No sooner had I touched down from our Arctic adventure than I was off to Chi-town— the setting for the 25th American Cheese Society’s annual meeting. Now for most people this is a non-starter but for me it’s the opposite—a jump start for my battery just about the time the mid-summer self-doubt kicks in.
Reinvigorating
Working hard to keep milk quality high, managing the highly variable demand from customers, dealing with doubled feed cost and coping with the time required to be vertically integrated from milk to marketing are generally challenges that I thrive on, but by mid-summer, the kinks in the system have a way of getting me down.
But to be in a ballroom full of 800 people connected to cheesemaking is quite a kick. To meet the ‘legends’ gets me jazzed. To see familiar faces is a lot of fun. To not stand out as a “what? A cheesemaker?” is comforting.
A few days of professional development and networking are invigorating. Tonight’s program was ‘meet the cheesemaker’ and I worked the room to hunt out goat cheeses and their makers—I ran into a woman I went to a Cal Poly class with three years ago who is really making some wonderful cheese. Some ‘old-timers’ are making some so-so cheese—and there are a handful of some really innovative cheese ideas that I found stimulating.
With the milk season about half over, I am happy to have gained a renewed view of how to approach the whole process with an idea of increased quality, improvements and innovation. I’m already thinking about how I’ll do things next year—a big improvement over the melancholy thoughts I’ve been fighting off as recent batches of cheese randomly failed and cheese house staffing is in flux.
Soul Mate
My favorite conference attendee is Ricki Carrol of New England Cheesemaking. It was Ricki’s Ashfield, MA workshop that I first sought out in March of 2002 before I picked up my first two milking does. Her simple but complete intro to cheesemaking was a huge boost to my book learning as I set my sights on becoming a cheesemaker (I highly recommend this to any food enthusiast).
But it was more than the ABC’s of cheese—Ricki is the real deal, a cheesemaking soul mate who values the food ideals that led me to this in the first place. Hearing her reminisce as a panelist during the conference’s opening session on “looking back” made me realize that the values then are still our values today—the difference may be that notions of ‘sustainability’, ‘knowing where your food comes from’ and ‘community’ are now more mainstream than belonging only to those who drop out.
Not Just the Big Producers
I don’t ask or take a lot from the ACS during the year but after seeing the retrospective film, I was humbled by the history and roots of the organization and appreciated being a member of this organization. On the one hand it’s only 25 years old—just a babe in the scheme of things, but seemingly different today than at its origin with membership shifting to a heavy ‘trade’ presence and large scale producers—maybe necessary for funding. On the other hand, there continues to be an influx of new, young cheesemakers which is encouraging.
Times change but stories resonate. As cheesemakers share their stories of starting up 10 and 20 years ago, their tales of passion, persistence and poverty bring a smile to those who have followed in their shoes. Thanks to those pioneers and early patrons, the path has been paved for many of us—with palettes and markets more receptive to new entries. I had to laugh though as Alisson Hooper (VT Butter & Cheese) started her business with less money than the conference cost us to attend!
I took a well-deserved break after the evening session to walk the shoreline of Chicago, visit Millennium Park, enjoy the outdoor music and dance scene and slip into the Art Institute to pay tribute to American Gothic and other famous works before turning in.
The Competition’s Surprise
Day two was filled with more networking and breakout sessions. I began to feel like I had my fill and should be heading home but changing my ticket was not an option. So I stayed to listen to the awards from the judging and competition. I learned that over 1100 individual entries from 181 members were competing in the various categories. Points were awarded to each entry and 1st through 3rd prizes were point driven not comparative. So it was possible to have multiple winners for any level and to have no awards given if it was not merited. It quickly became clear that the large scale producers dominated the entries and the awards. I was pleased to see some (newcomer) peers take awards.
Imagine my surprise when I heard Rainbeau Ridge called in a fresh goat cheese category! I had one of those dream-like moments—‘did I really hear my name called? what if it wasn’t and I’m halfway down the aisle?’ But it WAS real and it felt a whole lot cooler than I thought it would! We had won an award for Meridien (click to read)!
To be judged by the panel of experts on technical and aesthetic merits was somewhat intimidating—I’m looking forward to the detailed evaluations to help shape the future direction of our cheeses. More importantly, I share the kudos with everyone on my team who helps care for our goats and milks our herd and helps in the cheese house. And to my family, friends and customers who supported us through these early trials, in the absence of any award, it was these folks who made the effort worthwhile.
I’ve packed my bags and I’m ready to go. Been away from the farm and cheese house for too long and am anxious to get back and get my hands dirty (so to speak). I hope I can translate the lessons learned into better product and drive the reputation of Rainbeau Ridge even further.
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