CHEESE AND DAIRY SHOW: WELCOME TO WISCONSIN!
At the request of the State of Wisconsin and the U.S. Embassy in France, the Cheese and Dairy Products Show organized a delegation of French cheese makers from April 27 to May 2, led by show director Fernando Medina Zenoff, to discover Wisconsin's wealth of cheeses.
But why is this large Midwestern state on the borders of Illinois, Michigan, Iowa and Minnesota? Quite simply because it's the leading cheese-producing state in the U.S., responsible for a quarter of the nation's cheese production, far ahead of California and Idaho! This major position is due as much to geography (fertile prairies, temperate climate and abundant fresh water) as to history, as the state was populated by Swiss, German and Scandinavian settlers who came to the United States to bring their cheese-making know-how and develop a dairy industry that is still supported today by a large number of promotional institutions and research centers (Center for Dairy Research, Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association, Wisconsin Dairy Innovation Hub...).
This dairy and cheese-making vocation permeates the entire life of this state, often referred to as America's Dairyland. Its inhabitants are nicknamed Cheeseheads, in homage to the cheese-shaped hats worn at Green Bay Packers soccer games.
Our delegation didn't miss the opportunity to be photographed wearing the famous headgear...
The program for these three busy days included several highlights:
- A “seminar” section with the ‘Fromagination’ presentation given by Dean Sommer from the Center for Dairy Research (University of Wisconsin), an organization that has developed the Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker® Program, a unique program in the United States that enables experienced cheesemakers to obtain the prestigious title of “Master Cheesemaker” after advanced training and examinations,
- A trade show featuring several exhibitors from Wisconsin cheese dairies, held at the Hinterland Brewery on April 29,
- And above all, a large number of visits to state cheese dairies such as Carr Valley Cheese (a century-old cheese dairy, known in particular for its Snow White Goat Cheddar), Klondike Cheese (feta cheese specialist), Widmer's Cheese Cellars (leader in Brick Cheese), LaClare Family Creamery (specialist in cheese made from locally sourced goat's milk), BelGioioso Cheese (Italian cheese specialties : Parmesan, Asiago, Mozzarella...) or Sartori Cheese (also founded by an Italian immigrant, in 1939).
Members of the delegation:
- Driss AZOUG – La Meulerie (Marseille)
- Melissa BELISSA – Fromagerie Belisson (Clichy)
- Emilie CAVERO – La Fromagerie d’Emilie (Toulouse)
- Virginie DHORNE – Fromagerie La Finarde (Lille)
- Laurent DUBOIS – Fromagerie Dubois (Paris)
- Claire GRIFFON – Fromagerie Griffon (Paris)
- Annick POLESE – L’Art des Choix (Lyon)
- Evert SCHÖNHAGE – Kaas fortress (Amsterdam)
- Alexis THIEBAUT – Le Paris d’Alexis
- Emma YOUNG – The Cheese Explorer
- Fernando MEDINA ZENOFF – Comexposium – Director of the show