A Great Goat Time

They call themselves the “Goat Girls.”

Don’t ya just love the name?

Jennifer Bice of Redwood Hill Farm and Creamery, Laura Howard of Laloo’s Goat’s Milk Ice Cream, and Mary Keehn of Cypress Grove Chevre, have teamed up to host the first “Goat Festival” on April 17 at the San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, steps from the Hotel Vitale.

After all, goat’s milk is the most common milk consumed throughout the world, with a chemical structure that is apparently similar to mother’s milk. It’s higher in calcium, vitamins A and B6, and minerals than cow’s milk. It’s also naturally low in lactose.

Join the Goat Girls, 10 a.m.-11 a.m., for a talk, then a chance to sample goat milk products.

At 11 a.m., Mark Dommen, chef of One Market in San Francisco, takes the stage to do a cooking demo using seasonal ingredients and goat milk products. At 11:45 a.m., Maggie Ford, author of “Goat Cheese” will do a cooking demo and book signing. Finally, at 12:30 p.m., Gordon Edgar, author of “Cheesemonger: A Life on the Wedge,” will talk about his book and sign copies of it.

There even will be baby goats to “ooh” and “ahh” over near the Sur La Table store.

More Things Cheesy

If you get brie on the brain, the chevre shivers, and juiced about Jack, high-tail it to Petaluma for the fourth annual “California’s Artisan Cheese Festival,” March 26-29,where a veritable mountain of cheese awaits.

We don’t know about you, but we’re swooning at the thought of nearly 40 artisan cheese producers (most of them from California) showing off their specialties at a marketplace along with 20 wineries and breweries — all at the Sheraton Sonoma County in Petaluma. Plus, who can resist the world’s best gooey, cheesy flatbreads served hot from a wood-burning oven?

This four-day cheesy celebration kicks off with an old-fashioned barn dance, followed by a bevy of cheese seminars, a cheese-making demo, and a gala dinner served up by eight cheesemakers, eight chefs, and eight vintners. Tickets are $45 to $130.

California is the second largest producer of cheese in the country. OK, so Wisconsin beats us. But we have cuter cow commercials.

Rhone Rangers Ride Into Town

If you’re a lover of Rhone wines, San Francisco is the place to be, March 27-28, when it hosts the 13th annual “Rhone Rangers Tasting.”

The largest American Rhone wine event takes place at Fort Mason’s Festival Pavilion. Taste 500 of the best American Rhone wines. Three tasting seminars also will be held about food pairing, Grenache, and the aging ability of American Rhones.

Ticket prices range from $50 to $125.

Delfina’s Craig Stoll Stars on PBS

The Emmy Award-winning PBS series, “Chefs A’ Field,” will turn the spotlight on Craig Stoll, chef-owner of Delfiina in San Francisco, in its April 4 episode, which airs at 1 p.m. on KQED (San Francisco).

The series showcases America’s best chefs as they visit local farmers. In this episode all about California’s dairy industry, Stoll and his family show how they use local dairy products in such delectable dishes as pizza made with mission figs, house-made pancetta and Point Reyes Farmstead blue cheese.

Gastronomica Celebrates Its 10th Anniversary

“Gastronomica,” the award-winning, literary, scholarly magazine of food and culture, celebrates its first decade with a series of free events in the Bay Area.

Editor in Chief Darra Goldstein will be in town for appearances at Fog City News in San Francisco, 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. April 1, where she’ll greet visitors with a chocolate tasting.

April 2 at noon, Goldstein will give a talk on “Food, Culture and Identity in a Global Society.” The free event will be held at the European Union Center of Excellence, 3335 Dwinelle Hall at the University of California at Berkeley.