MONTSERRAT ALMENA-ALISTE, PH.D.
Dr. Montserrat Almena-Aliste (aka “Montse”) is a dairy specialist and expert on food sensory evaluation, with more than twenty years of experience. She received her Veterinary Degree (DVM equivalent) and M.S. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain; and her Ph.D. in Food Science from the same University in collaboration with the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA). Her research in Europe focused on the evaluation of mechanisms that determine the quality of traditional cheeses with Protected Denomination of Origin. She is the co-author of a book in Spanish about sensory evaluation and cheese quality. Montse is also the author of multiple publications and scientific manuscripts addressing the quality of cheese, yogurt and other agricultural products like coffee and maple syrup. Her technical and sensory expertise covers both academic and industrial backgrounds. She served as a judge at the American Cheese Society’s Annual Competition on multiple occasions, and has managed sensory panels for research, product development and quality control purposes in cheese and other foods. Montse is part of the technical team of the Vermont Institute for Artisan Cheese (VIAC), the nation’s first and only comprehensive center devoted to artisan cheese. She provides cheesemaking education, technical support and is responsible for curriculum development and working closely with international cheese experts around the world to transfer traditional cheesemaking practices to VIAC students. Her current scholarly interests include sensory characterization of artisanal and raw milk cheeses. She lives in Shelburne Vermont, with her husband and two sons.
FRANK BARTHOLOMAY
Frank Bartholomay is the Executive Area Technical Coordinator for Ecolab Food & Beverage. He’s spent 32 years in the industry as an Assistant Plant Manager, Hazardous Material Responder, Account Manager, Senior Area Technical Coordinator, and Executive Technical Coordinator. Frank specializes in dairy processing fluid/cheese/evaporators, membranes, HTST Control and troubleshooting, as well as troubleshooting bacterial contamination and CIP Programming. Frank is a member of 3-A Sanitary Standards: Work Group 11, Fillers, and Membranes. He is also a member of the International Association for Food Protection. His training was received through Cornell University HTST.
MYLÈNE BLANCHARD
A graduate of the Food Science and Technology program of Laval University, Mylène Blanchard has worked in the field of food processing for ten years, four of which were in the dairy sector. Since 2005, she has been a teacher at the Institute of Agrifood Technology of Quebec (l’Institut de Technologie Agroalimentaire) at their campus in Saint-Hyacinthe. She teaches college level students in the Food Science and Technology program, specializing in courses related to dairy product manufacturing and cheesemaking. She also teaches a course in artisan cheesemaking in the Continuing Education department.
DENIS PAUL BOUFFARD
Since 2006, Mr. Bouffard has been President and Executive Director of the Conseil des appellations réservées et des termes valorisants (CARTV). The CARTV is a public body established by the Government of Québec as an authority whose mission is to oversee and control food designations (appellations contrôlées) relating to production methods such as organic farming, protected designations of origin, and protected geographical indications, specificity designations and other added-value claims of specificity. In 1999, Mr. Bouffard set up the CAEQ, which is an ISO-compliant organization whose mission is to assess the conformity of certification bodies operating worldwide for accreditation purposes. Mr. Bouffard has over 30 years of experience in the public and private sectors, at both the national and international levels. He has worked in several fields such as health, education, banking, energy, tourism, and the agri-food sector. For over 20 years, he has successfully filled a wide variety of managerial and executive positions. He holds Masters’ degrees in Environmental Planning from the University of Montréal and in Political Science from Laval University (Québec City). He has also been awarded a Certificate in Tourism Management from the Ontario Sir Sandford Fleming College.
CHRISTINE CHÉNARD, M.SC.
Christine Chénard is Vice President at Cintech Agroalimentaire for the Consumer Research Division; she has been with Cintech since its beginning, 17 years ago. Her years as a researcher using taste tests to better understand consumer needs and preferences have complemented her academic training in sensory evaluation with a sense of pragmatism guaranteeing quality research in the real world. She is an affiliated member of ASTM International and is asked regularly to review a number of their norms. She also gives courses on food tasting as well as conducting training sessions on different types of food for the food industry (R&D – Marketing and Sales). Christine has worked closely with the cheese industry more than 7 years, first as a judge with the Caseus Competition in Quebec, Canada, but also by training panelists to the sensory evaluation of cheese with La Société des Fromages du Quebec.
ANN COLONNA
Ann Colonna received her B.S. degree in Biochemistry in 1997 from the University of Arizona and followed that with a culinary degree from the Cooking School of the Rockies in Boulder, Colorado. She continued her education at the University of California, Davis where she earned an M.S. degree in Sensory Food Science in 2001 focusing on methods to mask the carry-over effects in the mouth from the astringency in wine. Ann is currently in her tenth year as the Sensory Program Manager at the Food Innovation Center in Portland, Oregon, an off campus Oregon State University Experiment Station. She assists industry clients with sensory and consumer testing and collaborates in mission oriented research designed to advance Northwest agriculture and food products.
TONY COX
Tony Cox has spent his entire career in the direct marketing, catalog and Internet industries. He spent two years as mail order manager at Omaha Steaks International, where he managed a $3 million annual marketing budget, and increased annual mail order sales from $12 million to over $25 million. In 1988, he co-founded a full service catalog agency in the Boston area. Two of his clients made the Inc. 500 list of the fastest growing private companies in America. In 1998, he decided to focus entirely on the specialty-food-by-mail industry and sold his interest in the firm. In 1998, he founded 5th Food Group and began publishing the Food-by-Mail Industry Update, the only newsletter devoted exclusively to the art and science of selling specialty food and food gifts by mail. Today the 5th Food Group is the largest direct marketing consultancy working exclusively in the specialty food internet and catalog industry. Clients rely on 5th Food Group to analyze, plan and implement their online and catalog marketing initiatives. Current clients include such specialty food all-stars such as Zingerman’s, A Southern Season, Dean & Deluca, La Tienda, Smithfield Foods, Manhattan Fruitier and many more. In addition to building his own business and helping clients grow theirs, he is a frequent speaker at direct marketing conferences and specialty food shows throughout the US.
DENNIS D’AMICO, PH.D.
Dr. Dennis D’Amico currently serves as Senior Research Scientist at the University of Vermont and the Vermont Institute for Artisan Cheese (VIAC) where his research and outreach efforts focus on improving the safety of artisan cheeses through risk assessment and reduction. He currently leads research efforts in food safety and works closely with the artisan cheese industry in food safety and food microbiology related areas such as process control, process validation, environmental testing, hazard analysis, and preventative controls. To date, he has published 9 peer reviewed articles and 12 abstracts on the subject and is considered one of the top experts in the country on the microbiology of raw milk cheeses. Dennis’ recent research examines the presence, ecology, and diversity of Listeria spp. in artisan cheese processing facilities, the prevalence of pathogenic bacteria in raw milk destined for cheesemaking and microbial behavior during the manufacture and aging of various cheese varieties. Data from these projects inform exposure assessments and aid in the development of risk reduction interventions and technical outreach to promote the continuous production of microbiologically safe artisan cheese. Dennis received his BS and MS degrees in Nutrition and Food Sciences and his Ph.D in Food Microbiology from the University of Vermont. He is a member of the International Association for Food Protection, the Institute of Food Technologists and the American Society for Microbiology and serves as a reviewer for the Journal of Food Safety, the Journal of Food Science, and the Journal of Food Protection.
KRISTINE DEMARIA
Kristine is responsible for food safety and sustainability initiatives at Rogue Creamery. She manages quality programs to ensure safe, healthful, high quality products inclusive of third party certifications, HACCP, Recall/Traceability, Cheese Release, team member training, and many others, as well as identifies and manages sustainability and energy programs. Prior to Rogue Creamery, Kristine worked as an Application Engineer for General Electric Plastics supporting their polymer division food and beverage applications; as a Packaging Engineer for Kraft Foods where she worked in the Specialty Cheese Division then on Kraft American Singles; and several years as a consultant and technical writer. Kristine has several publications including a text book, “The Packaging Development Process, A Guide for Engineers and Project Managers.” She graduated from Michigan State University with a BA in Marketing and Advertising and an MS in Packaging.
CATHERINE W. DONNELLY, PH.D.
Dr. Catherine W. Donnelly is a Professor of Nutrition and Food Science at the University of Vermont. She currently serves as the Associate Director for the Vermont Institute for Artisan Cheese and previously served as the Associate Director for the Northeast Center for Food Entrepreneurship, a research consortium between Cornell University and the University of Vermont. Dr. Donnelly served as the Associate Dean for Research and the Interim Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at UVM from 1988-1999. Dr. Donnelly has been recognized by her colleagues for her many contributions to improving Listeria detection including Standard Methods for Examination of Dairy Products; Compendium of Methods for Microbiological Examination of Foods; and Listeria, Listeriosis and Food Safety. Her research interests center on development of detection methods for Listeria and understanding the impact of sublethal injury on Listeria recovery and detection. Dr. Donnelly and her research colleagues pioneered the development of methods to detect Listeria in foods, including development of UVM media. Dr. Donnelly received the prestigious Maurice Weber Laboratorian Award from the International Association for Food Protection in 2006 in recognition of her work to advance practical laboratory approaches to advance food safety. Current scholarly interests include investigation of the microbiological safety of raw milk cheeses aged for 60 days. In 1999, the U.S. Secretaries for Agriculture and Health and Human Services appointed Dr. Donnelly to the National Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Criteria for Foods. Dr. Donnelly was appointed by the FDA Commissioner to serve on the Science Advisory Board of the FDA’s National Center for Toxicological Research. In 2000, Dr. Donnelly and her colleagues received in conjunction with Cornell University a $3.8M award from the USDA Fund for Rural America to establish the Northeast Center for Food Entrepreneurship. Dr. Donnelly received the 2001-2002 University Scholar Award from the University of Vermont and was honored as the Division Lecturer for the Food Microbiology Division at the 2002 American Society for Microbiology Meetings held in Salt Lake City, Utah. She served as Chair of the Program Committee for the 2005 International Association for Food Protection Meetings in Baltimore, MD. She serves the AOAC Research Institute as a Performance Tested Methods Reviewer. She most recently served on the ILSI Research Foundation/Risk Science Institute Expert Panel on L. monocytogenes in Foods, where she chaired the Hazard Characterization Working Group. She currently serves as the Scientific Editor of the Food Microbiology and Safety Section of the Journal of Food Science.
MARC DRUART
Marc Druart is the Director of Research & Development at Emmi Roth USA, one of the leading providers of specialty and artisan cheeses and premium fresh dairy products. Marc received his (Brevet de Technicien Superieur) from the National Dairy School of Poligny (France) in 2000. After graduation, Marc traveled the world working for various cheese and dairy companies in the U.K, New Zealand, and the USA. In 2011, Marc joined Emmi Roth USA’s dynamic team. Additionally, Marc serves as a Board member at the American Cheese Society, and he is a Garde et Juré at La Guildes Internationale des Fromagers.
MARIO DUCHESNE
Mario Duchesne is a biologist from Charlevoix, Quebec. He grew up in the Quebec City area and studied and worked in tourism. Mario graduated from Laval University, earning a Bachelor of Science in Biology in 1993 and a Master of Science in Biological Conservation in 1996, specializing in the impact of ecotourism on woodland caribou. After his studies, he worked 5 years as a biologist in the Grands-Jardins Preserve Park located in Charlevoix. He also worked for the World Biosphere Reserve of Charlevoix as a coordinator. Mario has been raising Kiko goats in Charlevoix’s highlands since the year 2000. From 2002 to 2005, he worked for Charlevoix’s Agritourism Association as a coordinator. This association is linking farms and restaurants among one of the oldest flavour routes in Canada. Mario was involved in the important pilot project of Charlevoix’s Lamb, the first Protected Geographical Indication in North America which is a land-based label. While coordinating the association, he worked on the reintroduction of the Canadienne cattle for cheese processing. In 2007, along with two breeders and a local cheese maker, Maria founded a new association with the objective of reintroducing and developing the Canadienne cattle breed in the Charlevoix region. He is currently coordinating the group and working to reintroduce the old, pure genetic type of the Canadienne cattle breed for developing a nonconventional dairy system to produce Charlevoix-specific cheeses. He is also developing a new labeling project which is an attestation of specificity based on cheese made exclusively from Canadienne cow milk. The challenge of this project is to manage a small population while insuring genetic diversity and to avoid genetic loss or drift. He is quite passionate about this rare breed and believes that the Canadienne cattle have a bright future in Charlevoix.
KOENRAAD DUHEM
Koenraad Duhem is an agronomist from University of Gembloux, Liège, Belgium. He holds an Executive Master in General Management from the Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium and a Master in Nutrition and Public Health from the Université Catholique, Louvain, Belgium. He started his career as a plant biotechnologist, first in a public research institute, later in private companies. He worked as a consultant in scientific, technical and regulatory affairs in the food and biotechnology industry. Since 1998, he’s served as director of the Scientific Department of CNIEL, Centre National Interprofessionnel de l’Economie Laitière – the French National Interprofessional Center for the Dairy Economy. His department manages the issues pertaining to food safety, health and nutrition, environment, and dairy technology. He is a member of various scientific councils at INRA (the French National Institute for Agricultural Research), at the French Livestock and Breeding Institute, and at Actilait, the French Milk and Cheese Technical Institute.
RACHEL DUTTON, PH.D.
Rachel Dutton is a Bauer fellow at the Harvard FAS Center for Systems Biology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her laboratory studies the microbial communities that make up the rind of cheese, with the goal of understanding the diversity and development of these communities, interactions between the species, and on developing experimental model ecosystems. She has a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics from Harvard Medical School.
SIMON HAMEL
Simon Hamel, son of a winegrower established in Mont St-Hilaire (Quebec), has worked as a cheesemaker since 1999. He studied at the St-Hyacinthe Institut de Technologie Agroalimentaire (ITA) and specialized in food science and technology at Laval University in Quebec City. Simon worked at Tournevent in Chesterville, making the famous goat milk cheddar Chèvre Noir, and continued gaining knowledge in processing goat milk in France in the Rocamadour area. He gained experience in washed rind semi-firm cow’s milk cheese in Plessisville (Quebec). Simon is currently cheesemaker at La Moutonnière and developing his own product under the name of Fromagerie l’Atelier.
ART HILL, PH.D.
Art Hill, Professor and Chair, Department of food Science, University of Guelph, received his BSc, MSc and PhD degrees from the University of Guelph, where he is now Professor and Chair of Food Science. Prof Hill has authored or co-authored one book, four book chapters and more than 50 refereed publications. His teaching and research focuses on cheese technology, dairy chemistry and dairy processing. Some visible applications of his work are Dairy Oh milk, a more equitable national protocol for raw milk pricing, and a milk sampling protocol that could save Ontario farmers about $1.5M per year. Art’s teaching experience includes development and delivery of distance education courses, participative courses in technical communications to both undergraduate and graduate students, and short courses in cheese technology and food safety. In addition to Chair of Food Science, he has served as President of the University of Guelph Faculty Association and Acting Associate Dean of the Ontario Agricultural College. Other interests are philosophy of science and the relationship between science and faith. Beyond the campus, Art does consulting and trouble shooting in the dairy industry and has influenced government and industry policies on issues such as milk pricing, safety of cheese curds and raw milk cheese, import of dairy ingredients, and recently, implementation of regulations designed to limit the amount of dried milk ingredients used in cheese making.
MARIE-CHANTAL HOUDE
Marie-Chantal Houde has always been passionate about cheese. After receiving her diploma in Agronomy-Animal Science from McGill University, she decided to go to France to learn more about cheese. She attended a specialized program called “Fromagerie International” in Poligny, France, given by M. Bernard Mietton. In 2004, after 8 months in the program, she returned and created a cheese-consulting company named “Creation Fromages” which helps cheesemakers to solve problems and create new cheeses. She has also given numerous sessions on cheeses and has attended conferences, in Québec and the USA (VIAC-Vermont Institute of Artisanal Cheese). In 2010, she opened and is now the owner of her own cheese factory – Fromagerie Nouvelle France – with her brother Jean-Paul Houde. This cheese factory specializes in the fabrication of ewe’s milk cheeses. In 2011, their cheese, Zacharie Cloutier, won the Best Québec Cheese 2011, as well as 3 other categories. Even though she is very busy with her new company, she still continues consulting during winter.
RALPH ICHTER
Ralph Ichter is the owner and CEO of EUROCONSULTANTS, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in agricultural and trade negotiations related to agricultural commodities, food, and wines. EUROCONSULTANTS, Inc. is the US representative of French and European agri-business, trade associations such as the European Oilseeds Producers and the French Wine and Spirits Exporters Association. It is dedicated to promoting French food and wine exports to the United States, and helping companies to comply with FDA and Wine regulations. Mr. Ichter is an authorized FDA agent under the Bioterrorism Act for approximately 600 small and medium size food and wine companies. EUROCONSULTANTS is the US representative of CNIEL for regulatory issues (FDA) and is also involved in the Cheese of France promotional campaign. Mr. Ichter graduated from the “Institut National D’Agronomie” and the “Ecole Nationale des Eaux et Forets.” Previous to setting up EUROCONSULTANTS, he was the Agricultural Counselor with the French Embassy in Washington, DC. Prior to that, he was the Director of the Agricultural Bureau, Directorate for External Trade, Ministry of Finances. He worked as a special assistant for the Governor of the Lorraine region, in charge of agriculture and environment.
OLIVIA JANSÈ
Since early 2005, Olivia has worked for Saputo first as a specialist R&D for fine cheeses, then as a quality assurance director for the specialty cheese division. She had previously completed a three-year training course at the National Dairy School in Poligny, France on international cheese-making, followed by a stint in traditional farmhouse hard pressed cheeses in Wales, then in research and development in the yogurt and soft white cheese sector. Besides quality assurance, she’s also responsible for new product development, design, and recipe optimization. Olivia was awarded the title Maître Fromager as designated by France’s Guilde Internationale des Fromagers de Saint-Uguzon in 2008. Olivia is a consultant to the trade for food events such as Fancy Food Show and is also a judge at cheese competitions such as the General Agricultural Competition in Paris for export cheeses and at the World Cheese Award.
ANDRÈ JEAN
Mr. André Jean is a microbiologist and works as a Scientific Evaluator with the Bureau of Microbial Hazards, Food Directorate, Health Canada. He obtained a Bachelor degree in Sciences with major in Microbiology from the University of Sherbrooke, Québec. Mr. Jean started his career with Health Canada as a laboratory technician in food microbiology with the Research Division of the Bureau of Microbial Hazards back in 1981. In 1988, he pursued his career as a Food Inspector and a Food Specialist with Health Canada, Ontario Region, and Québec Region. He briefly joined the creation of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency in 1997, but came back to Health Canada a year later as a Product Safety Inspector in the Québec Region. Since 2004, he is back with the Bureau of Microbial Hazards as a Scientific Evaluator in the Evaluation Division working in the development of policies, standards, and guidelines related to microbiological hazards in foods, reviewing submissions from the food industry for the control and/or reduction of microorganisms in food and developing educational tools in food safety for consumers. He is the public Co-chair of the Board of Directors for the Canadian Partnership for Consumer Food Safety Education. Through his career, Mr. Jean acquired experience in the application of the Food and Drugs Act and Regulations, and the Hazardous Products Act and Regulations, and he has acquired experience in food processing techniques and investigations through education, inspections, and evaluations.
GILLES JOURDENAIS
A true Epicurean, Gilles Jourdenais has been cultivating and sharing his passion for cheese for the past 25 years. Back in the ‘70s, His dad opened a store at the Atwater Market which operated on Saturdays only; he sold Cheddar, eggs, honey, and leaf tobacco. In 1983, when Gilles took over, he had only six employees under his direction, and was stocking a mere 25 varieties of cheeses. Since then, his store has been consistently expanding, his client base continually diversifying, and his selection of cheeses and fine foods has grown to over 1,000 products. Client satisfaction is at the heart of all of Gilles’s undertakings—his clients range from the curious neophyte to the connoisseur, and everything in between. Nowadays, Gilles is surrounded by a team of passionate and devoted people who are as enthusiastic as he is in helping others discover great new food ideas and products. In September 2008, Gilles opened a new store in Lachine Public Market, and in summer 2010, at Saint-Jacques Public Market. Since 1998, Fromagerie Atwater also developed a distribution business called «Aux Terroirs» specializing in marketing Québec artisan cheeses across Canada.
HANS KUNISCH
Hans Kunisch has been in the food business for almost half of his life. Originally from Connecticut, he has worked in restaurant kitchens in New York, Tokyo, and San Francisco. After settling in San Francisco, he entered into the distribution side of the business working at Domestic Cheese as Director of Sales and then as Director of Specialty Foods for Tony’s Fine Foods. He has since left Tony’s to start a Social Media and consulting business called West Coast Toast.
RÉMY LAMBERT, PH.D.
Rémy Lambert is Associate Dean of Research of the Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences at Laval University. After completing undergraduate and Master’s degrees in Agricultural Economics at Laval University, Rémy Lambert received his Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from Guelph University in 1991. He began his career at Laval University at the end of his doctoral studies. His interests are production economics and industrial organization. He served as the director of the Department of Agricultural Economics from March 1999 to December 2005 and is the founding director of the Center for Research in Economics of Agrifood (CREA) of the Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences at Laval University. He also initiated the first MBA in Agribusiness Management at Laval University and was responsible for the business intelligence unit, an entity dedicated to research in the field of food processing. From July 2007 until July 2011, Rémy served as the Associate Dean of Research for the Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences at Laval University. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Council of Agriculture and Food Development of the Quebec City region, as well as on the Board of the Association for Innovation in Agrifood (APIA). He is currently Chair of the Board of the Farm Management Expertise Centre (CEGA) and President of the Agrifood Coordinating Committee (Table de Concertation) for the Quebec Capital Region. He is a member of the Territorial Designations Committee of the Conseil des Appellations Réservées et des Termes Valorisants (CARTV). He is a Fellow of the George Morris Centre in Guelph, Ontario, an independent research center, very active in the Canadian Agrifood Industry and heavily consulted by the various levels of government and Canadian companies. Rémy has authored many scientific articles and numerous research reports, and given numerous scientific and professional conferences on both the national and international scene. In addition to the processing industry and food distribution, he focuses on issues affecting the aquaculture industry and fisheries, as well as the issues of regional or territorial trade names in the Quebec province.
MICHAEL D. LANDIS
Michael D. Landis is the National Training & Merchandising Manager for ANCO Fine Cheese. He is responsible for training cheese professionals utilizing one of the largest imported cheese portfolios in the United States. His seminars range from a 4 hour introduction to imported cheeses to 2 week comprehensive 5 Star Cheese seminars. With over 25 years of experience in wines and food, he conducts wine, beer, food and cheese pairing classes at cooking schools, vineyards, breweries and distributors. Michael also writes for several national publications focusing on wine and food pairings. His love of wine and food began while serving in the Marines in Europe in the mid 70’s. Since then, his travels have brought him all over the world, experiencing wine and food pairing from local village cuisine in France and Italy to working with world-class chefs. In November of 2010, Michael participated as a World Cheese Judge for the 2010 World Cheese Awards in Birmingham, England. He will follow this up with participation in the International Cheese Awards in Nantwich, England this July 2011. Michael has a unique way of teaching the complex world of cheese, wine and beer pairings, which makes it easy and understandable to each participant’s personal palate. Although he is not a sommelier or chef, Michael’s experiences and love of history color his creative approach to teaching and his hands on style makes a complex subject easy to understand and experience. In 2005, ANCO Fine Cheese offered Michael a position as corporate trainer for the company, where he is today. Over the past six years Michael has taught several thousand students the nuances of Specialty Cheese and continues his pairing of local and imported foods with wine and beer, and conducting classes all over the United States and the United Kingdom.
PHILIPPE LEGRAND, PH.D.
Philippe Legrand received his PhD in Nutritional Biochemistry from University of Paris in 1987. He is Professor of Biochemistry and Nutrition in the Agronomic University of Rennes (Agrocampus). He has worked for more than 25 years on unsaturated and saturated fatty acid metabolism and more precisely on fatty acid desaturation and protein acylation. He is chairman of the French committee for the fatty acid dietary recommendations in the Food Safety Agency (AFSSA).
GIUSEPPE LICITRA, PH.D.
Giuseppe Licitra was born in Ragusa, Sicily on February 15, 1958, and grew up on a dairy farm producing traditional cheeses. In May 1995, he earned a Ph.D. at the Animal Science Department with minors in Food Science and Nutrition at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., presenting a dissertation on “A Strategy for Managing Forages And Dairy Cows To Produce Ragusano Cheese in Sicily.” Since 2001, he is a full professor in “Animal Production” at the Agriculture Department of Catania University. In 1990, he founded the Hyblean Project which became a public entity on December 30, 1996 named Consorzio per la Ricerca sulla Filiera Lattiero-Casearia (CoRFiLaC), located in Ragusa. Since 1997, he has served as President of CoRFiLaC and has worked to the “Improvement of Sicilian dairy products’ quality in order to safeguard and to valorize the exceptional historical and cultural heritage which is testified in them, respecting needs of consumers,” with special focus towards the biodiversity factors determining traditional products quality and identity, the use of traditional tools as crucial equipment for the characterization of traditional cheese productions, the pasture influence on flavour compounds present in milk and cheese and their health properties. Since 2000, he is responsible for the PDO (Protected Denomination of Origin) of the “Ragusano” and “Pecorino Siciliano” cheeses. Since 2006, he has lead projects in Developing Countries (Benin, Algeria, Cyprus), where women hold a crucial role in the recovery, qualification, and valorization of the traditional productions of the rural world, to help them to prevent the disappearance of local traditional productions. In 2010, he founded the “World Wide Traditional Cheese Association,” aimed to develop a scientific and international network that allows researchers operating in the dairy sector to interact and integrate actions and knowledge necessary to characterize and safeguard scientifically the value of traditional productions.
SISTER NOELLA MARCELLINO PH.D.
Sister Noella Marcellino Ph.D. is a Benedictine nun of the Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem, CT, where she began making the Abbey’s Bethlehem cheese in 1977 according to a traditional technique taught to her by a native of the Auvergne region in France. She received her doctorate in Microbiology in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of Connecticut in 2003. With the aid of a Fulbright Scholarship to France in 1994, and a subsequent three year fellowship from the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), she traveled 30,000 km through traditional cheese-making regions collecting native strains of the yeast-like fungus Geotrichum candidum to assess its biochemical and genetic diversity. A documentary film about this journey, The Cheese Nun: Sister Noëlla’s Voyage of Discovery, produced by the Paris American Television Company, has been shown in film festivals and aired nationally on PBS Television in 2006. Sister Noella was honored with the reception of the International Academy of Gastronomy’s Grand Prix de la Science de l’Alimentation in 2005, and the French Food Spirit Award in Scientific Advancement, given in the Senate in Paris, France, in 2003.
NORMAN G. MARRIOTT, PH.D.
Dr. Marriott is a Professor Emeritus at Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University in the Department of Food Science & Technology. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees at the University of Missouri. After receiving his Ph.D. degree from Texas A&M University, Dr. Marriott joined the Department of Food Science & Technology at Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University where he has conducted research related to meat product stability and acceptability enhancement. He has authored three text and reference books on sanitation. Principles of Food Sanitation is now in its 5th edition and has been translated into six languages. He is the author of over 500 scientific articles, manuals, and abstracts and has developed 13 videos on HACCP, sanitation, or food processing. He has delivered more than 500 oral presentations in 20 different countries and has received nine professional awards, including three international awards.
BARRY MARTIN
Principal at communications design firm Hypenotic, Barry Martin has been helping brands and organizations doing things that matter to define, articulate, and manifest why their prospects should care about their offerings since ’98. Barry has worked with trail-blazing entrepreneurial brands like Fiesta Farms, The Gladstone Hotel, Fifth Town Cheese and Southbrook Vineyards, innovative non-profits like Local Food Plus, Sustain Ontario, The Ontario Culinary Tourism Alliance, and The Greenbelt, as well as iconic brands like Bell Canada, CanadianImmigrant.ca, Metroland and Sympatico. Barry believes brands are increasingly being measured by what people say about them, not what they say about themselves; that brands become more relevant by moving the needle on issues that matter to their communities; that people notice, trust and evangelize for brands that are ON a mission and filter those who simply HAVE a mission; that marketing today means building relationships from within which you will sometimes sell; and that the speed and convenience with which people share information today is a boon to those who “get it,” and bane to those who don’t.
DAVID MCCOY, PH.D.
David McCoy is currently the Vice President – Product Research at Dairy Management Inc., where he is responsible for the coordination of the five Dairy Application Laboratories, and for the direction of the cheese and milk research programs within DMI. Dr. McCoy has a Bachelor of Science degree in microbiology from Kansas State University and a Doctorate in food science from the University of Illinois. Dr. McCoy started in the dairy industry as the Technical Director for Dederich Corporation before moving to Chr. Hansen Laboratories. He held a variety of research, product development, technical service, and marketing positions in his 28 years at Chr. Hansen. When he left Chr. Hansen, he was the Principal Scientist – North America for the Cultures and Enzyme division. For over 15 years, Dr. McCoy was an invited instructor at dairy short courses including those sponsored by the University of Wisconsin, Washington State University, and California Poly, where he would lecture about cultures, enzymes, yogurt manufacture, probiotics, and Italian cheese manufacture.
CRISTI MENARD
Born and raised in rural Kansas, Cristi has long been dedicated to expanding her horizons. At Boston University, she studied International Relations and later taught English in rural Japan. She continues to travel to exotic locales and spends her spare time cooking, reading books about goats, and driving fast cars. If she could take a single cheese plate to a desert island, it would feature a Wabash Cannonball, Pleasant Ridge Reserve, and Montgomery’s Cheddar. Cristi joined Pastoral from Whole Foods and she has held positions of increasing responsibility including store manager for Lake Street, serving as manager for the launch of our newest Chicago French Market location, and overseeing our Broadway location and E-Commerce store.
GREG O’DROWSKY
Greg O’Drowsky is currently the Vice President – Quality Assurance at Saputo Dairy Products of Canada. Greg has been in the cheese industry for 30 years with jobs ranging from plant Quality Control Manager to Technical Services Coordinator for the Saputo Cheddar Cheese program including cheese grader. He has been responsible for the development of the Saputo Aged Cheddar Deli program and developed the cheddar cheese program for Canada’s largest food retailer. Greg also trains Saputo’s plant grading teams to assure high quality cheese for customers. Cheese is his passion (after golf) and everyday he learns something new about this dynamic industry.
KEN ODZA
Ken Odza is a trial partner at Stoel Rives and leads its food liability practice. Ken counsels clients of all sizes on issues related to FDA regulatory compliance, FDA inspections, recalls, potential Reportable Food Registry events, product contamination and recall insurance coverage, litigation prevention, crisis management, supplier agreements, and product labeling. Ken is a frequent lecturer at food law conferences. Ken is a board member of both Food Alliance and TeamChild. He is deeply committed to pro-bono civil rights litigation, child advocacy, and sustainable food.
POLLY O’GRADY
Polly, is the Vice President of Weber Shandwick and a founding vice president of the Minneapolis Farm and Food Advocacy Group, has more than 20 years of communications and public relations experience through her work with agricultural, food processing, and industrial businesses. Since 2002, she has had a lead role in the agency’s award-winning crisis readiness program for the U.S. dairy industry. Polly’s past experiences include serving as a lead writer for a Minneapolis-based agricultural advertising and public relations firm and as editor of a magazine for agricultural retailers. She has a bachelor’s degree in agricultural journalism and a master’s in agricultural economics from Virginia Tech. She grew up in South Carolina, working on her family’s dairy farm.
MARIA SALOMÉ PAIS, PH.D.
Professor Maria Salomé Pais is currently the Head of the Plant Systems Biology Laboratory at the Centre for Biodiversity, Functional & Integrative Genomics (BioFIG) of the University of Lisbon in Portugal. She is also the President and CEO of Fytozimus Biotech Inc., a biotechnology company based in Portugal and Canada that manufactures natural plant based enzymes used in the cheese industry. Dr. Pais leads a laboratory working in Plant Molecular Biology. She has authored numerous international publications and holds several patents for applications in Plant Molecular Biology. She has also consulted for European agencies such as NATO JSTC scientific panel, has worked extensively on Assessment of the Impact of Genetically Modified Plants, and is a member of the Scientific Committee of National Geographic Magazine, among many other prestigious international organizations. As a child, during the summer months at her grandmother’s cottage in center of Portugal, she helped in making various types of cheeses. As she grew, this interest transformed into a passion which she still carries with her today. Her extensive knowledge of the cheesemaking processes combined with her scientific background in plant biology and genetic manipulation led her to develop new and innovative techniques in cheese coagulation that resulted in her patent for production of a natural, plant derived recombinant enzyme from Cynara cardunculus. Her key focus at this American Cheese Society Conference will be on the production, by yeasts, of plant aspartic proteinases with proteolytic and milk clotting activity; she will also discuss the properties of natural plant enzymes in the cheese making process. Dr. Pais has been honoured with Palmes Académiques (French Government), is the recipient of the prize for the best conference of the scientific meeting on Gametic Embryogenesis held in Finland 1998, Outstanding Professional Award, ABI–USA 2001, American Order of Merit (representing Portugal), ABI–USA 2009, and Woman of the Year (Representing Portugal) ABI–USA 2009.
HEATHER PAXSON, PH.D.
Heather Paxson is Associate Professor of Anthropology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she teaches courses on food and culture and on artisanship and artisan economies. She has conducted ethnographic research among artisan cheesemakers in New England, Wisconsin, and California. Paxson’s research articles, published in anthropology and food studies journals, have won two prizes in food writing: the Belasco Prize for Scholarly Excellence and the Sophie Coe Prize in Food History (honorary mention). Her book on American artisan cheese and cheesemakers is due out in 2013 with University of California Press.
ERIC PEHLE
Eric Pehle is Executive Vice President of Weber Shandwick. During his 17 years at Weber Shandwick, Eric has worked on a variety of issues and crises for clients including food contaminations, concerns about terrorism, accidental deaths and injuries and more. Eric has led Weber Shandwick’s work with Dairy Management Inc. since 2001, during which time he has led more than a dozen industry crisis trainings.
DAVID PELZER
David Pelzer is Senior Vice President, Strategic Communications, Dairy Management Inc. (DMI). David leads issues management and crisis preparedness efforts, along with dairy producer communications and industry partner leader programs, for DMI—the national dairy checkoff program, www.dairycheckoff.com. These efforts include media relations with national consumer and dairy trade media; and relationship-building efforts with dairy industry partners. David also heads up the national dairy farmer image program, which aims to maintain and build confidence in the public image of dairy farmers and the dairy industry.
JONATHAN RICHARDSON
Jonathan Richardson has been living in and selling cheese to Chicago for 10 years, first behind the counter and, since 2006, at Zuercher and Co. He has had the opportunity to visit some of the finest cheesemaking regions of the world, but still prefers the Wisconsin Driftless.
WILL STUDD
Will Studd has been working with specialty cheese for almost four decades and has travelled extensively in his vocation. After establishing a chain of delicatessens in central London during the 1970’s, he migrated to Melbourne, Australia, in 1981, where he has done much to promote a greater understanding of what local hand made farmstead cheese is all about, as well as championing the cause for cheese made from raw milk. Will is the executive producer and presenter of Cheese Slices, the only international television series to look at the benchmark regional cheeses of the world and the global resurgence in artisanal cheese-making . The forty-one episode five part series has been released on 5 DVDs and is currently aired in Europe , the Middle East, China, Japan, India, SE Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. The series is used in colleges in parts of the USA. A sixth series is currently in production and will premiere in 2012. Will is the author of two award winning books – Chalk and Cheese (published 1998) and Cheese Slices (published 2007). Both are recognized by cheese specialists around the world as a valuable guide to specialist cheese and have become highly sought after by collectors. Will was awarded the prestigious L’Odre du Merite Agricole by the French government for his defense of traditional raw milk cheese in 2002, and promoted to the rank of Officier of the L’Odre du Merite Agricole in recognition for his services and support of traditional ‘lait cru’ cheese in 2009. He is also recognized by France’s prestigious Guilde des Fromagers as an Ambassaduer and Maitre Fromager.
CHAD VINCENT
Chad Vincent is an experienced General Manager with over 25 years of high profile consumer marketing, international marketing and general management, and product development at companies ranging from Fortune 50 to $100Million consumer products organizations. Mr. Vincent started his career in the classic packaged goods / brand background at companies including H. J. Heinz and Welch Foods. In 1989, Chad moved to Miller Brewing where he worked in Brand Management and International for 10 years before joining the $1 Billion Finnish company Fiskars Brands where he held a dual role of Chief Branding Officer and Division President. Today, Chad is heading marketing and building the retail presence for Sartori Cheese in Plymouth, Wisconsin. While at Miller, Chad directed marketing and branding efforts for Miller’s $2BB Premium Brands portfolio including Miller Genuine Draft, Foster’s, Leinenkugels, Icehouse, and Molson. He spent 5 years in Miller International, including stints heading up all non-US marketing efforts and international operations and logistics, and 4 years creating a presence in Asia as the President/MD of Miller Asia-Pacific. His creative work was awarded “Campaign Of The Year” in the United Kingdom in 1995, and for his efforts behind the brand introduction of Molson Ice in 1993, Brand Week magazine awarded him and his team with a “Brammy Award” for the ‘New Product of the Year’ category. In 1999, Chad moved back to H.J. Heinz company where he was the Managing Director for Frozen Meals – driving a $500MM business including frozen food brands such as Boston Market, Budget Gourmet, and Smart Ones from Weight Watchers. At Fiskars, as President of the Outdoor Recreation Division / Gerber Outdoor Gear, the business doubled in 2 years to over $100million in sales, while being nominated for the Kelly Award for outstanding creative print in multiple years. Outside of work at Fiskars, Chad is heavily involved in the marketing and advertising community as a charter member of the Chief Marketing Officer Leadership Roundtable, and is on the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) National Advertising Review Board. Chad is married, has 4 children and is involved with youth hockey in Wisconsin.
ARI WEINZWEIG
Ari Weinzweig moved to Ann Arbor from his hometown of Chicago to attend the University of Michigan. After graduating with a degree in Russian history, he went to work washing dishes in a local restaurant and soon discovered that he loved the food business. Along with his partner Paul Saginaw, Ari started Zingerman’s Delicatessen in 1982 with a $20,000 bank loan, a staff of two, a small selection of great-tasting specialty foods and a relatively short sandwich menu. Today, Zingerman’s is an Ann Arbor institution—the source of great food and great experiences for over 500,000 visitors every year. Ari is involved in many educational activities. He has served as a board member and president of The American Cheese Society and as a board member of the Retail Division of the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade. He is a frequent guest speaker in business classes at the University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University, as well as at various food and business conferences in this country and abroad including the American Institute of Wine and Food, Inc. Oldway Preservation and Exchange Trust, the Gathering of Games, and the NASFT Fancy Food Show. Additionally, Ari has written over 211 issues of Zingerman’s newsletter, “Zingerman’s News,” and has contributed to such magazines as Fine Cooking, Specialty Foods, Gourmet Retailer, and Food and Wine. He has received praise for his books: Zingerman’s Guide to Better Bacon, Zingerman’s Guide to Good Olive Oil, Zingerman’s Guide to Good Vinegar, Zingerman’s Guide to Good Parmigiano-Reggiano, Zingerman’s Guide to Giving Great Service, and his newest book, Zingerman’s Guide to Good Leading, Part 1: A Lapsed Anarchists Approach to Building a Great Business, published October 1, 2010.
MATTHEW WIANT
Matthew Wiant recently joined Murray’s cheese as General Manger, following a 25 year career in the food industry. Matt grew up on a Dairy farm in Upstate NY, and received his BS in Food Engineering from Cornell. He started at General Foods in their Dover manufacturing facility where he was very involved in developing new processing technologies and setting up quality systems for the manufacture of chocolate, coconut, desserts, and meal accompaniments. After 8 years working in Food technology, General Foods (Kraft) sent Matt to get his MBA at the Wharton school of Business. Matt then moved into the business side at Kraft, working in Marketing and Sales. Following 11 years at Kraft, he entered the beverage industry and launched Dannon Spring water. After 4 years, Dannon water had become a leading National brand and was acquired by Coke. Matt then had stints in the Wine & Spirits business (SVP Marketing Allied Domecq), and the Hotel Business (SVP of concept development for Starwood Hotels). To further develop his entrepreneurial side, Matt also enjoyed start up experiences at Atkins Nutritionals (as CMO) transforming the low carb concept into a food company which was eventually acquired by a PE firm, and at True Lemon (as President) where his team developed new technology for crystallized citrus products which are now sold Nationwide. Matt holds several patents in confectionary processing and has patents pending in the citrus area. He has kept his quality control skills honed with recent HACCP certification, and working on AIB and SQF certification programs at True Lemon. Matt lives with his wife Kathy and 3 children in Connecticut in a pre-revolutionary war house which he spends “way too much time” fixing up.
DAPHNE ZEPOS
Daphne Zepos ranks among the most outspoken and dynamic cheese advocates in the United States. She is a former board member for the American Cheese Society, and was Chairperson of the ACS Annual Cheese Competition from 1999 to 2002. Daphne was a co-founder of the Cheese of Choice Coalition, an advocacy group dedicated to the preservation of raw milk and small production cheeses. From 2002 to 2005, Daphne played a lead role at the Artisanal Premium Cheese Center. She selected and matured more than 300 cheeses in Artisanal Premium Cheese Center’s affinage cheese caves, assembled many cheese collections, established Artisanal’s Affinage Internship Program and, with Max McCalman, created and taught Artisanal’s Cheese Master Class program. Today, she teaches two- and three-day cheesemonger training programs at The Cheese School of San Francisco and at Zingerman’s in Ann Arbor. In 2006, Daphne founded the Essex Street Cheese Company, which imports 4 hand selected cheeses from Europe: a French Comté, an Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano, and 2 Dutch aged Goudas.