cheeseunderground ACS, american cheese society, awards, emmi roth usa, katie hedrich, LaClare Farms, standard market, Wisconsin cheese

Two Wisconsin Cheeses Win Top Spots at American Cheese Society

Clara and Larry Hedrich of LaClare Farms in Wisconsin with
David Rogers, of Standard Market in Illinois.

One cheese: two makers. The European model of separating cheese making from cheese aging, while celebrating both the cheesemaker and the affineur, got a boost in America tonight, as a farmstead cheese from Wisconsin aged in cellars in Illinois was named the second best cheese in the nation.

Standard Market Cave Aged Chandoka, a mixed milk cheese crafted with goat and cow’s milk by Katie Hedrich Fuhrmann and her team on LaClare Farm, and aged by David Rogers and his team at Standard Market in Westmont, Illinois, was named Runner-Up Best in Show at the 2015 American Cheese Society competition, widely regarded as the Oscars of the artisan cheese industry. The Cave Aged Chandoka tied Roth’s Private Reserve from Emmi Roth in Monroe for runner-up honors, while Best in Show went to Celtic Blue Reserve from Ontario, Canada.

“I just got off the phone with Katie, and all she could say was: ‘Holy crap’. We both agreed that might be an understatement,” David said shortly after the win was announced. While Katie was not in Providence to accept the award (she stayed home to make cheese), her parents, LaClare Farms founders, Larry and Clara Hedrich, climbed on stage with big smiles to accept top honors with David.

Standard Market Cave Aged Chandoka

While only four wheels – yes, just four wheels – of the winning batch of Cave Aged Chandoka exist in the cellars at Standard Market, another 20 wheels will be available in four months, with another 20 wheels available soon after, and so on. The cheese is currently in very limited retail – you can find it at Standard Market, Eataly and Mariano’s in Chicago – but like any big win, the cheese will likely be in much broader distribution once more is properly aged.

The award is particularly vindicating for Standard Market, which put significant time and expense into building in-store aging cellars to create a unique American artisan cheese aging program, a bold move not common or even understood in the United States.

“We started cave-aging the Chandoka about three years ago,” David says, and over time and trial, settled on releasing the cheese at about six months. Twenty-two pound wheels of LaClare Farms Chandoka are shipped right out of the vat to Standard Market, where David and his team apply lard and linen. Regular Chandoka, sold by LaClare Farms, is not bandage wrapped and is sold younger. The difference between the two cheeses is night and day. Where regular Chandoka is mellow, creamy and smooth, Standard Market Cave Aged Chandoka is bold, earthy and crumbly. It’s hard to even tell they were ever once the same cheese.

Rounding out the Best in Show honors was Harbison from the Cellars at Jasper Hill, a company well-known for aging cheese for other cheesemakers in its underground caves in Vermont. The Cellars won Best in Show in 2013 with Winnimere, and again in 2006, with Cabot Clothbound Cheddar aged at The Cellars at Jasper Hill.

Hidden Springs Creamery Cheesemaker
Brenda Jensen with her 9 ribbons.

The 2015 ACS Judging & Competition saw 1,779 entries of cheeses and cultured dairy products from 267 companies from 31 states and three Canadian provinces. Wisconsin cheesemakers took the most awards of any state – with 99 total ribbons. California was second with 47, while Vermont captured 44 awards.

Hidden Springs Creamery, a farmstead sheep dairy near Westby, won the most awards for Wisconsin, with nine ribbons, tied with Lactalis in Belmont. Klondike Cheese was close behind, with eight awards, while Sartori Cheese, Hook’s Cheese and Crave Brothers all earned five ribbons apiece.

Holland’s Family Cheese swept the International Style with Flavor Added – All Milks category, with a first place for Marieke Gouda Foenegreek, second place for Marieke Gouda Cumin, and third place for Marieke Gouda Jalapeno. Cheesemaker Marieke Penterman did a happy dance on stage upon learning she had won all three ribbons in the class.

All Wisconsin companies earning awards at tonight’s competition for their cheeses were:

  • Arena Cheese, Arena: Colby
  • Arthur Schuman Inc, Montfort: Cello Rich and Creamy Mascarpone, Montforte Gorgonzola Cheese Wheel, Montforte Blue Cheese Wheel, Cello Riserva Copper Kettle Parmesan Cheese, Cello Riserva Artisan Parmesan Cheese
  • BelGioioso Cheese, Green Bay: Gorgonzola with Sheep’s Milk, American Grana, Sharp Provolone Mandarino, Black Truffle Burrata
  • Burnett Dairy Cooperative, Grantsburg: Smoked String Cheese
  • Cedar Grove Cheese, Plain: Ovella, Weird Sisters, Traditional Feta, Donatello
  • Clock Shadow Creamery, Milwaukee: Pizza Cheese Curds
  • Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese, Waterloo: White Cheddar Cheese Curds, Oaxaca, Farmer’s Rope String Cheese, Fresh Mozzarella- Bocconcini, Jalapeno Cheddar Cheese Curds
  • Edelweiss Creamery, Monticello: Brick
  • Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery, Ellsworth: Brick, Hot Pepper Jack
  • Emmi Roth USA, Monroe: Roth’s Private Reserve, GranQueso Reserve, GranQueso, Grand Cru Surchoix
  • Graf Creamery, Bonduel: Brethren Roll Salted Butter
  • Hidden Springs Creamery, Westby: Manchego Reserve, Farmstead Feta, Driftless-Honey Lavender, Driftless-cranberry cinnamon, Driftless- basil /olive oil, Driftless Natural, Meadow Melody Reserve, Meadow Melody, Timber Coulee Reserve
  • Holland’s Family Cheese, Thorp: Marieke Gouda Foenegreek, Marieke Gouda Cumin, Marieke Gouda Jalapeno, Marieke Gouda Aged (9-12 month)
  • Hook’s Cheese Company, Mineral Point: Triple Play, Sheep Milk Cheddar, Three Year Cheddar, Barneveld Blue, EWE CALF to be KIDding Blue
  • Key Ingredient Market: Garlic Cheddar Spread
  • Klondike Cheese, Monroe: Brick, Muenster, Odyssey Peppercorn Feta, Odyssey Tomato & Basil Feta, Odyssey Mediterranean Feta, Odyssey Reduced Fat Tomato & Basil Feta, Odyssey Sour Cream, Odyssey Greek Yogurt
  • LaClare Farms Specialties, Pipe: Standard Market Cave Aged Chandoka
  • Lactalis American Group, Belmont: 3 Kg. Brie, 1 Kg. Brie, 8oz. Brie, 1 Kg. Camembert, 8oz. Camembert, 3 Kg. Triple Cream Brie, 8oz. Feta, Président 8 oz Parmesan-Peppercorn, Rondelé Garlic & Herbs
  • Landmark Creamery, Albany: Petit Nuage
  • Maple Leaf Cheese, Monroe: Low-fat Cheddar
  • Montchevre-Betin, Inc, Belmont: Fromage Blanc, Chèvre in Blue, Oh-La-La! Fresh Spreadable Goat Cheese
  • Mt. Sterling Cheese Co-op, Mt Sterling: Raw Milk Mild Cheddar, Whey Cream Butter
  • Organic Valley, LaFarge: Organic Blue Cheese, Organic Pepper Jack, Organic Pasture Butter, Organic Salted Butter, Organic European Style Cultured Butter
  • Pine River Pre-Pack, Newton: Port Wine Cold Pack Cheese Food, Pepper Jack Cold Pack Cheese Spread, Chunky Bleu Cold Pack Cheese Food
  • Rosewood Dairy, Inc, Algoma: Pesto Farmers Cheese
  • Saputo Specialty Cheese, Richfield: Black Creek Colby, Great Midwest Habanero Jack
  • Sartori Company, Plymouth: Limited Edition Pastorale Blend, Reserve Dolcina Gorgonzola, Reserve Espresso BellaVitano, Reserve Kentucky Bourbon BellaVitano, Limited Edition, Cognac BellaVitano
  • Saxon Cheese, Cleveland: Asiago Fresca
  • The Artisan Cheese Exchange, Sheboygan: Deer Creek The Fawn, Deer Creek The Stag, Deer Creek The Doe
  • Uplands Cheese, Dodgeville: Pleasant Ridge Reserve, Extra-Aged Pleasant Ridge Reserve
  • V&V Supremo Foods: Queso Chihuahua, Queso Chihuahua with Jalapeno Peppers
  • Widmer’s Cheese Cellars, Theresa: Washed Rind Brick Cheese, Cheddar with Jalapenos

Congratulations to every company from both the United States and Canada on their wins!

All photos by Uriah Carpenter. 

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LaClare Farms Martone

LaClare Farms Cheesemaker Katie Hedrich Fuhrmann
and Martone, her newest creation.

Never one to rest on her laurels – or let’s face it, rest at all – U.S. Champion Cheesemaker Katie Hedrich Fuhrmann of LaClare Farms returned from her Hawaiian honeymoon last Friday afternoon to host hundreds of visitors at her family’s farmstead creamery grand opening, and that night, attend the Wisconsin Cheese Originals Meet the Cheesemaker Gala, where she debuted a brand new cheese she’s been working on in secret for more than two years.

It makes me tired to even write that sentence, much less execute everything it entails.

But then again I’m not a young, energetic cheesemaker with a lifetime of award-winning cheeses ahead of me. Katie’s latest creation, enthusiastically enveloped by the artisan cheese community at the fifth annual Wisconsin Cheese Originals Festival this weekend, is called Martone. Cheese lovers in Wisconsin have been anxiously awaiting a cheese like this: a surface-ripened beauty made from a 50/50 blend of cow and goat’s milk, resulting in a mild, buttery flavor and citrus finish. Sitting at about 1-1/2 inches tall and about 3-1/2 inches wide, Martone is my new favorite table cheese.

Katie says she named the cheese for her great-grandfather, Martin Kozlowski, a dairy farmer and the first generation Kozlowski to settle in Wisconsin. But the cheese is really inspired by Martin’s granddaughter, who just happens to be Katie’s mom, Clara. Mama Hedrich, as I like to call her, grew up on the family farm and was the first in her family to attend college. She went on to become one of of the first two women to graduate from UW River-Falls with a degree in agriculture education. She’s spent the past 37 years sharing her passion with thousands of students. In fact, she is the longest tenured ag instructor in the state and is revered by her current students at West DePere High School. It’s not hard to see where Katie gets her drive from.

Hedrich patriarch Larry Hedrich shows off
his new dairy goat freestall barn, which opens
to the outside with paddocks of fresh grass.
These are some seriously happy goats.

Martone is made with pasteurized milk, vegetarian rennet and is ripened 10 days. That means it will likely be between two and three weeks old when you buy it at a retail store and eat it, but you’d better hurry, because it’s only got a 30-day shelf life. After that, this bloomy rind blossom is likely to harden and lose it complex flavorings.

The cow’s milk used for the cheese is sourced from Red Barn Family Farms, a group of American Humane Certified cow dairies near Black Creek, Wisconsin. The goat’s milk comes from the Quality Dairy Goat Producers Cooperative Of Wisconsin, founded and managed by Katie’s father, Larry. Today, seven – and soon to be eight – farms, including LaClare Farms, milk between 120 and 600 goats. That milk is sold to cheesemakers, including Carr Valley Cheese, Sartori, and LaClare Farms, where it’s made into award-winning cheeses such as Sartori Extra Aged Goat, LaClare Chandoka and Carr Valley Billy Goat Blue. It’s also bottled into LaClare Farms Bottled Goat milk and crafted into ice cream for LaLoos Goat Milk Ice Cream.

While each of the seven farms belonging to the goat cooperative is a top-notch operation, the 450 dairy goats at LaClare Farms are living the high life in a brand new facility built specifically for them at the still-smells-like-new LaClare Farms farmstead creamery.

Turning off Highway 151 east of Lake Winnebago and driving into the parking lot of the new picturesque goat dairy, creamery and what should be called a visitor center just outside the bustling unincorporated berg of Pipe, Wisconsin, feels like entering the Disneyland of dairy goats. Because 1) yes, it’s that clean, and 2) yes, it’s that fun.

Run by the Hedrich clan – mom and dad Larry & Clara, along with their grown children: Cheesemaker Katie, Business Manager Greg, Store Manager Jessica and part-time Herd Manager Anna — the family has pulled together to create something Wisconsin’s never seen before: an agritourism destination where visitors can see animals in a barn, watch them be milked in a double 24 goat parlor through a huge viewing window, watch cheese being aged through windows in the visitor center, and then purchase an array of cheeses made both at LaClare Farms and from around Wisconsin, as well as ice cream from Kelley Country Creamery near Fond du Lac.

Rock Star Chef Jim McIntosh in the new
LaClare Farms farmstead kitchen outside
Pipe, Wisconsin.

And when they’re done with all that, they can order lunch or dinner made by renowned chef Jim McIntosh (most recently the executive chef at Grand Cafe in Minneapolis). This is a farmstead creamery with a top-ranked chef also cooking with its products. Open to the public seven days a week, the LaClare Farms Cafe has already drawn a grand reputation for its Friday night Fish Fry and hand-cut French fries, which according to this French fry connoisseur, are the best she’s ever eaten. Jim told me he’s already torn his hand-operated potato fry cutter off the wall twice in his anxiousness to get fries into the fryer. “The way I’ve got it bolted to the wall now, the next time it comes off, the wall’s coming with it,” he said in completely seriousness.

While the cafe, retail store and dairy goat milking parlor are up and running at 100 percent, the cheese factory is almost there. Katie estimates she’s about two weeks away from final inspections and finally making cheese in her own facility, after spending more than four years putting thousands of miles on her car, driving to three different area cheese factories to both make and age her cheeses. She’s been sleep-deficit for years, constantly on the road between home and a cheese factory that’s not her own. Married for exactly 18 days, Mrs. Katie Fuhrmann is looking forward to finally establishing a home base. It will be a well-deserved reward for one of the hardest-working cheesemakers in the state.

“It is going to be so awesome to make cheese in my own place,” Katie said during a tour on Monday. “I get goose bumps every time I walk past the cheese vats. We are so close.”

Katie will have two cheese vats at her disposal: a 5,000-pound and 11,000-pound vat, where she will make her champion Evalon cheese, as well as a full range of goat’s milk cheeses including Fondy Jack, Chandoka, Goat Cheddar, Chevre and the new Martone. What’s more, the new LaClare Facility boasts six – yes six – different aging rooms, which can be each set to their own temperature and humidity levels. Katie will have an Evalon room, a washed-rind room for cheeses currently under development, a cheddar room, and others still to be classified. She’ll also be making custom cheese for at least two companies. The goal is for LaClare Farms to become an incubator and affinage facility for new cheeses and cheesemakers who can not yet afford to make and/or age cheese at their own place.

Cleaning the cheese vats at LaClare Farms creamery.

“This has truly been a labor of love for our family,” Larry said on a tour yesterday, clearly in his element talking about the new facility. “We are proud to open one of the most modern dairy processing facilities in the United States producing the highest quality dairy products possible. We are proud to have our family here with us, working side-by-side. That was the dream, and we’re here.”

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Wisconsin Women Cheesemakers Rule US Champion Cheese Contest

In an industry dominated by multi-generational male cheesemakers, a Wisconsin woman has been named the best cheesemaker in the nation for the second time in a row.

All I can say is: whoo hoo!

Last night at the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Marieke Mature Gouda, aged 6-9 months, was named the 2013 U.S. Championship Cheese. The farmstead beauty is crafted by Marieke Penterman, of Holland’s Family Cheese in Thorp, Wis.

The cheese took top honors out of 1,702 entries from 30 states. Out of a possible 100 points, Marieke Gouda scored 98.31in the final round of judging, during which a panel of 38 expert judges from across the nation re-evaluated the top 16 cheeses at an evening gala to determine the overall champion.

Marieke was on hand to accept the award, and for the first time in her life, said on stage she was “speechless.” She did recover afterward, doing her signature “happy dance,” walking through the crowd and accepting hundreds of well wishes from a crowd that had gathered to taste some of the best cheese in the country and watch the final round of judging.

“Can you believe it?” Marieke told me after the festivities had died down, the media had left, and just a handful of industry oldies were nursing their drinks. “The best in the nation. Wow. I can’t wait to tell my dad.”

Marieke, the mother of five and wife of Rolf – “the sexiest man” she knows, has only been making cheese on their central Wisconsin dairy farm for six years. Her story, while vastly different (she emingrated from the Netherlands 10 years ago to start a new dairy farm with her family) – somewhat echoes the story of the last contest’s winner, then 26-year-old Katie Hedrich, who won U.S. Champion for her goat’s milk LaClare Farms Evalon, another farmstead cheese made by a Wisconsin woman. Katie had only been making cheese for a year when she won the award, yet both women were recognized by some of the top experts in the nation for being the best in their craft.

Wisconsin women make up only a tiny percentage of cheesemakers in the state – of about 1,200 licensed makers, less than 60 are women. Yet, they seem to be excelling at their craft, with more entering the industry every year. For example, of the so-far three annual beginning cheesemaker scholarships awarded by Wisconsin Cheese Originals, all have gone to women. The 2013 recipient will be named in April, and based on the applications so far, I’m placing bets it will go to another woman.

It should be noted that two additional top-notch cheeses were also honored at the U.S. Championship Cheese contest, and both are made by men. First runner-up, with a score of 97.89, was Tarentaise, a semi-hard alpine cheese made by Spring Brook Farm/Farms For City Kids Foundation in Reading, Vermont. Second runner-up was Medium Cheddar, made by Team Cracker Barrel Natural Cheese, Agropur Weyauwega for Kraft Foods in Glenview, Illinois, which scored 97.88.

Wisconsin cheesemakers, as usual, dominated the competition, capturing gold medals in 47 of the total 81 categories judged. Vermont and New York came in second among the states, with six golds apiece. A common complaint I hear about this contest is it favors Wisconsin cheeses because it’s sponsored by the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association. Nothing could be further from the truth, as the 38 expert judges come from around the nation, with the likes of Cathy Strange, Global Cheese Buyer for Whole Foods in Austin, Texas; Max McCalman, Dean of Curriculum at the Artisinal Premium Cheese Center in New York; and Craig Gile, Master Cheese Grader, Cabot Creamery Cooperative in Montpelier, Vermont serving on the judging panel.

After all, the United States Championship Cheese Contest is the largest technical evaluation of cheese and butter in the country and is rooted in more than 120 years of history, beginning when the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association held its first cheese contest in 1891. In recent years, the event has flourished, more than doubling in size since 2001. More Wisconsin cheeses are likely entered into the contest, as it’s held in our state. This year, it was nice to see one of our own take home the top prize. Congratulations, Marieke, and to all the medalists!

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LaClare Farms to Build New Farmstead Creamery

An artist’s rendering of the new LaClare Farms storefront.

Katie Hedrich, the reigning U.S. Champion Cheesemaker (and 2010 Wisconsin Cheese Originals Beginning Cheesemaker Scholarship winner), announced her family dairy, LaClare Farms, will break ground this week on a new 35,000 sq. ft. farmstead dairy plant in eastern Wisconsin.

The new dairy will be on State Hwy 151, north of the village of Pipe on the eastern shore of Lake Winnebago. The facility includes plans for a state-of-the-art dairy plant, retail store and café, as well as milking parlor with housing for 600 milking goats. The facility will be capable of processing cow, goat and sheep milk. In addition to crafting LaClare Farms products, the facility will serve as a specialty custom dairy processing and aging facility.

“This week is the start of the biggest week of my life,” said Katie. Her parents, Larry and Clara Hedrich – dairy goat farmers and industry leaders for more than 30 years – agree.

“Building this farmstead dairy plant allows us to bring the next generation of Hedrich family members back to the farm,” Katie’s father, Larry said. “Our goal is to be one of the top sustainable agricultural enterprises in the nation, and with the talent our team brings to this operation, we will be.”

The new farmstead dairy plant allows the Hedrich family to expand their current offering of goat’s milk and mixed milk cheeses, including Evalon, Fresh Chevre, Cheddar, Fondy Jack and American Originals crafted by Katie Hedrich, who without her own facility, has been making five-hour round trips to Willow Creek cheese factory several times a week to make Evalon and LaClare cheeses. The Hedrichs’ new farmstead facility will also be capable of aging cheese in special curing rooms, as well as producing cultured products and bottled milk.

Katie’s brother, Greg Hedrich, is the business manager of the new integrated agricultural enterprise. Three additional sisters: Heather, Jessica and Anna, will work part-time for LaClare Farms in human resources, marketing and herd management roles while continuing their off-enterprise jobs. All five siblings hold university degrees in subjects ranging from marketing to human resources to dairy science to education.

“The key is each one of the children is not forced into one role,” Larry says. “They each chose to go to college, worked in the public/private sector for a number of years and now have chosen to bring their skills back to the family enterprise. We are beyond thrilled to have the next generation back on the farm.”  The enterprise also brings the talents of Larry’s cousin, John Jenkins, on board.

An official groundbreaking ceremony is set for Saturday, Dec. 15 at 2 p.m. at the new facility. The public is invited. The location is: W2994 County Road HH, on the corner of State Hwy 151 and County Road HH in Pipe.

The groundbreaking is just the latest example of Wisconsin’s thriving artisan and farmstead cheesemaking industry. The amount of specialty cheese produced in the state has doubled in the past 10 years, and today accounts for 22 percent of the state’s total cheese production. Ninety of the state’s 126 cheese plants craft at least one type of specialty cheese, up from 77 plants five years ago.

The new LaClare farmstead dairy plant is expected to be up and running by early summer, 2013. In addition to crafting LaClare Farm products, the Hedrichs plan to rent out space to dairy processors to help launch new products and to work with beginning dairy entrepreneurs to develop their new products. The facility will also offer viewing windows into the milking parlor, dairy plant and cheese aging room which will be available to the public.

Congratulations to the Hedrich family – I look forward to following your progress and touring your new facility in 2013!