The SF Cheese Fest celebrates its 11th year on Saturday, October 3, 2026 at the Gold Bar Distillery – last year’s edition was at the Ferry Building. The festival is one of two main annual fundraisers for the California Artisan Cheese Guild, a nonprofit supporting California cheesemakers through education, community-building, and fundraising. Nearly every cheesemaker in the state shows up for it.
Meet Alyssa Gilbert
We talked with Alyssa Gilbert, Executive Director of the California Artisan Cheese Guild, who founded Ollie’s American Cheese + Provisions in Oakland to offer the cheeses she could not get herself. Her current highlights: Golden Gate by Marin French Cheese, a washed-rind, triple-crème cow’s milk cheese (more on Marin French Cheese, soon!), and Shabby Shoe from Blakesville Creamery in Wisconsin.
Guests can taste as much cheese as they like, paired with wine, beer, and charcuterie (from Fabrique Délices) all while chatting directly with the artisans behind it. It’s the perfect way to spend your Saturday evening!
MerciSF Rapid Fire:
- Favorite bakeries: Fournée (Berkeley), La Châtaigne (Lafayette), Seven Hills (Castro Valley).
- Favorite French restaurant: Lenôtre (Berkeley)
- The one thing she’s missing from France and would love to see more of in the Bay: good baguette at an affordable price.
- What she’d miss most if she left the Bay: the people, the weather, and the food.
SF Cheese Fest, Saturday, October 3, 2026, from 6 to 9PM, at Gold Bar Distillery on Treasure Island
