Cheese CONNOISSEUR - Cover Stories

Bayne's cheesemonger skills garnered Third Place at the 2023 Concours Mondial du Meilleur Fromager.

A Cheesemonger’s Journey

Nick Bayne, Fine Cheese Co., Head Cheesemonger Nick Bayne’s 15-year cheesemonger journey has taken him from the U.S. to the U.K. Not only did he win the 2015 Cheesemonger Invitational on his first attempt, but he also garnered third place at the 2023 Concours Mondial du Meilleur Fromager. “I’m originally

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MENTORS, MOTIVATIONS & CAREER MOVES

Emma Hofer-Louis, chief executive of Laura Chenel’s Chevre, Inc., details her mentors, inspirations and what has kept her in the cheese industry for the last 30+ years. Emma Hofer-Louis, chief executive of Laura Chenel’s Chevre, Inc. recalls that her professional journey in the world of cheese started in France in

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Eric Meredith: Cheese Affineur

This professional knows every step of the cheesemaking process like the back of his hand. Eric Meredith can look at a piece of artisan-made, exquisitely aged cheese and see right down to its roots. Roots, that is, of the fragrant pasture the ruminants ate to make the main ingredient in

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From Wine to Rind

Gayle Martin curates the best of local and gourmet at Plum Plums Cheese. Photos by Jane Beiles Photography It all started thanks to wine. Gayle Martin and Michael Riahi met while working in the wine business in New York City — she in marketing and he in sales, and the

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A Cheesemaking Guru

Sid Cook, Owner & Certified Master Cheesemaker at The Carr Valley Cheese Co. If there was a gene for cheesemaking, Sid Cook was certainly born with it. The fourth-generation cheesemaker and owner of Carr Valley Cheese Co., in La Valle, WI, can trace his family’s cheddar-making roots back to the

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Laura Werlin: An American Cheese Authority

Author, presenter and self-proclaimed cheese “edu-tainer,” Laura Werlin has turned her passion into a career. Laura Werlin contends she got into cheese “because it got into me”. “It started at the age of three; a simple grilled cheese sandwich on Wonder Bread with American cheese was the first food I

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Bob Wills: A Cheese Innovator

Owner of Wisconsin’s Cedar Grove Cheese,Bob Wills has worked hard for three decadesto stay at the forefront of cheesemaking. One could say Bob Wills’ road to cheesemaking was a detour. He has worked as a post doctorate economics instructor and researcher at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and also worked

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A Cheese Calling

Kurt Beecher Dammeier, founder, Beecher’s Handmade Cheese, Seattle Sometimes it is a particular destination that determines an entrepreneur’s journey. Such was the case for Seattle’s Beecher’s Handmade Cheese. Even before having a business plan, founder Kurt Beecher Dammeier knew where he wanted his cheese company to be based. “I decided

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