The accolades for Wisconsin artisan cheeses just keep rolling in this year. First, Roth’s Grand Cru Surchoix from Monroe won the World Championship Cheese Contest in March. Then Roelli Cheese in Shullsburg won the American Cheese Society’s Best in Show in July with Little Mountain. And this week, Martha Stewart named Uplands Cheese one of her 10 American Makers of 2016. Talk about the magical trifecta of cheesy goodness.
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| The cheesemaking crew at Uplands Cheese with Pleasant Ridge Reserve. |
Uplands cheesemaker Andy Hatch picked up the award last week in New York, shaking hands and talking shop with movers and shakers from around the world. Each year for the past five years, Martha Stewart and the editors of Martha Stewart Living magazine have selected 10 artisans for their entrepreneurial passion and contributions to their communities in the fields of food, style, design, and technology.
“I’d like to thank Martha Stewart and the editors of Martha Stewart Living for not only valuing the quality of our cheese, but also for recognizing that our success can serve as an example to other family farms looking to add value to their milk. I spent years as a cheesemaking apprentice in Europe, and there’s nowhere I’d rather make cheese than in southern Wisconsin. We have everything we need right here to make world-class cheese,” Andy said.
As you all know, Uplands is best-known for Pleasant Ridge Reserve, an alpine-style cheese made in the spring, summer and fall months when cows are out on fresh pasture. Pleasant Ridge Reserve is the most-awarded cheese in American history and the only cheese to have won both the American Cheese Society’s and U.S. Cheese Championship’s Best of Show.
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| Cheesemaker Andy Hatch |
Of course, this time of year, Hatch and the rock star cheesemaking team are finishing up making Rush Creek Reserve, a soft-ripened cheese wrapped in spruce bark that has developed a cult following since its 2010 debut. The cheese, only available mid-November through January, sells out almost immediately after its release. Beginning November 14, Rush Creek Reserve will be available online direct from Uplands Cheese or at specialty cheese retailers nationwide.
Side note: I’m driving to Uplands on Nov. 14 and picking up the first 30 cases we’ll be selling at Metcalfe’s Markets in Madison and Milwaukee. I feel like it’s the perfect way to break in my new car, because really, which is better, a new car scent, or the aroma of washed rind cheese?
Congratulations to the full list of 2016 Martha Stewart American Made Honorees:
• 21c Museum Hotels – Louisville, KY
• Eagle Street Rooftop Farm – Brooklyn, NY
• Girls Who Code – New York City
• Harry’s Berries – Oxnard, CA
• Loki Fish Company – Seattle, WA
• M&S Schmalberg – New York City
• NYCitySlab – Yonkers, New York
• Stony Creek Colors – Nashville, TN
• Sweetgreen – Washington, DC
• Uplands Cheese – Dodgeville, WI
And special congrats to Andy and his team at Uplands Cheese. Thank you for making exceptional cheese, and more importantly, thank you for being good people. Wisconsin adores you.
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