Cheese-a-Topia Was Cheese-Tastic!
This gathering of more than 1,000 cheesemakers, retailers, wholesalers, chef-types and authors featured lectures on How To Taste Cheese, for beginners and advanced cheese lovers, seminars on making various cheeses with sheep's milk, goat and cow milk and a field trip to Beecher's, whose big cheese, Kurt Dammeier, was the co-chair of the conference. There was also a fascinating guided tasting on pairing beer and cheese led by Seattle's own Charles and Rose Ann Finkel, owners of The Pike Brewing Co., as well as a heated competition to put together the coolest cheese case. The champs were from DeLaurenti in Pike Place Market.
Along with the scholarly -- but never dry -- discussions, there was a whole lot of cheese tasting. The dazzling Festival of Cheese showcased more than 500 American cheeses. I was blown away by a number of cheeses I sampled including the Dinah from Kurtwood Farms on Vashon Island, a quick ferry ride from West Seattle. It's made with milk from Jersey cows, which produce a richer, ultra-creamy milk and is featured on the cover of this month's Culture magazine. Another surprising favorite was a Smoked Black Pepper Cheese from Tillamook. Love to be able to pick that specialty cheese up in local stores, but it's a bit challenging to find.
The final cherry on top of this epic event was a cheese sale on Sunday. I was so tempted to load up on bargains, but there's only so much space in my fridge. Keeping cheese fresh is a little easier since I discovered Cheese Paper, the coolest thing since somebody decided to slip cheddar between a couple slices of bread and toast it. It lets the cheese -- a living thing -- "breathe" while keeping it from drying out. It's brilliant.
--Leslie Kelly
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