Vermont Farmstead Cheese Company receives multiple awards
Wed Sep 12 2012
With the 2012 summer cheese competition season winding to a close, Vermont Farmstead Cheese Company announced today that 13 of 17 of the company’s cheeses have been recognized this year for excellence within the dairy and cheese industry.
“We are thrilled with the recognition we have received this year,” said Valerie Traynor, Senior Vice President of Specialty Foods for Vermont Farmstead Cheese Company. “To be honored by the American Cheese Society, The Big E, and the L.A. International Dairy Competition as we enter just our second year in this wonderful business, well, it has energized and motivated our company to reach even higher,” she added.
The most recent awards come from the Big E Cheese competition, held August 24, 2012 in Massachusetts. Vermont Farmstead Cheese Company was awarded a total of nine medals. Golds were awarded to:
- Blueberry WindsorDale
- Hot Pepper WindsorDale
- AleHouse Cheddar
- Cracked Pepper WensleyDale
- Cranberry WindsorDale
- Chocolate Stout
- WindsorDale
- FH Gillingham's Woodstock Village Smoked Cheddar
Silvers were presented for SmokeHouse Tilsit and SugarHouse Edam.
This was the 5th annual competition with a record 148 cheeses entered by 32 cheesemakers throughout New England.
On the West Coast, Vermont Farmstead Cheese Company was awarded eight Gold medals at the L.A. International Dairy Competition, including:
- Lille'
- SugarHouse Edam
- BrickHausTilsit
- Hot Pepper WindsorDale
- Cracked Pepper WindsorDale
- WindsorDale
- Applewood Smoked Tilsit
- Blueberry WindsorDale
Additionally, a Silver medal was awarded to Farmstead Cheddar and a Bronze to
Arienne Brie (2kg).
Vermont Farmstead Cheese Company was also awarded a third place finish at the highly competitive American Cheese Society (ACS) Annual Conference and Competition, for the Governor’s Cheddar. This cheese is raw milk cheddar produced with help from Vermont’s own Governor Peter Shumlin during the company’s first year in business.
The largest competition to date, the 2012 ACS Competition included 254 companies submitting 1,711 different products. Unlike other cheese competitions, where cheeses are only graded down for technical defects, ACS’s goal is to give positive recognition to those cheeses that are of the highest quality in their aesthetic and technical evaluation. As a result, the highest quality cheeses are those that ACS feels deserve the recognition of an award.
About Vermont Farmstead Cheese Company:
Only 100 percent Vermont milk is used to create Vermont Farmstead Cheese Company’s artisanal and farmstead cheeses and specialty food products. The company was conceived and founded as a community based effort to preserve the rural way of life in South Woodstock. www.vermontfarmstead.com.