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FROM THE EDITOR KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW n MAY 2019 n www.kitchenwarenews.com PUBLISHER Kimberly Oser SR. ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Jules Denton-Card jules_d@oser.com EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Lorrie Baumann lorrie_b@oser.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Anthony Socci anthony_s@oser.com SR. ASSOCIATE EDITOR Robin Mather robin_m@oser.com CONTRIBUTOR Amanda Helt ART DIRECTOR Yasmine Brown GRAPHIC DESIGNER Jonathan Schieffer CUSTOMER SERVICE Caitlyn McGrath MANAGERS caitlyn_m@oser.com Susan Stein susan_s@oser.com CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Tara Neal CIRCULATION MANAGER Jamie Green jamie_g@oser.com OSER COMMUNICATIONS GROUP editor from the I attended the Oregon Cheese Festival for my first time this year, and now I'm wondering what took me so long. I made a vacation of it, driving for a day across Arizona and then another day up through California to Oregon, stopping at Belcampo Farms along to the way to tour the farm, take pictures of the new little piglets and learn about the Meat Camps they put on every year so people f rom around the country can come, stay in glamping tents (They have queen beds! In tents!), eat protein-packed platefuls of grilled meat, learn a little butchery f rom professional chefs and generally have a good time learning where meat comes f rom and what to do with it. Also, I understand that there are cocktails involved. Belcampo Farms is just south of the Oregon state line, so I didn't have to drive too far the following day to get to Central Point, Oregon, which is the home of both Rogue Creamery and the annual Oregon Cheese Festival. The opening event was the Cheesemakers Dinner, with entertainment that included a talk by Steve Jones, the co-author of the newly published "Cheese Beer Wine Cider: A Field Guide to 75 Perfect Pairings," and a meal that offered a sort of group participation exercise that paired Oregon cheeses with a lot of things I wouldn't ordinarily drink. And to be perfectly honest, don't plan ever to drink again. Ah, but then the festival itself opened the next day, when I joined more than 5,000 people f rom all across the western half of Oregon and some of northern California on an exploration of three festival tents of cheeses, food that goes well with cheeses, samplings by local craft brewers and wineries and workshop sessions. Also, there were food trucks! Over the course of the weekend, I did a lot of wandering around buttonholing people to ask them where they were f rom and why they'd driven halfway across the state to pay $20 apiece to come and shop for cheese instead of just wandering over to their local grocery store. Some of them said they came because it was a lovely spring weekend, there was beer and wine and what's not to like about cheese; others came because they wanted to support their local producers and also there was beer and wine; and one woman said she was there for her once-a-year chance to get her hands on a wedge of Spring Brook Farm Tarentaise. On the other side of that Tarentaise was Spring Brook Farm Cheese Program Director Jeremy Stephenson, who would probably have won the award, should that award have existed, for the person who came the farthest for cheese on that weekend. His sales at the Oregon Cheese Festival covered his airfare for the flight f rom Vermont, but he wasn't at the festival — or any other festival or farmers market that he attends — for any reason that could be justified by sales numbers, he said. Instead, he was there for fellowship with other cheesemakers and for the chance to talk to members of the public about cheese. He wasn't alone in that — another of the festival-goers that I talked to there said that this was her first time at this particular event, but she'd attended local wine festivals before, and she was very surprised at the difference. At the Oregon Cheese Festival, the cheesemakers were so gracious and f riendly and so willing to explain to her about their cheeses and to answer her questions. They made her feel welcome — like they weren't just there to sell her something — and she plans to come back again next year. Until next month, and time to pack and go to New York for the Summer Fancy Food Show, cheers! Do look forward to the story about Belcampo Farms that will be appearing in the June issue of Gourmet News! KN Lorrie Baumann, Editorial Director 4 KITCHENWARE NEWS & Housewares Review Kitchenware News & Housewares Review is a publication of Oser Communications Group Inc. 1877 N. Kolb Road • Tucson, AZ 85715 520.721.1300 www.kitchenwarenews.com www.oser.com FOUNDER Lee M. Oser Periodicals postage paid at Tucson, AZ and additional mailing office. Kitchenware News & Housewares Review (USPS012-625) is published 12 times per year (Jan., Feb., March, April, May, June, July, Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec.) by Oser Communications Group, 1877 N. Kolb Road, Tucson, AZ, 85715 520.721.1300. Publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited material or prices quoted in newspaper. Contributors are responsible for proper release of proprietary classified information. ©2018 by Oser Communications Group. 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