2011 Summer Fancy Food Show - Oser Communications Group

GOURMET NEWS SEPTEMBER 2011 www.gourmetnews.com general NEWS 9
ACS WINNERS
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milk Louis d’Or, also a consistent prizewinner.
The 2011 judging and competition saw
a record-breaking number of entries: 1,676
cheeses and cultured milk products (such
as butter and yogurt) from 258 different
companies in the United States, Canada and
Mexico. Appropriately, Canadian cheeses
made a great showing, taking two of the top
four places along with more than 60 other
medals. Quebec was also the second-largest
source of entries by state or province, after
Wisconsin and ahead of the traditional
number two, California.
The competition was divided into 22 categories,
with 109 subcategories. Changes in
the subcategories reflect trends in the cheese
world: expanded sections for American
Originals, washed rind, farmstead, fresh
unripened, international-style and flavored
cheeses, cheese spreads and cultured milk
products. The complete list of winners,
including subcategories, can be found at
www.cheesesociety.org.
Logistical challenges
Entry shipping and logistics were a particular
challenge this year. Entries and documentation
from the US and Mexico were
consolidated at the UPS office in Plattsburg,
NY. Cheeses arrived on a Wednesday evening,
the truck was loaded by 10:30 a.m.
Thursday and at the Canadian border by
1:00 p.m. Meticulously catalogued on a
single document with a single importer of
record, nearly 1,300 cheeses from the US and
Mexico cleared customs under the Canadian
trade show quota. They arrived at the judging
venue by 2:30 p.m. that day—less than half
the allotted time of 48 hours in transit.
“The truck, with 17,000 lbs. of cheese on it,
cleared customs faster than I did,” said David
Grotenstein, outgoing head of the judging
committee. Under incoming committee
head Todd Druhot, preparations are already
underway to ensure a similarly smooth transfer
for Canadian entries to next year’s ACS
competition, set for Raleigh, NC.
ACS Academy of Cheese relaunched,
eight goat cheese pioneers inducted
Another highlight of the conference was the
August 5 induction of eight respected cheesemakers
into the ACS Academy of Cheese,
honoring a quarter century ’s worth of work in
growing the category of goat cheese in the United
States. Started 20 years ago, the Academy was
relaunched at this year’s ACS Conference.
Inducted this year were Jennifer Bice,
owner of Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery,
Inc., in Sebastopol, CA; Laura Chenel,
American Cheese Society 2011
Best of Show winners Photo
© Uriah Carpenter
Inductees from left-right: Bob Kilmoyer,
Letty Kilmoyer, Anne Topham, Mary Keehn,
Allison Hooper, Jennifer Bice.
Photo © Uriah Carpenter
founder of Laura Chenel’s Chevre in Sonoma,
CA; Allison Hooper, owner of Vermont Butter
and Cheese Creamery in Websterville, VT;
Mary Keehn, founder of Cypress Grove
Cheese in Arcata, CA; Letty & Bob Kilmoyer,
founders of Westfield Farm in Hubbardston,
Massachuetts; Judy Schad, owner of Capriole
Farmstead Goat Cheeses in Greenville,
Indiana; Anne Topham, owner of Fantome
Farm in Ridgeway, WI.
“This award provides an opportunity to
honor and celebrate a group of exceptional
people who have dedicated their lives to
defining and redefining goat cheese in the
United States, ” said ACS President Christine
Hyatt. “Our industry is in a better place
because of these goat cheese pioneers, and
we thank them.”
Why does a pioneer matter? A typical
example is probably that of Judy Schad,
whose generous sharing of her experience
helped Rogue Creamery’s David
Gremmels refine the idea of wrapping
the very first Rogue River Blue in grape
leaves years ago.
The ACS Academy of Cheese was created
20 years ago to honor early supporters
of the American cheese movement.
This year ’s slate of inductees marks the
first of what will be an annual class of
new inductees. The Academy is designed
to complement, not replace, the ACS
Lifetime Achievement Award. gn
U.S. WINE
CONSUMPTION
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According to the “2011 Wine Handbook”,
the rise in wine consumption also reflects
other trends, such as consumers slowly returning
to dining out. Total wine dollars grew to
$26.9 billion last year, with on-premise sales
accounting for 44.1 percent. This is up 2.5
percent from 2009 and a marked change from
the previous two years, when the recession
directly affected on-premise sales.
“The future of the wine industry looks bright,”
says Eric Schmidt, Manager of Information
Services for the Beverage Information Group,
based in Norwalk, Conn. “Overall wine consumption
is expected to increase over the next
five years to 321.9 million cases.”
The news is encouraging to specialty retailers
for two reasons. Wine is a traditional
accompaniment to specialty food, such as
specialty meat and cheese, especially when
ORGANIC TRADE
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tional aspects of organic certification, and played
a key role in the passage and implementation of
the California Organic Foods Act of 1990 and the
national Organic Foods Production Act. He joined
the Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF) in
1995. In 1997, he authored the study “Searching for
the O-Word,” which documented the lack of USDA
research support for organic farming systems. This
work led to OFRF’s creation of the Scientific Congress
for Organic Agricultural Research, a national network
all are locally produced; plus, many grocers
are able to sell wine as well as food, and use
wine specials to draw traffic and promote
food purchase.
The “2011 Wine Handbook” is the leading
source for U.S. wine sales and consumption
trends. It includes wine consumption
analysis; the top 50 metro markets; supplier
performance; advertising expenditures;
consumer drinking preferences; and economic/demographic
data. “The 2011 Wine
Handbook” can be purchased for $815;
handbook with CD is $985. Shipping and
handling is $10 for U.S. residents, from www.
bevinfo.com. gn
for producers and scientists pursing the science of
organic production and markets. Lipson joined USDA
in June 2010 as Organic and Sustainable Agriculture
Policy Advisor. His responsibilities include crossagency
coordination of organic farming policy issues
and assisting with the “Know Your Farmer, Know
Your Food” initiative. In his current position, “Mark
impacts organic policy on a daily basis…Always with
the organic farmers’ best interests in mind, Mark
continues to impact the growing organic industry
that he helped to create,” according to his nomination
letter submitted by Maureen Wilmot, Executive
Director at OFRF.
GOOD FOOD
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U.S. According to the contest site, “In order
to fairly represent the diverse food traditions
and growing seasons around the country,
awards will be granted to producers in each
of five regions, with judges representing all
areas. It is our hope that by honoring producers
nationwide, we will encourage food
producers and small farmers in every pocket
of the country.”
In December 2010, winners of the inaugural
Good Food Awards were invited to a dedicated
tasting organized for Williams-Sonoma.
The blue-chip retailer subsequently picked
up five producers: Madecasse Chocolate,
Ellelle Jam, Sour Puss Pickles, Creminelli
Meats and Montana Coffee. Williams-Sonoma
ordered not only the winning products, but
also picked up additional products and created
a special Good Food Awards display in
20 stores across the country.
For complete information, visit www
.goodfoodawards.org. Winners will be
announced January 13 in a ceremony at the
Ferry Building, San Francisco. The next day,
the Ferry will host a special one-day-only
marketplace for the winners. According to
organizers, last year’s Good Food Awards
Marketplace drew 15,000 visitors, including
buyers from Whole Foods, Cowgirl
Creamery, Bi Rite Market, Dean and Deluca,
and Williams Sonoma. gn