Last issue, we introduced some important State Tax Law information that all ACS members should know.
If you are a new ACS member or didn't get around to reading it last time, you can click here to read more. Please take the time to check out this very important information!
Parlez-Vous Français?
Attention Québécois and French-Speaking Cheesemakers!
We now have the 2009 Judging & Competition Entry Material in French.
A big thanks to Cecile Delannes of the French Cheese Club for taking on this monumental task!
Congratulations
Scholarship Winners!
2009 Cheesemaker Scholarships have been announced! Please join us in congratulating these individuals.
Full: María de Jesús López Lacteos Acatic
Andrew Johnson Shelburne Farms
Antonio Hernández Queseria Los Hernández
Christopher Roelli Roelli Cheese Company
Partial: Chris Chmiel Integration Acres
Aubrey Thomason Zingermans Creamery
Alessandra Trompeo La Casa dei Fromaggi
Welcome to the June issue of the CheeseWire Monthly Newsletter!
Conference is quickly approaching and that means....deadlines! June 12 marks the Early Bird Conference Registration Deadline as well as the On-Time Deadline for Judging & Competition. If you have any questions or need forms, visit cheesesociety.org or contact headquarters!
Cheese in the Heart of Texas Early Bird Deadline - Save Money & Secure Your Spot!
We don't mean to sound like a broken record, but the Early Bird Deadline is almost upon us... That means you are very close to missing out on a lowered registration price. Early Birds save $100 on the conference registration fee.
The Early Bird Deadline is Friday, June 12. We don't mind if you mail it, fax it, email it or complete it online - just get your forms postmarked or time-stamped to us by that date and save some cash!
Besides saving money, the earlier you get forms to us, the better chance you have of getting your coveted first session choice. Tasting sessions, in particular, are prone to filling up. If you need to Educate Your Palate or taste Texas Terroir, don't wait too long! Also, the Cheese in the Heart of Texas Tour will be a not-to-miss trip to some of the best cheese spots in the Austin-area, but there are only 10 spots left. It's first-come, first-served, so don't delay! Click here to register online now.
Opening Session Keynoter - Jim Hightower
In addition to sessions, all Full Conference Registrants and Thursday Day Pass Registrants will have the absolute joy of attending the Opening General Session (sponsored by Sartori Foods) with Keynoter, Jim Hightower.
One of America's most well known Texans, Jim Hightower has served in public office (Texas Agricultural Commissioner 1983-1991), written books (7 to date), is a daily radio broadcaster (over 150 stations including NPR) and editor of an edgy newsletter. A man of many words, Jim is an advocate of farmer's everywhere and a supporter of clean and healthy food initiatives.
American Cheese Society is thrilled to have "America's most popular populist" as the keynote speaker at the first ACS conference to be held in Texas. We welcome all of you to enjoy his insights and experiences!
NEW Conference Event Merchandising Competition!
Dear Members,
We are thrilled to announce that we are accepting applications for the first ever American Cheese Society Conference Retailer Merchandising Competition! This year's premier event is sponsored by Roth Kase USA /Emmi USA in conjunction with Lowe Refrigeration. The Merchandising Competition will take place on Friday August 7th. Just as our annual Judging and Competition for our cheesemakers has become the leading competition for cheese in the North and South America we want to establish a competition that will honor the retailer members! Here is your opportunity to demonstrate your skills and compete with others to vie for the award to prove it. There are many great cheese cases out there representing the producers very well and this competition will be a great venue to show what you got. Each team will have a series of four skills that will be evaluated within the established time parameters. The competition will include an evaluation of cutting, wrapping, merchandising and cheese knowledge. All of these skills are essential to supporting the success of the cheese and this will be a great way to share your insights with the membership. This competition will be modeled on International Caseus Awards.
The team with the highest point score overall will win "ACS Cheesemonger of the Year Award". Each team will consist of two members. All team members must be American Cheese Society members. Interested parties must send their application and fee in to be admitted into the competition. Entries this year are limited. They will be accepted on a first come, first fill basis.
Thank you for considering this opportunity!
Jodie Wische and Cathy Strange ACS Conference 2009 Co-chairs
Conference Hotel Information Stay Close to the Excitement!
Make the most of your conference experience and support our association at the same time! When you stay at our headquarters hotel, you can connect with fellow attendees, be at the center of all the activity, and also help our association meet its goals and obligations.
Each time we book our conference, we project the total number of attendees who will be booking rooms at the hotel. This total number of rooms is called a "room block." It gives us more buying power and allows us to negotiate the best rates for you, our member-not only on the hotel room, but also on food, beverages, and other services.
Fortunately for members like you, supporting our association is very easy. Just book your room at our special conference rate-you'll save money, spend less time and effort with worry and travel, and enjoy being at the center of all of the excitement, networking, and fun!
To book your hotel reservation at the ACS host hotel (in the heart of downtown Austin!), click here.
CheeseWire: The Online Network of ACS
(it's more than an e-newsletter!)
Social networking is everywhere - small businesses, corporations, celebrities, politicians - it's huge. ACS is proud to announce that we've carved out our own little space in the social networking landscape. Visit http://cheesewire.cheesesociety.org to network with ACS members and other cheese enthusiasts. Our goal is to become the go-to place for artisan cheese and cheese professionals. Post your questions, pictures or just send a note to someone you haven't seen since last year's conference.
If you need more assistance, then please click here to RSVP for a webinar all about getting started. The webinar will take place on Monday, June 15. More information is available upon request.
HACCP Trainings at ACS Conference Don't Miss Out.
Are you planning to attend Steritech's HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) Cheesemaker Session Wednesday morning at this year's conference?
Why should you attend? Let's take a page out of the Raw Milk Cheesemakers Associations Newsletter for each of the last two issues. Current President Alyce Birchenough is leading this group to premier status with an excellent Newsletter, two received thus far. In Vol. 1. HACCP and the Hog Island Oyster Company story spoke of confidence in their product, so much so that Alyce ate "Raw Oysters" for the first time in 30 years. Now Alyce didn't just turn 30. Something happened that stopped her eating raw oysters. Fancy that from someone who makes raw milk cheese, something happened that put a stop to her consumption of raw shell fish. The confidence returned when she heard an "accurate and unpretentious" (I interpret this to be information presented in a matter fact manor) presentation from the owner. Hog Island Oyster Company has in place a mandatory HACCP plan. Alyce goes on to encourage all members of the Raw Milk Cheesemakers Association to put HACCP in place. In Vol. 2. Contains a reprint of an article Titled: Exposing the Perfidy of Biofilms? Perfidy means:-
1. Deliberate breach of faith; calculated violation of trust; treachery: "the fink, whose perfidy was equaled only by his gall" (Gilbert Millstein).
2. The act or an instance of treachery.
Biofilms are the invisible malice that lies in our plant, invisible, not able to be seen, what we see is verging on gross to a microbiologist and what appears to be gross to the naked eye is a sewer to the Microbiologist. Raw Milk Cheese is a product that does not meet the expectations of many consumers and across the country it does not meet the expectations of many scientific professionals whom we need on our side (advocacy). But this could change simply by demonstrating with accurate and unpretentious data that we as Cheesemakers know what we are doing. A HACCP plan is major step forward in this communication process, an auditable procedure that allows for monitoring and continuous improvement. From our Farms to our Packing Rooms we need HACCP plans and audits conducted so that we can have the irrefutable evidence that we produce safe products.
Every Farmer (who's milk goes to raw milk cheese) and Cheesemaker (who's cheese is raw or not) needs to attend the Steritech Sessions on HACCP. In these sessions they will receive accurate and unpretentious information on how to set up rudimentary HACCP in a Cheese Plant. Once they are done with these sessions they will need to learn the Good Practices that Produce Good Results and thus deliver on their HACCP goals. The ACS as an organization has come a long way, getting together to educate membership about HACCP (the single most powerful tool on food safety available) and giving members a tangible takeaway is a milestone, don't be left standing outside the room on this one. Take home the tools to apply HACCP in your Parlor and Plant. Neville McNaughton CheezSorce and ACS Board Member
Google employs...Goats? No Kidding.
Google is already known for their innovative business practices and creative office environment. But last month, they caught on to something that many ACS members (the goat cheesemakers, in particular) have known for a long time: goats are an environmentally-friendly alternative to gas-powered lawn mowers and chemicals for weed control.
In May, Google posted on their blog that they have "hired" 200 goats to control weeds at their headquarters (aka the Googleplex) in Mountain View, California. The blog specifically mentions that, "It costs us about the same as mowing, and goats are a lot cuter to watch than lawn mowers." Read their blog post here
Photo courtesy of Google
More Member & Industry News
ACS members and makers of fresh mozzarella products, Lioni Latticini, have unveiled a brand new website. Their press release states that, "The completion of their newly updated website is part of an ongoing effort in re-branding Lioni to fully reflect the uniqueness of their diverse product line." The site provides visitors with news and events, product information and recipes with printable recipe cards. To learn more, visit the website at www.lionimozzarella.com
Virginia's Meadow Creek Dairy gained a lot of attention from ACS last year when their cheese, Grayson, was second runner up Best of Show. The Winston-Salem Journal also took notice recently. The newspaper featured an article about the history of Meadow Creek Dairy, how Helen & Rick Feete got their start, their passion for cheesemaking and also included a recipe Tartiflette using their farmstead Grayson cheese. Click here to read the full story.
Ricki Carroll of New England Cheesemaking Supply Co. and Eileen Leverentz of Leener's were interviewed for an article about home cheesemaking for the Akron Beacon Journal and Columbia Tribune. As people are becoming more aware of where their food comes from, home cheesemaking is becoming more and more popular. Leeners, which sells kits to make other fermented foods (such as beer, mustard, etc) is quoted that "Cheesemaking is our largest -selling product line. We sell more cheese-making supplies than we do beer- and winemaking supplies combined." Click here to read the full article on these two ACS members, including their mozzarella recipes.
10 Best Places in the United States to Eat Cheese - Hotel & Reservations Blog picked their favorites and, of course, ACS members were on the list! Artisanal in New York and Baricelli Inn in Cleveland were among the favorites. View the entire list here.
A Different Type of Cheese Contest...
Although the American Cheese Society's mission is to support and promote American cheeses, we could not deny the newsworthiness of this cheese story from across the pond. On May 25th, crowds gathered on Cooper's Hill in Gloucester, England for their cheese-rolling race. One round of cheese (a 7-8 lb Double Gloucester) is rolled down the hill and the race participants chase after it just as they do every other year around this time.
The goal of the sport sounds easy enough but is deceiving - the hill is extremely treacherous. The official website states that, "the slope has a gradient that is in places 1-in-2 and in others 1-in-1, its surface is very rough and uneven and it is almost impossible to remain on foot for the descent. Injuries incurred are usually minor and competitors (particularly the successful ones) enter again year after year."
Despite the injuries, it remains a popular event that has been happening for hundreds of years. Visit www.cheese-rolling.co.uk for more.
In addition to sessions, all Full Conference Registrants and Thursday Day Pass Registrants will have the absolute joy of attending the Opening General Session (
