Approximately 50 miles up the coast from our restaurants in San Francisco, a women-run cheese company is honoring a 125-year family farming legacy in one of the most picturesque pockets of Northern California.
Their story is one of resilience and hope. A great grandfather, Tobias Giacomini, immigrated from Northern Italy with dreams of farming in the fertile oasis of California. Two generations later, Bob and Dean Giacomini purchased a dairy farm on Tomales Bay, ultimately growing the farm to a herd of over 500 cows that produced the highest quality milk for a local creamery. When the herd’s size became too large for the 720-acre property, Bob and Dean’s four daughters joined forces to transition the business into an artisan farmstead cheesemaking facility.
In August 2000, Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company was born.
Twenty-five years later, the company is one of the most celebrated cheese producers in the region. From their Original Blue, California’s only classic style blue cheese; to their iconic Toma; to their hand-crafted Gouda; every selection in their portfolio showcases the quality of their dairy and the sustainable farming philosophies that are foundational to their process.
When we discovered they handmake a (preservative-free!) Pimento Cheese Spread in the kitchen at The Fork – their culinary + education center – we immediately knew it had to be the star of the final pasta salad in our summer series. We couldn’t get over the depth of flavor punctuated by sparks of heat that brighten the richness of the Toma-based product. The resulting Pimento Cheese Pasta Salad recipe (topped with spicy potato chips, natch), had our entire team going back for seconds during our R + D in the Flour + Water Test Kitchen.
What began as a fun way to celebrate the final days of summer evolved into our new obsession. We’re selfishly serving it in our Flour + Water Pasta Shop as a special that’s available from September 1 through the 7th for our guests. As a bonus, our friends at Point Reyes created a shoppable bundle that makes it easy for Pimento cheeseheads outside the Bay Area to bring the pasta salad party home.
Of course, we had to know the secret behind what makes this spread so intensely craveable. Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co.’s Executive Chef & Culinary Director Jennifer Luttrell was kind enough to share the backstory.
“I grew up in Oklahoma, and we ate a lot of Pimento cheese – typically in the summer on a sandwich with homegrown tomatoes. I always knew the Pimento could be better, but it wasn't until Kuba [Hemmerling, Head Cheesemaker at Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co.] and I moved to Point Reyes, and he started making Toma that the lightbulb went off. I thought about how delicious it could be made with such an amazing base cheese layered with high-quality ingredients. I'm so proud of the product – it deeply connects me to home and, at the same time, our customers love it. It feels like a true labor of love – like I'm sharing my home with others.
Pimento is also a way for us to utilize scrap pieces of our Toma like the pieces that come off our wedge cutter slightly off in size or shape. These morsels get shredded in our Creamery and, then, in large batches, blended with roasted red peppers, diced onion, mayo, cayenne, black pepper and a little salt. The production is a joint effort between the Creamery and Fork teams.
Fun Fact! At the last American Cheese Society awards ceremony that allowed spreads to be entered into the competition, our Pimento Cheese Spread tied for 1st place in its category. To sweeten the deal, the other first place spread was our Original Blue Date Spread. Double first place!”