Fall 2004 • Vol. 4, Issue 2

Vermont Cheese Wins Big

Willow Smart of WillowHill Cheese, winner of fourawards at the 17th WorldCheese Awards held inSeptember in London –more than any other UScompany entered in thecompetition.

Two major cheese competitions were held this summer – one onUS soil and the other abroad. In both, Vermont cheesemakersfared very well with six separate cheesemakers pulling in 20 awards between the two competitions. Shown at left, ACSfirst place winner Thistle Hill’s Tarentaise. (see story page 3)

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MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

A Great Year for VermontCheeses and Cheesemakers

Well, it has happened again.

Summer has slipped us by, and

the autumn leaves have all

dropped. The fresh, yellow-hued milk of

spring and summer is being replaced with

the pristine white milk of fall and winter.

A few of us are winding down our

operations for the season, while others are

just getting theirs going. It is now time to

dawn our parkas and say hello to sunset at

4:30.

Something happened in Vermont this year.

There was this somewhat intangible “buzz” in the air

surrounding the cheese scene here in the state that I

had not felt in recent years. Maybe I was just more

aware of what was going on; being that this was my

first year as the VCC President. But I would like to

think that it was actually more of what my gut was

telling me. That people were, to a greater degree,

taking notice of what we’ve been doing in this little

state, tucked way up here in the North East corner.

People were getting just as excited to try some of our

cheeses as we are to make them.

A lot has happened this year. A fine showing at

this years ACS awards in Milwaukee. Awards

brought home from the World Cheese Awards in the

UK. The inception of the Vermont Institute for

Artisinal Cheeses (VIAC) in conjunction with the

University of Vermont. The wonderful Water Buffalo

cheese and yoghurts from Star Hill Dairy. New

cheese makers in the Northeast Kingdom getting

National coverage on television and in newspapers.

Vermont cheese makers being invited to Italy

through the folks at Slow Food USA. Various articles

in food and wine related magazines. Like I said,

there was a “buzz” out there. And it felt

good.

Hopefully the winter will be just as

fruitful. I know that I and the other

Executive members of the VCC have

some pet projects that we are working on.

And all of us have cheese to make, age,

experiment with, and hopefully

somewhere in there, sell.

I have been nothing but proud of what

I’ve seen being produced in this state this year. The

cheese makers are working as hard as ever, and it

shows. Though I am somewhat new to the scene,

making cheese for just four years now, I hope to

continue to be a part of this great group for many

years to come. The more I make, the more I enjoy

the route I have taken. And I can only hope that

the council continues to grow in numbers and in

potential. This is a unique group of people. From

cheese makers, to food related professionals, to

university professors, to members of Vermont’s

Department of Agriculture. All of us have different

backgrounds, different stories to tell, different

animals we milk - but we all share a similar goal. To

make the best, most individually recognizable

cheeses we can. To get people to expand what they

know, and think they know about cheese. And to

hopefully get a few from outside the state to come

and pay a visit; see our farms, see our herds, and

see why we all choose to live in this rural

wonderland.

Jamie Miller, Shelburne Farms

President

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The American Cheese Society (ACS) AwardsCeremony was held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin inJuly. In this competition, cheeses are judged both

on their technical merit as well as on measures of

At the 17th World Cheese Awards in London in Sept-ember, US cheese makers earned 44 medals – six of themby Vermonters. The contest attracted nearly 1,500 totalentries, including 226 from the United States. Specialtycheeses from the US earned 15 gold medals, 15 silvers and14 bronze. Cabot Creamery Cooperative was one of two

Vermont Cheeses Earn AwardsAmerican Cheese Society and World Cheese Awards

number Vermonters among winners

Company

Cabot Creamery

Willow Hill Farm

Shelburne Farms

Vermont Butter &Cheese Company

Thistle Hill Farm

Award

1st place1st place2nd place3rd place

2nd place2nd place

1st place2nd place3rd place

1st place2nd place3rd place3rd place

1st place

Category

Monterey Jack made from Cow’s milkCheddars; flavor addedAged Cheddars, all milks (12-24 months)Butters

Open Category, sheep or mixed milkCultured products made from sheep’s milk

Smoked CheddarMature Cheddars (aged + 25 months)Cheese Spreads

Feta CheeseFresh Goat Cheese; flavor addedCrème Fraiche from cow’s milkQuark Cheese from cow’s Milk

Farmstead Cheese; all milks;aged longer than 90 days

Cheese

Monterey JackFive Peppercorn CheddarPrivate Stock CheddarWhey Cream Butter

Summer TommeOrganic Sheep Yogurt

Smoked Cheddar25 Month CheddarRoasted Red Pepper Cheddar

Vermont Goats’ Milk FetaVermont Chevre HerbVermont Crème FraicheVermont Quark

Tarentaise

Company

Cabot Creamery

Willow Hill Farm

VermontShepherd

Award

Gold

GoldSilver

SilverBronze

Bronze

Category

Mature Winter Block Cheddar

Hard or Semi Hard Ewes’ milk cheese Cheese produced on a farm/dairy with outputnot exceeding a weekly average of 2 tonnesEwes’ milk with additivesSoft ewes’ milk cheese plain

Hard or semi-hard ewes’ milk cheese

Cheese

Clothbound Cheddar Wheel

Autumn OakCobble Hill

Summer Tomme with HerbsVermont Brebis

Vermont Shepherd

aesthetics (e.g. flavor, aroma and texture). One hundredand eleven (111) cheese making companies from the USand Canada entered the competition. Vermont winnerswere:

American Cheese Society Awards

American companies to earn medals in the Cheddar cate-gories, no small achievement considering the contesttook place in the United Kingdom, where cheddar wasfirst created more than 800 years ago. Willow Hill Farmtook home four awards, the most of any US companyentered in the competition. Winners from Vermont were:

World Cheese Awards

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A Welcome Spanish Import: Cheese Evaluation Expertise

By Carol Delaney, Small RuminantDairy Specialist, University ofVermont

As Vermont grows its numbersof cheese makers, so toogrows the need for technical

advice on cheese recipe development,tests for quality control, and sensoryevaluation training for taste.Consumers will pay higher than aver-age prices for Vermont artisanalcheeses but only if the product isconsistent and the flavor is good.Most members of the VermontCheese Council have been makingcheese for less than 10 years and arenow working to perfect their originalcheese recipes as well as developingnew cheese products to diversifytheir product line. For the past threeyears, the Northeast Center for FoodEntrepreneurship (NECFE) and theCenter for Sustainable Agriculture sSmall Ruminant Dairy Project haveco-sponsored cheese workshops.Now, NECFE has hired a full-timeassociate to work with cheese mak-ers. Dr. Montserrat ( Montse )Almena-Aliste brings years of trainingand work with European cheese mak-ers to her new position in Vermont.

Montse was born in Ponferrada,Spain, in the northwest corner of thecountry. She received her Master’sdegree in Analytical Chemistry,Nutrition and Inspection of Foods atthe University of Santiago deCompostela in Lugo, Spain, and didher a Ph.D research in Poligny,France where she studied cheesetexture and technology after whichshe returned to the University ofSantiago to direct a cheese qualityproject. There, she worked to refine

the technological and sensorycharacterization of traditionalSpanish cheeses. It was her job tocollect information from cheesemakers to characterize each cheeseand identify the sources of variabilityon the quality of the final product.She was also involved in promotingtraditional cheeses in scientific andsocial events, speaking as dairyscientist and sensory expert.

Through her academic andprofessional networks, Montselearned about and eventually metUVM dairy foods research ProfessorDr. Paul Kindstedt, author of manyscientific articles that had been sovaluable for her Ph.D. work. Sheimmediately started a post-doctoralresearch project with Dr. Kindstedtat UVM. I will never forget when Dr.Kindstedt hired me to work in hislab. “When I started working withhim I knew he was a expert inMozzarella and over these past yearsI found out that Paul is a wonderfulperson with an incredible knowledgein dairy technology and a passion forVermont and artisan cheese making,”Montse said. Her two years ofresearch focused on identifying thephenomena that determine thefunctional and textural quality ofmozzarella and cream cheeses. Shewas also enlisted to teach a sensoryevaluation course at UVM and part ofa cheese workshop held at NECFE tohelp cheese makers learn aboutsensory evaluation of cheeses.

Montse also spent time helpingVermont Cheese Council memberand water buffalo farm in SouthWoodstock, Star Hill Dairy, Inc.,develop their recipes for plain andflavored yogurts and mozzarella

cheese. There, with her technicalexpertise and knowledge of theItalian language, she was able totransfer expertise on Mozzarellabetween Italian and American cheesemakers.

Recently, through the generosityof The John Merck Fund and ananonymous donor, the NortheastCenter for Food Entrepreneurship atUVM created the Vermont Institutefor Artisan Cheese (VIAC) to supportand strengthen artisan cheesemaking. Montse’s position at VIAChas been secured for the next threeyears to provide technical assistanceand educational programs to cheesemakers, along with researchexpertise in the area of sensoryanalysis.

To reach Dr. Montserrat Almena-Aliste, (“Montse”), please contact herat montse@uvm.edu.

Source: Cultivating Connections, Spring, 2004, Volume X, Number 2.

Available: Extra HandsThe University of Vermont’s

Department of Nutrition andFood Sciences has students whoare interested in gainingexperience outside of theclassroom. If you are a businessor organization that couldprovide a food science ornutrition-related volunteeropportunity or internship to anexcited student, please contact:

Linda Berlin309A Terrill Hall, 570 Main St.

University of VermontBurlington, VT 05405-0148

802-656-0669 (phone)802-656-0407 (fax)

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Considered to be among thebest, if not THE bestrestaurant in Boston,

L’Espalier is a chic and modernrestaurant featuring inventive NewEngland-French cuisine based onfresh, regional ingredients. Locatedin the heart of fashionable Back Bay,on the corner of Newbury andGloucester Streets, L’Espalier haslong been a supporter of regionalartisinal cheeses and has includedHope Farm’s Tomme de Brebis andLazy Lady Farm’s goat’s milk cheeseson their cheese tray for the past fewyears.

In addition to that, Chef FrankMcClelland and fromager Louis Risolihave created the New EnglandCheesemakers Series, as part of theirever-popular Cheese Tuesday series,which has been delighting cheese-loving patrons since 2002. As part ofthe New England CheesemakersSeries, L’Espalier has welcomed anumber of Vermont’s finest cheese-makers to participate in a series ofspecial events centered on thesedistinguished, and often quirky,

cheesemakers. “For years, we havebeen the premiere cheesedestination in Boston and we arealways seeking out new cheeses andcheesemakers. We have met somereally fascinating people along theway, and wanted them to be able toshare their stories with our guests.This cheese series is also in line withL’Espalier’s philosophy of using onlythe freshest ingredients from NewEngland farms and farmers. We arevery excited to be presenting thesecheesemakers to the Boston public,”says Risoli. Each evening in thecheesemakers series includes a four-course dinner with a different winepaired with each course. The fourthcourse is a grand cheese tastingselected by the featured guest. NickTranquillo, L’Espalier’s AssistantMaitre D’ and the restaurant’s liaisonwith the cheesemakers, has broughtin Mark and Gari Fischer fromWoodcock Farm, John and JaninePutnam from Thistle Hill Farm,Willow Smart from Willow Hill Farmand Laini Fondiller from Lazy LadyFarm in Westfield so far this year.

The fixed price cost for the cheesedinner is $55 and that includeswines paired with each course.

On the internet, one can findnumerous ratings of the restaurantby patrons. One, posted in Octoberof last year by Max, wrote, “Myfavorite “special place” restaurant inBoston, by far. L’Espalier is elegant,the menu is wonderful and the foodis second to none. Try the cheesecourse or the caviar course, it’sdifferent, wonderful, and certainly aculinary experience that is not to bemissed. “Of her experience as acheesemaker showcased at therestaurant, Lazy Lady’s LainiFondellier said it was: “incredible,unbelievable, beyond all my wildestdreams. Never eaten so well in all mylife, I was treated like a celebrity.The folks at L’Espailer were generousway beyond the call of duty, everyplate full of food was a work of art...on top of being totally delicious.”

Look for L’Espalier to bring moreVermont cheesemakers and theirunique cheeses to Boston over thecoming months.

Top Boston Restaurant HostsVermont Cheeses and

Cheesemakers

A sampling ofcurrentVermontcheeses.

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The following is excerpted from anarticle, Big Help for Small Cheese,by Melissa Pasanen published in theBurlington Free Press on June 22,2004.

The new Vermont Institute forArtisan Cheese located at theUniversity of Vermont held a

daylong course this summer at theCoach Barn at Shelburne Farmsdesigned to help more than a dozencheesemakers refined their ability todistinguish good Cheddar from bad.

“The texture of each cheese,explained Dr. Montserrat Almena-Aliste, a member of the institute’stechnical staff, must be evaluated forits elasticity, firmness, deformability,friability and adhesivity.” (see relatedstory on Cheese Evaluation, page 4).

Kristan Doolan of Does’ Leap Farmin Bakersfield held a hunk of cheeseto her nose and sniffed intently for afew moments before she wrote“nuts” and “toasty” on her four-pagecheese sensory evaluation form.Doolan makes fresh and aged goatcheese. While she has no plans tomake a Cheddar-style cheese, “youcan always learn something aboutcheese,” Doolan said.

Seated a few chairs away wasLinda Dimmick of Neighborly Farms,who is very familiar with Cheddars --the focus of her family’s organicdairy in Randolph Center.Commenting on the first cheese sam-ple, Dimmick said, “The bitternessreminded me of the Cheddar I madein the beginning. I had this big facto-ry cheese guy showing me how to doit, and he told me to add lots of cul-ture to speed it up — but we’re justsmall farmstead guys. We’re not inthat kind of hurry.”

Doolan and Dimmick are primeexamples of the type of cheesemakerthe newly launched VermontInstitute for Artisan Cheese was cre-ated to help. The institute grew outof the work of Catherine Donnellyand Paul Kindstedt, internationallyrecognized food scientists and long-time professors in the University ofVermont’s nutrition and food sciencedepartment. Funding of more thanhalf a million dollars was securedthrough the efforts of Sen. JamesJeffords, I-Vt., as well as contribu-tions from the John Merck Fund andan anonymous donor.

In Vermont, small cheese opera-tions are a bright spot in farming.There are more than 30 such cheese-makers across the state, many ofwhom have won prestigious nationalawards in the increasingly competi-tive domestic segment. “Ten yearsago here at the American CheeseSociety annual awards, we evaluated50 cheeses,” Donnelly told the group.“Last year in San Francisco, we had589 cheeses.”

Artisan cheese, as Donnellyexplains it, “is typically handcraftedcheese made in the European tradi-tion. It’s not the plastic-wrappedcommodity cheese. Often it is alsowhat we call farmstead cheese,which is manufactured from a closedherd and usually the cheesemaker isalso the animal herdsperson, so theyknow the composition of the grasses,they know the animals that producethe milk. That way the milk that youget for cheesemaking is the highestquality.”

Along with growing competition,the challenges facing small cheese-makers are numerous: from navigat-ing government regulations that are

Vermont Institute for ArtisanCheese Offers Training

designed for huge industrial food pro-ducers, to managing the natural vari-ability of milk from pastured animalswhile delivering the consistentcheese that customers expect.“Cheesemakers often recall thatwhen they started they were making40 different cheeses, and they wereonly supposed to be making one,”Donnelly noted.

The new institute will not onlyprovide regular educational opportu-nities such as like the cheddar work-shop, but also help connect cheese-makers with experts who can assistthem through scientific and commer-cial issues, and even offer “housecalls” for on-site technical assistance.It is modeled after similar organiza-tions in France, Italy and Spain, butis the first institution in this countryto focus on the needs of small cheese-makers.

“There was a vacuum,” agreedworkshop attendee Jim Wallace ofShelburne Falls, Mass., who worksfor New England CheesemakingSupply, a company that has taughtsmall-scale cheesemaking and soldequipment and materials to cheese-makers for 25 years. “Other cheesescience institutions in this countryhave concentrated more on theindustrial cheeses,” he explained.“We get phone calls every day fromall over the country looking for help.It’s absolutely fabulous that thisexists.”

Donnelly emphasized that “havingthe best science available will giveVermont cheesemakers a leg up,”and, even as the institute helps oth-ers across the country, “It will haloback on Vermont. By helping all ofus, we’re helping ourselves.”

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Aseries of two-day workshopsand seminars in makingcheese and other dairy

products on the farm, taught by PeterDixon and special guests. Throughmaking cheese and other dairyproducts and receiving classroominstruction at Westminster Dairy, alicensed Vermont farmstead,certified-organic milk processor,participants will learn thefundamentals of milk processing andhow to set up and improve their ownfarmstead cheese businesses. Duringthe two days, we will make butter,yogurt, starter cultures, other freshcultured dairy products and at leastfour varieties of cheese. A simple rawmilk tomme-style cheese will bemade in all the workshops. Lunchesand course materials, including manytried and true recipes, will beprovided. Cost is $250; a $50 depositis required and the remainder ispayable on arrival. Classes are from9 am to 4 pm each day. All of theclasses will be held at the Fischers’Woodcock Farm in Weston, VT.

Contact Peter Dixon at 802-387-4041 or e-mail pdixon@sover.net forfurther details and to register andreceive directions.

2004 Workshop/Seminar Schedule

November 20 The Business andRegulation of Farmstead MilkProcessing with Greg Lockwood,VT State Dairy Plant Inspector.

December 4-5 Italian cheeses:Romano, Toma, Provolone, FreshMozzarella, and Ricotta from goatand cow milk.

The Training Center for FarmsteadMilk Processing at WestminsterDairy Presents Workshops

2005 Schedule

January 15-16 Cheesemaking andStarter Culture Technology withMargaret Morris: Gouda, Agedgoat cheeses, and Tomme cheese-making and classroom instruction.

February 12-13 Four Blue cheesesfrom goat and cow milk, includingBleu de Gex (tomme-style).

March 12-13 British cheeses:Caerphilly, Colwick, Cheddar(cloth-bound), and Chesire fromcow milk.

Goat Dairies of Distinction in VermontThe Vermont division of the Northeast Dairy Farm Beautification

Program chose 165 farms to receive the honor of “Dairy of Distinction”this year. These farms that apply are visited in June and their land andanimal management are viewed to recognize those farms that maintainattractive, well-kept farmsteads to support the effort to promote apositive dairy farm image. Good manure management and good care ofanimals are rewarded. Among the five goat dairies to receive the awardwas VCC member Joanne James, Lakes End Cheeses, Alburg.

April 23-24 Soft-ripened cheeses:Brie, Camembert, Aged Goatcheeses, French Tomme, Butterand Crème Fraiche from cow andgoat milk.

May 7-8 Cheeses of theMediterranean: Feta, Kashkaval,Fresh Mozzarella, Corsican-styletomme, Ricotta and Yogurt fromgoat, sheep and cow milk.

May 21-22 Alpine cheeses: Swiss,Asiago, Tomme and Toma, Butterand Sour Cream from cow andgoat milk.

Peter Dixon (left)getting “hands-on” with novicecheesemakers.

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Barbara and Harvey Levin maketheir home in the shadow ofWestmore Mountain in the

Northeast Kingdom of Vermont on alittle sheep dairy they call HopeFarm. There, they raise sheep formeat and milk. The milk they turninto three varieties of decidedlydelicious farmstead, raw sheep milkcheese. It’s a relatively smalloperation, currently yielding about1,000 pounds of cheese each yearbut, along with the meat sales, it’sbeen enough to help support thecouple and their border collie, Mac,since they walked away from“regular” jobs a few years ago.

Though East Charleston, thehamlet in which Hope Farms lays, isnot exactly on the way from or toanywhere in particular, it is a bucolicsetting discovered by the Levins in2001 when they set out to make themove to Vermont. Though they cameto Vermont from another small sheepfarm in Chester, New Hampshire –where they had been raising sheepsince 1981, their path to Hope Farmwas an indirect one, as is mostly thecase with Vermont’s artisinal cheese-makers.

From Big City to the country

Harv and Barbara got to Vermontby way of New York City with a 23year stop over in rural NewHampshire. In New York, Barbaraonce earned her living as a dancer,doing shows and concert work and,later, as a physical therapist. Walkingthe field with her dog, her dancer’straining is apparent on this particularcool late summer day. She isstraight, strong and graceful though

she plods along in rubber boots. Shelooks at home. Harv, too, looks likethe farm suits him. The couple metwhen Harv was a patron at a jazz barin Greenwich Village where Barbaraworked on the weekends during herdays at Hunter College. They’ve beenmarried now for 30 years.

Harv’s degree in mechanicalengineering from the Newark Collegeof Engineering has come in veryhandy in the farm-based lifestyle thathe embraced years ago. He has built,repaired or rebuilt just abouteverything on the farm including the

barn roof for which he had to forgohis fear of heights. One of Harv’smore creative and practical buildingprojects was the creation of aunique, hard plastic cheese pressthat sits atop a work table in theirpristine and tidy cheese room. “Itcleans up well, “says Harv, anunderstated, modest man. One getsthe sense that Harv could fix or builtanything he set his mind to. Thatkind of “can-do” spirit led the coupleinto their cheesemaking businesswhich has proven to be bothsuccessful and “very gratifying”according to Barbara who alsoweaves during the long, coldVermont winters and “wallows” inthe Sunday New York Times whentime permits. The off-season alsoaffords Harv a catch up around thefarm, repairing and rebuildingwhatever needs work at their 100plus year old homestead.

When spring comes around, thecheesemaking season kicks in inearnest. From mid-May though Fallfoliage you can find the Levinstending their mixed flock of milkers,working in the cheese room ortraveling around the region to selltheir wares. The Farmer’s Markets inDanville and St. Johnsbury havebecome regular sales venues forHope Farm in season as have someregional retailers including NewportNatural Foods and the KingdomCounty Coop. Though the Levinsonce questioned whether anyonewould want to buy the cheeses theyproduced, they have had no troubleselling out all that they can make ofthree varieties: Tomme de Brebis,Pierce Hill and Summer Daze, andthat includes to customers well

Hope FarmA marriage of ingenuity and hard work = great cheese

Barbara and Harvey Levin withtheir border collie, Mac.

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LET’S VISIT...

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Federal grants may beavailable to assist cheese-makers with marketing or

with the development of theirproducts. Eligible independentproducers, agricultural producergroups, farmer or rancher cooper-atives, and majority-controlledproducer-based business venturesmay seek funds for value-addedeconomic planning activities suchas feasibility study, business planand marketing plan development;

USDA Rural Development’s Value-Added Producer Grants

or for working capital operatingexpenses related to the value-added venture. Programinformation is available online athttp://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/coops/vadg.htm, or for moreinformation cheesemakers maycontact Lyn Millhiser, USDA RuralDevelopment Business &Cooperative Programs Specialistin Vermont and New Hampshire at802-828-6069 orlyn.millhiser@vt.usda.gov.

beyond the reach of northeasternVermont.

Cheese Traveling Out of State

Through the Vermont CheeseCouncil’s web site(www.vtcheese.com) and as a resultof the VCC newsletter, word hastraveled far beyond the shadow ofWestmore Mountain that there’s“gold in them there hills” – golden,creamy, flavorful cheese. Amongtheir unexpected customers has beenthe upscale restaurants L’Espalier ofBoston and Moxie’s of Cleveland,both of which buys wheels of HopeFarm’s Tomme for inclusion on theircheese plates. Nick Tranquillo,Assistant Sommelier and AssistantMaitre’D at L’Espalier, one of Boston’sfinest restaurant, tells how hediscovered Hope Farm in a blindingsnow storm in December 2003 whilevisiting friends in NortheastVermont. “I knew of Hope Farm fromthe Cheese Council newsletter andthought I’d make a visit while in thearea. When I finally got through thesnow storm and arrived at the farm Ifound they only had a little piece ofcheese left from their seasonproduction. But I tasted it and lovedit. We’ve been featuring Hope Farm’sTomme de Brebis on our cheese tray

ever since.” (see related story onBoston Restaurant showcasingVermont cheeses.) Other customersfrom out of state have alsodiscovered the cheeses of HopeFarm, such as the mother of herneighbor who lives in Texas, had ataste of Tomme on a visit once andstill wants more. Barbaraaccommodates all she can.

As for the future, the Levins hopeto transition their 30 milkers to a fulldairy breed so that they can

ultimately double theircheese production.With demandcontinuing to growalong with thereputation of their

cheese, this is a hope that should beeasily realized. “Hope” remains anoperative word in all that the Levinshave undertaken. “When we startedfarming in New Hampshire, weprefaced much of our plans withsaying “I hope this will work or thatwill work,” which led to the genesisof the name of the farm,” saysBarbara. Now, some 25 years later,they are still hoping but with a littlemore certainty about the outcome.Hope Farm has lived up to its name.

Hope Farm, nestled inthe shadow ofWestmore Mountain.

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The June issues of Country Home,Food and Wine, House and Garden,Bon Appetit, Traditional Home andThis Old House featured full page adshighlighting the cheeses of Vermont.This was a cooperative ad betweenthe Agency of Agriculture and theVermont Department of Tourism andMarketing. (see page 1)

Jon Wright at Taylor Farm inLondonderry reports that due to atremendous increase in retail salesright at the farm, they have built anaddition to their cheese room whichwill be ready at the time of thisnewsletter. They’ve added a 22’x40’entryway/sales room, new basementaging room and second floor officespace. Currently, Taylor Farm ismilking a mixed herd of 45 Holsteinsand Jerseys and are down to shippingmilk only one day/week, using therest in their production of goudastyle cheeses in the followingvarieties: traditional, Maple Smoked,

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Chipotle pepper, Garlic, Caraway,Cumin, Nettle and Aged. Taylor Farmstrongly encourages visitors any dayof the week and still does a greatsleigh ride business (weatherpermitting) throughout the winter.

Local Vermont Arts andHumanities organizations havediscovered the value of pairing wineand cheese for non-profit, “profit”.The Flynn Performing Arts Center,located in Burlington, held a fund-raising Wine and Cheese festival onSeptember 19 at Shelburne Farms.Participating VCC members included:Cabot Creamery, Grafton VillageCheese Company, Shelburne Farmsand Taylor Farm cheese. And onSaturday, October 9, a similar eventtook place at the Kellogg-HubbardLibrary in Montpelier. Featured VCCmembers included: Jasper HillFarm, Neighborly Farms ofVermont, Thistle Hill Farm, TaylorFarm Cheese, and Vermont Butter& Cheese Company along with adozen regional bakeries, chocolaters,and wineries.

On May 17, 2004, over 150 peoplegathered around tables in the ballroom at the offices of ProvisionsInternational Ltd. in White River Vt.,to take part in a cheese tasting led byMax McCalman, author of TheCheese Plate, maitre fromager at theManhattan restaurant Picholine andone of the driving forces behind theArtisanal Cheese Center in New York.The event was co- sponsored by theVermont Cheese Council. Twelvecheeses were included in the formaltasting, three from New England andone, Constant Bliss, from Jasper HillFarm in Vermont. In addition tothese twelve, there was a large tableof 15 varieties of cheese made inVermont. This cheese and thecheesemakers themselves wereavailable during the receptionfollowing. It was a lively, fun, andeducational afternoon.

Vermont Butter & CheeseCompany’s cultured butter with seasalt crystals won “outstanding cheeseor dairy product” in June at theInternational Summer Fancy FoodShow in New York City. It was alsowritten up in the New York Times,Boston Globe, and Chicago Tribune.

SMALL BITES

Max McCalman, author of The Cheese Plate, at Provisions’ event.

Jasper Hill Farm was the focus ofan article entitled “Cheese Whizzes,”that appeared in the Business sectionof the Times Argus on September 30.The article explored the relationshipbetween the Greensboro, Vermont-based cheesemaker and the NewEngland Culinary School, located inMontpelier. A recipe for Beeftenderloin with mesclun greens,peach vinaigrette and Bayley HazenBlue Cheese, accompanied the articlewhich also featured a photo of JasperHill cheesemaker VictoriaVonHessert.

Terra Madre, World Meeting ofFood Communities, sponsored bySlow Food in Turin, Italy fromOctober 20-23, 2004 featured VCCcheesemakers Vermont Butter &Cheese Company, Cabot Creamery,Thistle Hill, Peaked MountainFarm, Shelburne Farms, WoodcockFarm and Grafton Village Cheese.Terra Madre is a forum “for thosewho seek to grow, raise, catch, create,distribute and promote food in waysthat respect the environment, defendhuman dignity and protect the healthof consumers”. Their approach tofood production is an alternative tothe current industrial foodproduction system: one where foodquality and variety are valued, ruralregions thrives, and links betweenproducers and consumers are strong.

Green Mountain Blue Cheesewas mentioned in a recipe/article inSeptember issue of Yankee magazinetitled “Harvest at Hemingway’s”(photograph by Rose McNulty)

The President Calvin CoolidgeState Historic Site hosted thePlymouth Cheese & Harvest Festivalon Saturday, September 11. Heldannually since 1997, the festival wasselected as one of Vermont’s “Top 10Fall Events” by the VermontChamber of Commerce in 2001 &2002. This year, Cobb Hill Cheesewas featured at the event which wasattended by approximately 350visitors.

The cheeses from Willow HillFarm were featured in the Fall 2004issue of La Vie Claire, ClaireMurray’s new magazine

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Vermont CheeseCouncil MemberCheesemakers

Blueledge Farm, SalisburyBlythedale Farm, CorinthBonnieview Farm,

Craftsbury CommonCabot Creamery Cooperative,

CabotChamplain Valley Creamery,

VergennesCobb Hill, HartlandCreek Road Cheese Company,

IrasburgCrowley Cheese, HealdvilleDoes Leap Farm, BakersfieldFranklin Foods, Enosburg FallsHope Farm, CharlestonGrafton Village Cheese, GraftonGreen Mountain Blue Cheese,

Highgate CenterJasper Hill Farm, GreensboroLa Fromagerie du Royaume,

GuildhallLakesend Cheeses, AlburgLazy Lady Farm, WestfieldMaryella Farm, E. CorinthNeighborly Farm, RandolphOrb Weaver Farm, New HavenPeaked Mountain Farm,

TownshendPomeroy Farm, LondonderryShelburne Farms, ShelburneStar Hill Dairy, S. WoodstockTaylor Farm, Inc, LondonderryThistle Hill, North PomfretThree Owls Sheep Dairy,

GranvilleThree Shepherds of the

Mad River Valley, WarrenVermont Butter and Cheese

Company, WebstervilleVermont Shepherd, PutneyWestminster Dairy,

Westminster Willow Hill Farm, MiltonWoodcock Farm, Weston

12

Cheese Workshops fromThe Training Center forFarmstead Milk Processingat Westminster Dairy

November 20 The Business andRegulation of Farmstead MilkProcessing

December 4-5 Italian cheesesFor more information, contact

Peter Dixon, (802) 387-4041(pdixon@sover.net)

Hygiene and Food Safety in CheesemakingDecember 9-10, 2004Vermont Institute for Artisan

CheesesUniversity of Vermont(802) 656-8300

Winter 2005 Fancy Food Show®January 23-25, 2005Moscone Center, San Franciscowww.specialtyfood.com/do/Home

The Vermont Cheese Council

Newsletter is published for

food professionals.

With written permission,

reprinting is encouraged.

Contact:

THE VERMONT

CHEESE COUNCIL

116 State Street

Drawer 20

Montpelier, VT 05620-1901

888-523-7484

www.vtcheese.com

Calendar of Upcoming Events

NON-PROFIT ORGUS POSTAGE

PAIDPERMIT #74

MONTPELIER VT

VERMONT DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTUREVermont Cheese Council116 State StreetMontpelier, Vermont 05620-2901