WOW!! The Lady couldn’t stop talking last night about yesterday’s conference: she attended 3 seminars; had lunch with the “cheese swells” and assisted our friend, the lovely Rhonda Gothberg of the lovely Gothberg Farms Goat Milk Cheese at the Meet the Cheesemaker Event. Rhonda not only makes great cheeses but she is also a terrific person and The Lady enjoyed spending time with her and her cheeses.
It was a full day for The Lady and she was full of funny stories and tons of new information to assist her in the cheese mines.
Her first stop of the day was the bookstore where she was fortunate to meet both Max McCalman (Mastering Cheese) and Tami Parr (Northwest Cheese Project) and have them autograph their books. Gordonzola Edgar was signing also, but we already have his book autographed… still cool to see him… as I sit in the Cheese Bunker… The hangs with the “Cheese Swells”… life can be so unfair…
The first event was Terroir in America. The first thing she learned is that only the Frenchman on the panel can really pronounce that word correctly. The panel included Dr. Amy Trubek from the University of Vermont, Ivan Larcher from France (just like the Coneheads) and Larcher Consulting and Mateo Kehler from Jasper Hill Farm in Vermont and maker of that more-than-wonderful Bayley Hazen Blue. More on the details later…
She caught the end of the cheesemonger merchandising competition and took lots of pix of the 5 displays. However, because she forgot the download cord that I, your humble Feline Foodie, asked her to bring… the pictures will have to wait until we are back at the manse… one item on her “To do for Spaulding Gray list”… sheesh… humankinds…
Zuercher and Company hosted a buffet lunch. The Lady sat and chatted with her friend, Judy Norton from Norseland; the folks who brings Old Amsterdam to the American Cheese Nurds.
After lunch, The Lady attended a panel of 5 esteemed Cheesemongers talking about their philosophies on selling cheese. The panel members were Gordonzola Edgar, Nathan Aldridge (Murray’s Cheese), Tom Van Voorhees (Rogue Creamery), Megan Mullaney (Sickles Market) and Carlos Souffrant (Zingermans). So far… this is The Lady’s favorite seminar… more details later…
The third seminar was “Getting Inside the Mind of the Retail Buyer”. This panel included Laurie Greenberg (Cultural Landscapes), Steven Rosenberg (Liberty Heights Fresh in SLC), David Grotenstein (Union Market) and Anne Saxelby of Saxelby Cheesemongers. The Lady informed me she picked of several important tips from the group… again… more later.
And to top off her day, the lovely Cheesemaker, Rhonda Gothberg of Gothberg Farms, invited The Lady to assist her at the “Meet the Cheesemakers” where all the “Cheese Swells” were able to taste and chat one-on-one with the cheesemakers. Rhonda is one of our favorite cheesemakers and The Lady was thrilled to sit next to her and talk about her wonderful goat milk cheeses from her 22 LaMancha does.
The Lady passed up the evening social event at the seattle Aquarium, choosing hanging with The Man and having Sushi… I was left once more in the Cheese Bunker…
On deck today… cheesemaking at Beecher’s Handmade Cheese, home of No Woman, two tasting events of Northwest cheeses and wines and a seminar on Affinage. Tonight, our friends at the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board are hosting an event at the Convention Center… until then, I remain your humble Feline Foodie reporting from the “Cheese Bunker” hidden somewhere in the suburbs of Seattle…
SG, it’s a shame the lady and the man could not have dropped you off at the social event. perhaps you could have had sushi, too.