Sue Conley
Sue Conley is the co-founder of Cowgirl Creamery along with Peggy Smith.[1]
Both women are credited with their roles as catalysts of Northern California's artisan cheese industry.[2] In 2006, along with Smith, she won a James Beard award for "significant and lasting achievements and contributions to the food and beverage industry for ten or more years."[3]
Early life[edit]
Conley was born in Washington, D.C., where her grandfather managed the cafeteria Sholl's Colonial.[4] She attended the University of Tennessee, where she met Smith.[5]
Work[edit]
After moving to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1976, Conley worked in restaurants before co-founding Bette's Oceanview Diner.[6] After selling her shares in Bette's Oceanview Diner, she co-founded Tomales Bay Foods, a distributor and marketer of West Marin-produced foods, and Cowgirl Creamery, a manufacturer and distributor of artisan cheese, along with Smith.[7] Conley has credited her travels to Europe as well as Peggy Smith's work at Chez Panisse as amplifying their interest in regional, artisan food production.[8]
According to Conley, they founded the cheese-making company as a way of creating a product which showcased the organic milk produced by Albert Straus at Straus Family Creamery: "We saw the need to showcase great quality organic milk. The farm economy could not survive the state it was in, so we saw a need to preserve land in agriculture."[9]
Conley is a member of the California Artisan Cheese Guild. With Smith, she wrote Cowgirl Creamery Cooks.[10]
In 2016, Conley and Smith sold Cowgirl Creamery to Emmi, a Swiss dairy firm.[11]
Bibliography[edit]
- Smith, P.; Conley, S.; Hamilton, H. (2013). Cowgirl Creamery Cooks. Chronicle Books LLC. ISBN 978-1-4521-2632-6. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
References[edit]
- ^ "Interview: Cowgirl Creamery founder Sue Conley". Food GPS. November 1, 2010. Archived from the original on November 10, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
- ^ "Sale of Cowgirl Creamery includes Marin outlet". Archived from the original on October 27, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
- ^ "2006 James Beard Foundation Award Nominees on StarChefs.com". starchefs.com. Archived from the original on November 10, 2017. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
- ^ "Sue Conley". Lexicon of Food. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
- ^ "How to Start a Culture: Meet the Matriarchs behind Cowgirl Creamery". The Bold Italic. April 18, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
- ^ "Cowgirl Creamery: Two Women at the Top of Their Game". February 13, 2013. Archived from the original on May 2, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
- ^ "Women in Business 2014: Sue Conley and Peggy Smith, Cowgirl Creamery and Tomales Bay Foods". The North Bay Business Journal. June 23, 2014. Archived from the original on November 10, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
- ^ Holbrook, Stett (March 14, 2012). "Praise Cheeses". North Bay Bohemian. Archived from the original on November 11, 2017. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
- ^ "Interview: Cowgirl Creamery Owners Sue Conley & Peggy Smith | PBS Food". PBS Food. April 2, 2012. Archived from the original on April 18, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
- ^ Donnelly, C.; Kehler, M. (2016). The Oxford Companion to Cheese. Oxford Companions. Oxford University Press. p. 300. ISBN 978-0-19-933090-4. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
- ^ "Sale of Cowgirl Creamery includes Marin outlet". Archived from the original on October 27, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2017.