In This Issue...
Reserve Your Table for "Meet the Cheesemaker"
Apply for the 2015 DZTA
Cooking with Goat Cheese
Cheese in the News
Letter from the President
Cheese Camp 2015: "Craft"
Register for Cheese Camp 2015
Become a Cheese Camp Counselor: Volunteer with ACS
ACS CCP News
Member Profile: Von Trapp Farmstead
Featured Cheese: River's Edge Chevre
Stay Connected to ACS


 
Reserve Your Table for 

Meet the Cheesemaker

 


Producers of cheese and cultured dairy products won't want to miss the opportunity to sample their products to key industry buyers, distributors, retailers, and food writers at "Meet the Cheesemaker" in Providence this summer.

This popular annual event will be held on Thursday, July 30 from 
4:00 PM - 6:30 PM. The $185 registration fee includes a draped tabletop and the basic supplies required to sample your products.

Sign up for a table by June 24!

Meet the Cheesemaker is sponsored by the California Milk Advisory Board.

Apply for the 2015 Daphne Zepos Teaching Award

 

All cheesemongers, cheesemakers, and cheese loving food professionals are welcome to apply for the 2015 Daphne Zepos Teaching Award. All you need is a vision for learning and teaching about cheese.
 
Apply by May 31, 2015 for the $5,000 award to travel abroad and learn about cheese. 

 

Find out more at the Daphne Zepos Teaching Award site and get the application packet here.


 

Cooking with Goat Cheese

 

With Spring well underway, now is the perfect time to enjoy fresh goat cheese. Try it in recipes from savory to sweet--such as these unique dishes, below.


 

 

Asparagus, Bacon and Goat Cheese Tart, A Beautiful Mess

 

Chocolate & Goat Cheese Souffl�, Adventures in Cooking

 


 

Cheese in the News










 Letter from the President

Hello everyone,

 

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. 

 

Best,

 

Peg Smith

President

 

ACS Cheese Camp 2015: "Craft"

 

Nora Weiser-New Photo

"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

Executive Director

Register for ACS Cheese Camp in Providence

 

 
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!



 
Become a "Cheese Camp Counselor": Volunteer with ACS!

ACS is seeking volunteers to help make ACS Cheese Camp a success! Sign up to assist with shifts in Providence this summer. To show our appreciation for your time, you'll receive:
  • Official "Cheese Counselor" t-shirt (art at right)
  • Complimentary ticket to the Festival of Cheese
  • Complimentary meal whenever your shift coincides with a scheduled Conference meal
  • For volunteers assisting with the Judging & Competition during an 8+ hour shift, one complimentary ticket to the Awards Ceremony on Thursday, July 31

ACS CCP News

 

ACS CCP� Recertification Guidelines

We're excited to announce that new recertification guidelines are now posted on the ACS website. The requirements for recertification are simple, and the $75 fee is waived if the ACS CCP has attended the full ACS Conference in any subsequent years since receiving his or her certification. Please review the guidelines on our website for more information. ACS CCPs who received their certification in 2012 are required to recertify this year. Applications for recertification will be available at the ACS Conference and on our website from July 29 - October 31.

 

Informational Webinar

ACS recently recorded an informational webinar for ACS CCP candidates and those considering taking the exam on May 6. The recording is now posted on our website for viewing. The webinar covered the steps leading up to exam day including key deadlines, example questions, and what to expect on exam day and afterwards. If you are taking the exam this year, please watch the webinar.

 

ACS to Offer Two Exam Seatings in 2016

The first exam seating in 2016 is scheduled for Saturday, January 16, prior to the Specialty Food Association's Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco, CA. There are 50 seats available, and applications will be accepted starting on August 1, 2015. The second exam is scheduled for Wednesday, July 27, 2016, prior to the start of the ACS Conference in Des Moines, Iowa. Applications for this exam seating will be accepted between January 1 and March 31, 2016.

 

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]

 

Connect to ACS

Stay connected to ACS no matter where you are! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@CheeseSociety, #ACSCheeseCamp), or LinkedIn. Get the latest updates from the cheese community, connect with fellow cheesemakers, retailers and enthusiasts, and tell us what's happening in your world.