Registration is open for the American Cheese Society's Annual Conference, which will be held in Providence, RI this summer. This is our 32nd Annual Conference, and our fourth year offering the ACS Certified Cheese Professional Exam�. Seats for the ACS CCP� Exam are filled this year, but it is never too soon to start studying and thinking of taking the test in 2016. We are pleased to announce two seatings in 2016 -- one on January 16 in San Francisco, CA, and another on July 27 in Des Moines, IA.

A few ACS Board members and Executive Director Nora Weiser just returned from meeting with FDA representatives in Washington, DC. We have found these "touch base" meetings to be informative, and we hope to continue having a reciprocal working relationship with FDA going forward. We are looking forward to a presentation from FDA's new director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Susan Mayne, Ph.D., at the Conference in Providence. If you are coming to the Conference, be sure to join us for this presentation during breakfast on Friday, July 31 at the Rhode Island Convention Center.

Lastly, the 2015 ACS Board of Directors ballot was emailed to all voting members last Friday. Place your vote for three new board members by June 30. Each level of professional membership (Corporate, Small Business, Individual) is entitled to one vote for each open position. Thank you for participating. 

ACS Cheese Camp 2015: "Craft"

"Craft" is the kind of word that is easy to bandy about and apply to everything from fabric-scrap-bebuttoned-decorative-bib-thingies to hand-crocheted-fingerless-wrist-cuff-thingies. It is also at the heart of Etsy, and the sadly now defunct Regretsy. If the overuse of craft bugs you, don't get me started on the ubiquitous (mis)appropriation of curate, which still hasn't died down...a personal pet peeve that surely harkens back to my museum days. But, I digress.

What cheesemakers do truly is a craft, one that involves "crafting" something by hand with great care and skill. ACS Cheese Camp is a place to recognize that craft, and we will do so, in keeping with tradition, at our Awards Ceremony in Providence. This year, we'll be including even more of our community in this celebration of craft. At the suggestion of our friends from Vermont Farmstead Cheese Company, we'll be live-streaming this year's Awards Ceremony from the historic Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Providence! So, those who can't make it to the event in person can start planning their viewing parties for Friday, July 31 from 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM ET. 

But, nothing beats the real thing, so I hope you will join us in Providence this summer for ACS Cheese Camp 2015: Craft - Creativity - Community. Regular registration is now open, so bug your mom boss to sign you up for summer cheese camp today!

Nora Weiser

Register for ACS Cheese Camp in Providence

Regular registration for ACS Cheese Camp 2015 is now open. Register by Wednesday, June 24, before rates increase.

 

Registration Rates:

• Regular (May 21 - June 24): $595 member / $794 non-member
• Late (June 25 - July 10) & On-Site: $695 member / $894 non-member

Check out the full schedule of educational sessions and pre-Conference events to get the most out of your experience. We hope to see you there!

 

ACS CCP News

Member Profile: Von Trapp Farmstead

By Matthew Spiegler

Recently, I had the opportunity to visit a top creamery on the Vermont cheese scene: Von Trapp Farmstead, in Waitsfield, VT, in the north-central area of the state. I was on my way to the Cellars At Jasper Hill, so Von Trapp was a timely stop, as they have worked closely with the Cellars for a few years now. Visiting both in one day gave me a unique opportunity to see both sides of the new model of cheese production in Vermont: the producers and the affineurs...[continue reading]

Featured Cheese: River's Edge Chevre

By Marcella Wright, ACS CCP�

While opening cheese counters for Murray's Cheese, I fell in love with the award-winning cheeses made by Pat Morford and her daughters at River's Edge Chevre in Oregon.

Pat has owned goats most of her life and made cheese for herself and family from a young age. In 1988, she moved to Logsden, Oregon and bought twelve acres which she named "Three Ring Farm". Five years later, she began buying dairy equipment and got "serious" about making cheese to sell. Construction of River's Edge Chevre began in 2002; it was completed and licensed in 2005, and cheese-making began. Since then, the cheese has been winning...[continue reading]