June 2012 - Oser Communications Group

30
CHEESE
Asturian cheese Rey Silo selected
for Spanish luxury grouping
GOURMET NEWS JUNE 2012 www.gourmetnews.com
Vermont Cheesemakers’ Festival to showcase
specialty food, local wine and beer as well
Asturian cheese Rey Silo is now the first
Spanish cheese to obtain the status of Luxury
Gourmet Brand, and be accepted for
the elite Luxury Spain group of products.
The inclusion recognizes not only superior
quality, but a standard of excellence
in artisanal elaboration, national
and international brand recognition and
meticulous product presentation.
The two other gourmet products chosen
are Cavas Gramona and Cortijo Suerte
Alta Marqués de Prado olive oil.
Luxury Spain represents the Spanish
Association of Luxury, a non-profit organization
which aims to promote highend
Spanish brands at the national and
international levels, promoting the
Spanish brand and
strengthening high end
“Made in Spain” labels.
It is similar to the
Comité Colbert in
France. Its honorary
chair is Princess
Beatriz d’Orléans.
Other members of the
Association include
Spanish gourmet products
Flor de Sal d’es
Trenc, Gin Mare, Caviar
Nacarii, Castillo de Canena
oils, ByPepa and
Suerte Alta, Jamones
Blázquez, Cavas Recaredo
and Gramona,
the restaurants Lhardy and Semon,
smoked foods firm Benfumat and Chef
Sergi Arola.
Rey Silo Afuega’l Pitu is a raw cow’s
milk cheese, mentioned in accounts
dating back to the Emperor Charlemagne.
It is firm, surface-ripened, handsalted
and turned daily while being aged
at least two months in an underground
cellar. The cheese typically has an intense
flavor of wildflowers and fresh
milk, with hints of hazelnut and butter.
Its Red variant is made using the finest
pimenton from Spain’s Extremadura region,
adding a spicy finish. In the United
States, Rey Silo Afuega’l Pitu is distributed
by The Rogers Collection.
More than 200 Vermont cheeses will be
the centerpiece of the fourth annual Vermont
Cheesemakers’ Festival at Shelburne
Farms in July, along with dozens of
specialty foods, fine wines and locally
crafted beer. The sell-out event is slated
for Sunday, July 22.
More than 40 Vermont cheesemakers
will showcase their products at the festival.
Artisan bread makers and small-batch
chocolatiers are among the 20 specialty
food producers that will join the cheesemakers,
along with 20 Vermont wineries
and breweries.
“Cheesemaking in Vermont has grown
from a cottage industry with a few wellknown
brands to a vital piece of our agricultural
fabric,” said Rachel Schaal of the
Vermont Cheese Council. “In fact, Vermont
has the highest number of cheesemakers
per capita. That, along with the
fact that Vermont cheeses
continually bring home the gold
from national and international
competitions, has earned us
the reputation as the Napa Valley
of cheese.”
New for 2012 will be a “How
Cheese Works” seminar with Zoe
Brickley from the Cellars at Jasper
Hill and Taylor Cocalis, Co-
Founder of Good Food Jobs.
Brickley and Cocalis will explore
the basic science of cheesemaking
from pasture to market. Sean
Buchanan of Farmplate and Alice Feiring,
Author of “Naked Wine, Letting Grapes Do
What Comes Naturally,” will lead the popular
“Wine and Cheese Pairing” seminar.
The Festival will also feature two free
demonstrations, a cooking show with Nina
Lesser-Goldsmith of Healthy Living Market
and a cheesemaking demonstration with
Peter Dixon, Owner of Westminister Artisan
Cheesemaking.
The fourth annual Vermont Cheesemakers’
Festival is presented by the Vermont
Cheese Council. Admission is $40
per person, or $50 with wine and beer
tasting. Seminars are $45 per person
and seating is limited. For additional information
and ticket reservations,
please visit www.vtcheesefest.com or
call 802-863-5966. Early registration is
strongly recommended.
Courtesy of Vermont Cheesemakers’ Festival
Arena Cheese
awarded BRC Certification
Wisconsin-based Arena Cheese was
awarded certification by the British Retail
Consortium (BRC) for meeting demanding
food safety standards under the guidelines
of the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI).
The announcement was made by Bill
Hanson, Vice President and head cheese
maker. Arena Cheese makes prize-winning
authentic Colby, Colby/Jack, Gouda
and Naturally Hardwood Smoked
Gouda cheeses.
The certification is the result of one
year’s time and training by the entire Arena
Cheese team, led by head of Quality Assurance
Thad Hanson, along with substantial
plant and equipment upgrades.
ìMany of our current customers have requested
and required GFSI certification in
the past 18 months,î stated Bill Hanson.
ìWe knew that this was a natural step up
from our existing food safety program that
we needed to take, to move Arena Cheese
to the next level of quality assurance for
the benefit of our customers. Management
was and is firmly behind this initiative.î
Arena Cheese makes Colby and
Colby/Jack cheese in traditional 6-inch
longhorns and 4-inch deli horns. Team
Arena won a medal last month for its
Colby cheese in the World Cheese Championships,
the company’s ninth contest
medal since 2002 for its Colby and
Colby/Jack cheese. This emphasizes
Arena Cheese’s commitment to quality
and consistency. Colby/Jack was first invented
at this plant in 1979, and Team
Arena uses the same recipe today to make
this now universal cheese.