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GOURMET NEWS SEPTEMBER 2014 www.gourmetnews.com GENERAL NEWS 6 ACS Awards Continued from PAGE 1 from Canada and even as far away as Colombia and Puerto Rico. In total, the judges awarded 325 first, second and third place prizes. A total of 38 cheese experts divided into 19 teams of two, blind-tasted each of the 1,685 entries, judging each one on both its technical and aes- thetic merits. Technical judges, primarily academics, evaluated the products based on their scientific attributes, seeking out flaws in the cheeses. Aesthetic judges, which included distributors, food writers, retailers and chefs, evaluated the cheeses on more positive criteria, giv- ing points based on various organoleptic qualities. As in each ACS Competi- tion, the products submitted for judging were divided into a number of categories based on type, the variety of milk being used, the length of aging and other characteristics. Ac- cording to Kooiman, it is interesting to see how the categories shift each year. The ACS judges are in an interesting po- sition to observe what is trending in the world of cheese, based on which cate- gories see the most entries and which new types of cheese are introduced into the judging room. In recent years, fresh cheese curds and burrata have emerged as key players in the dairy world, while other cheeses like teleme, a semi-soft American cheese, seem to be waning in popularity. This year, ACS judges saw particularly heightened numbers of submissions in the flavored, washed rind and Alpine- style cheese categories. Another group of cheeses Kooiman noted as trending are what ACS terms, "American Originals," cheeses that are somehow uniquely American in their recipes and/or formu- lations. "We have cheesemakers in the Americas who are trying to seek out and find their own unique recipe. They really want to sort of break away from some of the more classic templates and start to create their own cheese types and styles based on the types of cultures or the way that they're finished," he said. Although there is a concerted effort to maintain a sense of scientific regularity throughout the judging process, when it comes time to choose Best of Show win- ners, personal subjectivities trump em- piricism. "Best of show is a completely different process," said Kooiman. "You sort of drop all your thoughts about the way that this structured judging is hap- pening throughout the entire main part of the judging for all of the subcate- gories." In choosing Best of Show, all the first place winning cheeses are assem- bled in one room, where the 38 judges independently give the cheeses one, two or three points, based solely on their per- sonal preference. "At that point, they're not even thinking about technical or aes- thetic. It's what cheese do I like the most in this entire room. And it really sort of boils down to that," said Kooiman. This year, four companies were pre- sented with Best of Show honors, with two companies tying for third place. Farms for City Kids Foundation, based at Spring Brook Farm in Reading, Ver- mont won the top prize for Tarentaise Reserve. This was followed by Califor- nia-based Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company in second, honored for its Point Reyes Bay Blue. New York-based Sprout Creek Farm and California-based Oakdale Cheese & Specialties won third for their Eden and Aged Gouda, respec- tively. "It's wonderful. I'm kind of amazed," said Stephenson about his company's first place award. "I have entered cheese in this contest for five years now, and we don't always win an award, and we don't expect that. So when we're judged this way it's a real honor." Cheesemakers at Spring Brook Farm have been crafting Tarentaise since 2008, originally selling the rich Alpine-style cheese at about six months of age. It was Stephenson's idea to start aging some wheels of the cheese for a longer period of time. The company's 24-month-aged Tarentaise Reserve impressed the judging panel for its beautiful bal- ance of flavor. This was the first year Farms for City Kids Founda- tion entered this reserve aged cheese at the competition. A small batch craft cheese pro- duced in a facility of limited size, Stephenson knows that the Best of Show prize will ramp up demand for the Tarentaise Reserve. How- ever, it is the power of the award to get Farms for City Kids and Spring Brook Farm rec- ognized by retail- ers, distributors and ultimately consumers that has him most ex- cited. "We've seen when we've won awards in the past, there's an immediate correlation between sales and getting an award, but overall it's a matter of getting your brand out there," he said. "So in terms of brand recognition, it's huge." Audrey Aponte, Director of Sales at Sprout Creek Farm, could not be more proud of her company's third place Best of Show honor. "We are incredibly ex- cited and really honored and just super proud. It's kind of the best thing that could have happened," she said. "Best of Show is just something we dream of – what every cheesemaker dreams of, I think." The team at Point Reyes Farmstead were quick to give credit where credit is due, acknowledging the contributions of the company's head cheesemaker Kuba Hammerling to crafting its award-win- ning Bay Blue. "He's been working at it very diligently, and he's the one that put this cheese together. You don't just put a cheese together overnight. There's a lot of trial and error that goes into it – wheels that go into the garbage, and you have to start all over again. We're very happy for him," said Bob Giacomini, pa- triarch of the company's founding family. For the cheesemakers honored at the 2014 ACS Competition, the honor is es- pecially meaningful as it represents the approval of a larger American dairy com- munity of which, as ACS members, they are proud to be a part. "This has been our biggest award, and we're so happy to be in such good company," said Jill Gia- comini Basch of Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company. "It's so great to really know the people and what they're doing – the quality." "I really have to tip my hat to the farmers, to the people who give us our milk. What we're doing is so much a part of agriculture and working to develop a new sustainable food sys- tem. We're a small part of that I think," said Stephen- son. "With our style of cheese, we have to tip our hat to the Alpine cheese- makers who have been doing this for thousands of years … When we do this work, we have to remember that we are part of some- thing much bigger than an individual or an individual farm. We're part of a com- munity." For more information on the American Cheese Society Competition, including a complete list of the 2014 award win- ners, visit www.cheesejudging.org/ 2014-winners. GN World Food Championships Announces Super Regional Qualifying Events in Select Cities across the Nation The World Food Championships is in- troducing a new way for culinary champs to qualify for the largest and richest food competition in the world of food sport. For the first time in its three- year history, the event is partnering with Kenmore ® to host Super Regional Qual- ifying Events in cities across the nation. The first such event will be held in the city of Nashville, Tennessee on Septem- ber 5-6, where 10 competitors will earn their way into the 2014 WFC main event. The Music City Cookoff will feature up to 60 home cooks, chefs, restaurateurs and anyone with a knack for cooking, facing off in one of three culinary competitions: cheese, seafood and dessert. Similar to the overall championship in Las Vegas, contest- ants will be forced to compete against na- ture, a clock and a field of talented cooks from all walks of life. "This event is particularly special to us as the heartbeat and operations of the World Food Championships exists in Nashville," said Mike McCloud, President of the World Food Championships. "We are fully aware of the burgeoning culinary destination that Nashville is becoming and are excited to see what kind of hometown delights will be going on to compete in the ultimate food fight in Las Vegas." "Music City will be rocking when this culinary championship kicks off in Septem- ber," said Kari Karch, Executive Chef at Kenmore and host of the WFC Super Re- gionals. "I can't wait to see what culinary delights the competitors dream up for this competition." The second and third Super Regional Qualifying Events are scheduled to take place on September 19-20 in Murphysboro, Illinois and October 25-26 in Scottsdale, Arizona. Following a tournament-style format with almost 500 competitors, the 2014 World Food Championships will consist of nine food categories – barbecue, chili, burger, sandwich, recipe, dessert, bacon, pasta and seafood. To compete in the event, competitors have to win an auto- matic qualifying event or earn a spot through the Super Regionals. The third annual event will invite the champions from the biggest and best food competi- tions around the world into a single high- stakes culinary showdown for hundreds of thousands of dollars. The event will culminate with a Final Table faceoff where category champions brave poten- tial elimination before a live audience and a discerning panel of culinary celebrities. For more information, visit www .worldfoodchampionships.com. GN Tarentaise Reserve, from Farms for City Kids Foundation, was awarded First Place Best of Show at this year's competition New York's Sprout Creek Farm took home Third Place Best of Show for its Eden

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