Peggy Smith Perfil del Chef

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Born in Texas and raised in Northern Virginia, I became involved in the food industry during my college years at the University of Tennessee. My passion for cooking expanded after college when I worked in the kitchen of Gallagher's in Washington, DC. This place was known for hearty suppers of Irish Stew and long cooked corned beef served with live folk combos performing in the background from a small wooden stage. On Monday nights, I would bring my guitar out to join in the open mike session with Mary Chapin Carpenter.

I had a lot of fun working in this kitchen, and the experience made me think seriously about cooking as a career. Attracted by the Bay Area's food renaissance, I moved to San Francisco in 1976 where she developed her skills “on the job.”

Initially I found work at neighborhood restaurants including the Noe Valley Grill on 24th Street and the Hotel Obrero, a Basque restaurant in Chinatown. Then I moved north to Calistoga, taking a cooking job at the refurbished Mount View Hotel. All the while, I had my heart set on working at Alice Waters's center of food innovation, Restaurant Chez Panisse in Berkeley. I submitted her resume a dozen times before being hired to cook at the restaurant's new upstairs Café in 1979.

For the next 17 years, I worked the stove, preparing dishes made from "vegetables just out of the garden, fruit right off the branch, and fish straight out of the sea." Over time I managed the Café kitchen with Catherine Brandel and worked with Paul Bertoli.

Throughout this time, I was exposed to the best local ingredients along with exquisite cheeses, wines and olive oils from Europe. My knowledge of fine ingredients was further enhanced by an invitation in 1988 from Robert Mondavi and the California vintners. Mr. Mondavi asked me to chef the kitchen at the Vin Expo in Bordeaux. I accepted and headed the "California Grille" kitchen over the next 12 years.

And when we needed cheese, I called Jean D'Alos, the master affineur. Over the years, I learned the philosophies his family used in selecting and caring for artisanal cheeses. Eventually, Chez Panisse Café began featuring a simple cheese plate selected from the caves of Jean D'Alos.

I was intrigued by this world of French cheese. American cheesemakers seemed to be turning out some exceptional cheeses. Then Randolph Hodgson from Neal's Yard Dairy in London brought fine English farmhouse cheeses for the chefs to taste, and I was hooked. When Sue asked her to help start a cheese making company in Point Reyes, I jumped at the chance.

We were lucky. Right about the time we opened Cowgirl Creamery, people were ready to expand their knowledge and their appetite for cheese. They had explored the world of wine; they'd learned about vinegars; they were using Italian olive oils and demanding good, crusty breads. Cheese was just waiting to be discovered .