It’s Sunday Morning: Time to Talk Cheeses: Interview with Sid Cook, Owner and Master Cheesemaker of Carr Valley Cheese

Copyright Wisconsin Cheese Originals

Sid Cook holds the enviable title of “Most Award-Winning Cheesemaker in the World”, having won hundreds of awards, worldwide, with his “American Originals” since 2001. In 2010, The Lady visited Wisconsin and met Beth Wyttenbach, Marketing Head at Carr Valley Cheese. That meeting began a love affair between me and the cheeses created by Sid Cook.

Spaulding Gray: Sid, I want to thank you for taking the time to sit down with me and answer a few questions for our readers.

Sid Cook: Let me start by telling you a quick story. I hate to admit it to you especially, but I’ve never particularly cared for cats and never owned one until about a month ago. One morning, I came out of our hose on the way to the cheese plant and heard a strange noise that I couldn’t identify. Sort of like a painful moan of some sort. I heard it a second time and followed it to find a kitten in distress. One leg had been eaten off and his belly was ripped open with his intestines in plain view. Obviously the little guy had been attacked and was in bad shape. I called for my wife and we decided to take him to the vet. At first he hissed; fearing he would be hurt again. But he finally allowed me to gather him up and off we went to the vet.

The vet cautioned us that to get him well was going to be expensive and not an easy road neither for the little guy nor for us. My wife remarked that he wasn’t really our cat to which the vet just laughed and said that actually he was because we brought him in. He needed to have the rest of the one leg removed so that it wouldn’t drag when he began to walk again, causing further problems for him.

Now a month later, he’s tripled his weight and living the good life with us. The vet suggested we name his Tripod, but we went with “D. Lucky”; the “D” standing for Damn. He has taken possession of the laundry room, claiming it as his own, but some nights he ventures out and decides to sit on Lisa, my wife, while she sleeps, staring into her face with these big eyes until she awakens and takes care of his needs. Lisa is convinced he’s an alien; those huge eyes boring into her brain to control her while she sleeps…

I’ve read on your website, Spaulding, that The Man has speculated that you might be an alien… care to comment???

Spaulding: Sid, I have no comment although I’ll add that your wife and The Man indeed have active imaginations when it comes to those of us of the feline persuasion… but we digress…

You are a fourth generation cheesemaker and became a certified cheesemaker at the age of 16. When did you start working in the factory and what was the first cheese you made?

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