Last week I had the opportunity that every cheese lover dreams of – to go to the American Cheese Society’s National Conference in Raleigh, NC! This is the place where, once a year, all American Cheesemakers gather to share their techniques, learn from experts around the world, and compete in a cheese-off! Tillamook had the great opportunity to be a part of the conference where we sampled cheese, entered into the competition, and one Tillamook employee was even invited to speak to a room full of cheese lovers!

What was the best part? There were many, but one stands alone as THE BEST! The beer and cheese pairing with some of the area’s best local beers and cheeses from all over American? That was pretty good, but not the best. The opportunity to talk with the most accomplished cheesemakers from around the US who’s passion for cheese is palpable? That was awesome too, but not quite the best. Tasting more cheese than I previously thought was possible? Yes! That was the best part!

In case you didn’t know, cheese in America isn’t just about American cheese singles! There were over 1,700 different cheeses entered into the competition this year and attendees of the Festival of Cheese have the chance try them…ALL of them! It was amazing. From goat cheese, to sheep cheese to cow cheese – the best of the best were all there to try. I am pretty sure I nearly turned myself lactose intolerant (luckily that’s not possible)! Amazingly, none of the cheeses I tried were bad – they all had good qualities that could be appreciated.

The bad part about having the free reign to try cheeses like that? When I got back to Oregon, I was doing some grocery shopping and almost started sampling cheese straight from the deli case. I had grown accustomed to seeing a cheese I wanted to try and trying it…and that is a great way to shop!

One of the other great takeaways of being employed by a great American cheesemaker is that we get to celebrate awards given out for the hard work of our farmers, production teams, and cheesemakers. Tillamook had a great showing and out of 1,700+ cheeses entered, Tillamook took home top 3 awards for four cheeses:

- First Place: Tillamook Colby
- Third Place: Tillamook Special Reserve Extra Sharp Cheddar
- Third Place: Hot Habanero Jack
- Second Place: Unsalted Sweet Cream Butter

If you ever have the opportunity to go the American Cheese Society Conference, please do it! You will not be disappointed by what you get to experience…and taste!

- Matt of the Tillamook Team

By Matt

Photo courtesy of the American Cheese Society

It’s been a couple weeks since I returned from the American Cheese Society meeting in Montreal, Quebec and there are always a hundred things to take care of when you’ve been away from work for a week. It wasn’t until this weekend that I had the chance to reflect on the meeting.

During the week here at Tillamook I work with a great group of people who are responsible for directly supporting our farmers to ensure we have the highest quality milk available. In addition, our group is responsible for all the food safety and quality activities from farm to consumer. So, it may seem a bit odd that my weekends are often spent on my own farm making small batches of yogurt and cheese for friends and family. Anyhow, amongst the 5-gallon batches of Greek yogurt, gruyere and ricotta cheese I had in the works, I finally had time to sit down and share a bit about the American Cheese Society meeting.

First, it is extremely gratifying to see our team here at Tillamook recognized in the cheese competition. With 1676 different cheeses entered, to place in the top three positions in any category is exciting. We received 4 awards which included a first place for our Colby a mild cheese meant to be eaten soon after production. Colby is blended with Monterey Jack to make Colby Jack. It is fitting to win for Colby because we have already been recognized at the U. S. Championship Cheese Contest® for having America’s best Monterey Jack and Colby Jack. In addition, Oregon, with almost 40 different cheese factories currently in production, was well represented with a total of 9 awards received including a “best in show” for Rogue Creamery’s Rogue River Blue This is the second time Rogue has won best in show in 3 years and if you haven’t tried their Blue cheeses you should, they are incredible.

Quebec was the perfect place to hold the meeting. Their cheese making tradition began in the mid-1600s and their history has been one of diversity both in scale of production as well as varieties of cheese produced. With the leadership of folks like David Gremmels, Christine Hyatt and many others, the American Cheese Society and the Oregon Cheese Guild are maintaining and reinvigorating the diversity and camaraderie that makes the cheese industry special. The end result for all of us cheese lovers is a growing availability of a lot of different cheeses to try. So while there should always be Tillamook cheese in your refrigerator, I would also encourage you to try some of the other great artisan cheeses made here in Oregon. We are pretty proud of our accomplishments.

By Scott