Counterculture

WELCOME TO counterculture

Day 1: September 9, 2018

SEATTLE

schedule morning 9:00 Fermentation + Cheese Science 101 9:45 Vermont Creamery 10:25 Comté AOP 11:05 LaClare Family Creamery 11:45 Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company 12:20 Yellow Door Creamery lunch 12:55 With Philosophy Foods afternoon 1:45 Intro to Charcuterie 2:00 La Quercia 2:30 Jambon de Bayonne PGI 3:00 Jamón Ibérico

3:20 Speck Alto Adige PGI 3:50 Creminelli Fine Meats 4:30 HAPPY HOUR! mingle with the maker 6 - 8 pm Head to the Beecher’s Foundation Building at 1725 Westlake Ave N. to talk cheese and rub elbows with today’s presenters plus tomorrow’s: Grafton Village Cheese Company, Consider Bardwell Farm, Spring Brook Farm, Isigny Sainte-Mère, Mitica, Columbia Cheese, Uncommon Flavors of Europe, Le Gruyère AOP, The Peterson Company, and more! sponsored in part by

with the support of

special thanks to

tasting table

All day long, swing by our continuously-stocked table and help yourself to new products and old favorites from:

Holy goat, that’s some gorgeous rind. The folks at Vermont Creamery, who helped introduced America to the delicious beauty of soft-ripened goat cheese talk us through the science behind goat’s milk and the ﬁ nicky lactic set before discussing the Geotrichum microbes that create all those sexy wrinkles in Bijou, Cremont, and Bonne Bouche.

Comté is more than cheese; it’s tradition, community, and economy. Denise Kazmier recounts the history and importance of this 80-pound French wheel, while The Peterson Company’s Tyson Danilson leads an organolopetic evaluation of three versions: a Gélinotte Selection (10-12 months), a Marcel Petite Essex Street (14-15 months), and a Rivoire-Jacquemin Grand Afﬁ nage (12 months).

Family businesses aren’t always easy, but sometimes they work out just right. Clara Hedrich details how Wisconsin’s LaClare Family Creamery began, incorporated several family members, and recently linked arms with two other businesses to form Mosaic Meadows, as we taste three cheeses: Chandoka, Martone, and Evalon.

Debbie Peterson tells the story of Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company, detailing how the California farm brought four daughters back home, leading to the creation of several cheeses including two iconic blues. She’ll discuss how blues are made and how to taste them as we sample Original Blue, Bay Blue, and Toma.

During this session, we’ll discuss the “birth” of Yellow Door Creamery and how its cheese proﬁ les were created with culinary uses in mind. Zooming in on Yellow Door’s Hand-Rubbed Fontina line, counter culture’s Rachel Freier prepares a Pimento-tina. Olive Oil: Not just another pretty bottle. During lunchtime, Philosophy Foods serves up tapas featuring O-Med EVOO & vinegars, Bahia de la Concha boquerones, Losada olives, Conservas LaBrujula, and Lady Edison charcuterie. syllabus

Even for the most ardent cheese lovers, the world of artisan charcuterie can be a mystery. This afternoon we introduce you to the craft’s origins and many variations, starting with an intro by Vanessa Chang.

Next we’ll hear from La Quercia’s Matt Kulpa, who will describe how the company not only translated the Italian craft of prosciutto for American food lovers, but also adapted it to local terroir. Utilizing characteristics of heritage breeds in the country, La Quercia developed a unique program that highlights differences in animal breeds and lifestyles.

The oldest archaeological evidence of cured ham production lies in France. That’s no surprise to people of the Southwestern part of the country, who consider cured ham a way of life. Discover what makes Jambon de Bayonne PGI unique and how tradition deﬁ nes its identity in a session with Florane Gambert-Jouan.

Perhaps no delicacy better exempliﬁ es the adage “you are what you eat” than Jamón Ibérico. Find out from Michele Buster what makes the ﬂ avor of this ham so unique and irresistible and how to best slice and serve it to dazzle customers and fellow food lovers.

In the specialty food world, we encounter many acronyms, some more well-known than others. What better way to understand the meaning and signiﬁ acnce of “PGI” than with a unique and appealing addition to the deli case? Speck Alto Adige PGI spans cultures, language, and traditional processes; in this session Nancy Radke explains it all.

Finally, we’ll turn to fermented meats (yes, you read that right). Milk isn’t the only substance that goes magical once microbes come into play. Learn from Kristina Siou of Creminelli Fine Meats how ground fermented cured meats (a.k.a. “salami”) became part of the charcuterie family tree and the critical role of mold in developing optimal ﬂ avor. resources

culture magazine

Cheese Library culturecheesemag.com/cheese-library Cheese Dictionary culturecheesemag.com/cheese-dictionary Retailer Directory culturecheesemag.com/cheese-shop Guide: Cut cheese culturecheesemag.com/how-to-cut-cheese Guide: Wrap cheese culturecheesemag.com/how-to-wrap-cheese

contact the team

Amy Fukuizumi [email protected] Kara Kaminski-Killiany [email protected] Lassa Skinner [email protected] Rachel Freier [email protected] Vanessa Chang [email protected]

for much, much, more: counterculturecheese.com/alumni-resources WELCOME TO counterculture

Day 2: September 10, 2018

SEATTLE schedule

morning 9:00 Intro 9:15 Grafton Village Cheese Company 9:50 Consider Bardwell Farm 10:25 Spring Brook Farm 11:00 Isigny Sainte-Mère 11:35 Uncommon Flavors of Europe

lunch 12:10 with The Peterson Company

afternoon 1:00 WA State Cheesemakers Association 1:20 Columbia Cheese 1:55 Forever Cheese 2:30 Le Gruyère AOP 3:30 Pairing session: Wisconsin cheeses and single malt Scotch sponsored in part by

with the support of

special thanks to

tasting table

All day long, swing by our continuously-stocked table and help yourself to new products and old favorites from:

La Panzanella Kelly’s Jelly 34 Degrees Lemon Bird Preserves Efﬁ e’s Homemade Potlicker Kitchen Peter’s Yard Quince & Apple Valley Fig Growers Oregon Growers Eat this Yum Hayden Flour Mills Friend In Cheeses Jam Co. Les Trois Petits Cochons syllabus Cheddar: What is it, exactly? And what differentiates one from another? Grafton Village Cheese’s Elena Santogade talks cheddar variations, uses, sensory analysis, and counter selection as we taste the company’s Clothbound Cheddar, 2-Year Cheddar, and 4-Year Grand Reserve Cheddar.

Why are some cheeses made with pasteurized milk and others with raw? Liza Kaplansky tells us why Consider Bardwell Farm chooses to use raw milk, explaining the difference it makes in the cheese as well as the procedures the creamery follows to make it happen, while leading a tasting of Pawlet, Rupert, and Slyboro.

Spring Brook Farm has zoomed in on Alpine- style cheeses, excellent melters famous for their complex ﬂ avors. Cristi Menard tells us about the Farms for City Kids Foundation that embraces the creamery and its larger mission, before breaking down the science of that meltability in all of its gooey awesomeness, as we try Tarentaise, Ashbrook, and Reading—plus a melted Reading served raclette-style. Normandy has a deep history of dairy farming and cheesemaking. Tom Rougereau tells us about France’s Isigny Ste-Mère cooperative and how its dairy products are tied to this rich geologic region, while leading a tasting of Beurre d’Isigny AOP, Mimolette Extra- Vieille (16 months) & Demi-Vieille (6 months), and Brie d’Isigny. There are strict and exact rules for every PDO cheese. Uncommon Flavors of Europe’s Nancy Radke describes what it takes to make both Asiago Fresco PDO and Asiago Stagionato PDO, before Federico Bolla talks about Pecorino Romano PDO, which we’ll taste as an ingredient in two special lunch dishes prepared by counter culture’s Rachel Freier: Elote Cacio e Pepe and Pesto di Carcioﬁ . syllabus Kim Ianotti and Tyson Danilson of importer and distributor Peterson Company relate their personal experiences in the specialty food industry, citing different paths they’ve taken leading to various jobs—and discussing the different skills the industry needs to keep thriving. Daniel Wavrin, co-founder of Ferndale Farmstead Cheese and founder of Daniel’s Artisan, will discuss his journey and the progression of the industry in the state. He’ll also give us an update on the new Washington State Cheesemakers Association, of which he is president.

Jonathan Richardson of Columbia Cheese offers a peek into specialty importing, from selection, sourcing, and FDA veriﬁ cation to logistics. We’ll taste Challerhocker from Kaserei Tufertschwil near Zurich, Alex from Hofkaeserei Kraus in the German Allgau, and a new entry from Queseria Cultivo, an emerging shop/dairy hybrid in Madrid.

How do specialty foods from abroad make it to a store’s counter stateside? It takes a village, but it starts with a discovery and a relationship. Importer Michele Buster of Mitica shares some of her stories and ﬁ nds from Spain, including Alisios, Manchego, Fig Cake, and Marcona Almonds. For over 900 years, Le Gruyère AOP has been produced in Switzerland with great care and pride. One of its most stunning traditions, the désalpe, celebrates cows descending from mountains after summer. Vanessa Chang describes this tradition and what makes Gruyère unique, as we taste three versions of the classic Alpine cheese.

In today’s ﬁ nal session, the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin’s Shelley McDaniel gives a brief overview of what the organization is all about before Rory Glasgow and Lassa Skinner team up in an exploration of pairing Wisconsin cheeses with single malt whiskey from The GlenDronach and Glenglassaugh. resources

culture magazine

contact the team

Amy Fukuizumi [email protected] Kara Kaminski-Killiany [email protected] Lassa Skinner [email protected] Rachel Freier [email protected] Vanessa Chang [email protected]

for much, much, more: counterculturecheese.com/alumni-resources WisconsinCheese.com

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