American Cheese Society Cheese Camp was a great experience for me for a multitude of reasons. We got to hang with our fellow mongers in a relaxed setting focused on American cheese and the community. It did feel like summer camp in a weird way, one that involved sweating, crafts, cheese trucks and beer! I volunteered on Thursday to cut lots and lots of cheese for the cheese sale after the show on Sunday–all proceeds were donated to local charity.
My focus was on the more technical classes for affinage and food safety. Murray’s is a leader in these areas and really doing a lot to promote both. I was able to get a lot of time in with several of our producers and connect with them on our programs and our cheeses. I got the very real sense that we have our Mojo back and are well regarded amongst our peers and our producers.
We entered seven of our own CaveMaster cheeses into the judging, and sadly we did not win a single ribbon. It was nice to see our cheeses on the table at the Festival of Cheese, and we have high hopes for next year and winning some ribbons.
The cheese truck was a challenge and a success and a buzz! It was very much like setting up a shop on wheels for a week and it was a challenge on many fronts from logistics to the incredibly high heat that the city experienced. (Editor’s note: stay tuned for more truck tales!)
