Last Saturday, I spent the day at the San Antonio Zoo celebrating Mother’s Day in true cheesy style! My friendly brand ambassadors helped spread the Tillamook Loaf Love by sharing cheesy samples and taking photos. In honor of Mother’s Day, the first 100 moms who came to the zoo dressed in orange even got in free! Visitors played bingo all across the zoo and shared their photos on Instagram for a chance to win a year’s supply of Tillamook Cheese!

Here are some photos from the Instagram contest and my day at the zoo!

The Loaf Love Tour will be in San Antonio until May 23 giving out samples, coupons, and smiles to everyone they meet – so don’t miss out! Be sure to check out the tour schedule to see if there are stops near you!

I’ll be hanging out on Twitter and Facebook if you want to say hi!

By Loafy

The three finalists in our 3rd annual Tillamook Cheese Factory Grilled Cheese Contest cook-off competed last Saturday, April 27 at the Cheese Factory to determine who makes the best darned Tillamook Grilled Cheese sandwich on the planet. From a field of 90 entries, narrowed to seven semi-finalists, these three grilled cheese lovin’ finalists did their best to impress six judges to take the Grand Prize Winner title. And impress they did with three very different, unique, and cheesy recipes.

Colleen Bill of Post Falls, Idaho brought her Grilled Stromboli, with lots of Tillamook Shredded Italian Blend Cheese and Vintage White Smoked Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese and was our 2nd runner up. Donna Beck of Bonney Lake, WA competed with her Cheddar and Ham with Spiced Apple Bacon Compote and Maple Butter, a slightly sweet and spicy delight with our Sharp Cheddar. Donna went home with 24 pounds of cheese and a goodie basket as our 1st runner up. But at the end of the day, the creator of the unique and savory Spicy Turkey Cranberry Grilled Cheese walked away with the $500 Grand Prize, along with a gift basket chock-full of Tillamook goodies and bragging rights for the best Tillamook Grilled Cheese. Karla Pollich of Portland, OR, packed her sandwich with thick slices of Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheddar and Tillamook Swiss, then grilled it up on sourdough bread with herbed Turkey, bacon and a cranberry jalapeno jelly. Karla’s sandwich will be featured at the Creamery Café at the Cheese Factory this week so come on out and give it a try!

Our visitors also got into the act by sampling all three of the contestant’s sandwiches and voting with their applause for the Audience Favorite. This year the voting was closer than ever, with our judges declaring a three-way tie! All three contestants took home coupons for Tillamook Cheese or Ice Cream.

Join us next year for the 4th Annual Contest, and thanks for celebrating National Grilled Cheese month with us this April!

By Susan P.

In honor of National Grilled Cheese Month, I’ve been cooking up a lot of delicious sandwiches! It’s always a challenge to get the perfect grilled cheesy texture, so I thought I’d look to the Tillamook Kitchen Quick Tips for some help. There’s a tip from Dave Danhi, of The Grilled Cheese Truck that suggests making a sandwich press by wrapping a brick or some tiles in foil. I used a small marble rectangular trivet I had laying around the house, wrapped it in foil, and got cookin!

This tip worked great! My grilled cheese came out perfectly melted, pressed, and crisp (but not burnt!) If you’re looking to make some delicious grilled cheese, but don’t want to invest in a fancy press, I highly suggest using this tip to make your own!

Have you tried any of the Tillamook Kitchen Quick Tips yet!?!

By Amalya

Our team had such a great time at The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen in San Francisco, giving free grilled cheese to our fans in the area! Thanks to everyone who visited, and to everyone who entered our #Cheeseaholic Instagram photo contest. The winner is this ultra-cheesy, grilled cheese photo from @ob_ces_sivetraveler!

We wish we could have chosen every photo to win! Here are a few more of our favorites:

Follow @Tillamook on Instagram and share the #LoafLove with us!

By Katie

Guess what, cheese fans: it’s National Grilled Cheese Day! In honor of this cheesiest, gooiest, meltiest of holidays, we’re putting all of our favorite fixins on sale for one day only. Hop over to the Tillamook Shop to get 20% off our favorite Grilled Cheese items. Think fast – the sale only lasts one day!

By Katie

April 12^th is National Grilled Cheese Day, and Tillamook is helping you celebrate!

Tillamook is taking over San Francisco to celebrate National Grilled Cheese Day! Stop by The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen for a FREE grilled cheese sandwich, prepared by gourmet grilled cheese master and Tillamook Kitchen Chef, Heidi Gibson! Stop by The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen at 1 South Park from 5-7 PM for your free sandwich.

Plus, enter to win a year’s supply of cheese! Share your cheesiest grilled cheese moments on Instagram from April 8-12! Use #Cheeseaholic and tag @Tillamook to enter. Click here for official rules.

By Tillamook

Do you think you have what it takes to help choose the next winner of the Tillamook Cheese Factory Grilled Cheese Recipe Contest? Tell us why and you could be part of the judges’ panel, spending your Saturday tasting yummy recipes from our three finalists then telling the world whose recipe reigns the cheesiest!

How to Enter
1) Send an email to fans@tillamook.com and tell us why you deserve to be one of the judges for this year’s cook-off. Whether it’s your love for Tillamook Cheese, an eye for the perfect grill mark, an obsession with grilled cheese – or all three! – we want to know!
2) Submit your entry by midnight on Monday, April 15.

The winner will be selected and notified no later than Friday, April 19. The contest cook-off will take place at the Tillamook Cheese Factory in Tillamook, Oregon on Saturday, April 27. See official rules here.

Good luck!

By Loafy

I’m a longtime lover of a grilled cheese sandwich, but lately, I’ve been searching for an extra kick in my ooey gooey toasty creations. After countless taste tests, I’ve found these five additions to be the perfect spicy complement to my grilled cheese addiction.

Gulden’s Spicy Brown Mustard
Gulden’s is known for its spicy brown mustard, which includes a blend of mustard seeds and spices. If you’re looking for a little spice, without getting too crazy, spicy mustard might be the choice for you – hot, but not too spicy!

Kelly’s Habanero Jelly
If you’re nervous about going too spicy, but want to dapple in the Habanero world, this is the perfect jelly for you! Made with a blend of Habanero and Bell Peppers, this unique jelly is a perfect balance of spicy and sweet.

Secret Aardvark Habanero Hot Sauce
This Portland native sauce is a mix of habanero peppers and roasted tomatoes that complements the creaminess of Tillamook Cheese without commandeering the flavor of the sandwich as a whole. With a taste that is spicier than Tabasco, it’s a great choice for the spice seeker.

Sriracha
This sauce was named after its birthplace, the Thai seaside town Si Racha. Sriracha Chilli sauce is made from sun ripped chilis ground into a smooth paste with vinegar, salt, garlic, and sugar. Sweeter than Tabasco, this sauce is a friend to any grilled cheese looking for a kick of heat.

Jalapeños 
This chili pepper means business. If you’ve tried Tillamook Pepper Jack, you’ve sampled the spice, but if you’re looking for more, try adding some into your sandwich. You’ve seen them, tasted them, and maybe even shed a few tears for them in sandwiches like The Jalapeno Popper Sandwich.

By Amalya

It wouldn’t be National Grilled Cheese Month without grilling up a few Cheese’wiches!
If you haven’t made your own Cheese’wich yet, what are you waiting for!?! You can make your own Cheese’wich using the Facebook app, or download the free app for Android or iPhone! Share your Cheese’wich with me on Facebook or on Twitter (don’t forget to tag @TillamookCheese)!
I loaf making Cheese’wiches of all of my friends! Can you guess which of the Loaf Life Bloggers these cheesy faces belong to!?!

Follow along with Tillamook on Pinterest as we celebrate National Grilled Cheese Month!

By Loafy

Get your grilled cheese on with Tillamook all month long on Pinterest! What better way to celebrate these delicious 30 days than with recipes, tips, and all things grilled cheesy!? Each day, a new pin on our “Grilled Cheese (Smorgas)Board” Pinterest board will be revealed for our fans! Tune in for chances to repin and win!
Follow along here!

To enter sweepstakes:
1) Follow Tillamook on Pinterest
2) Repin any “Win This” pin for a chance to win that item!
3) All winners will be announced at the end of the month on their re-pinned pin, and the original Tillamook pin
Official contest rules

By Loafy