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R e s t a u r a n t D a i l y N e w s 6 3 S a t u r d a y, M a y 1 6 , 2 0 1 5 EMMI ROTH BLENDS OLD WORLD AND NEW TO MEET GROWING U.S. APPETITE FOR SUPERIOR CHEESES By David Bernard When you win First Place American Cheese Society honors in the same cate- gory seven years running, you're doing something right. Likewise for the four World Cheese Awards in the last two years for a separate line of your cheeses. The combined Swiss-U.S. cheesemaker, Emmi Roth USA, offers consumers the best of European Alpine cheeses along with their uniquely accented Wisconsin counterparts, in addition to other delec- table varieties. With nine licensed cheesemakers on staff, including both European- and U.S.- trained experts, Emmi Roth offers its customers the best of the New and Old Worlds. The company showed off the new at March's U.S. Championship Cheese Contest, winning Best of Class in the Hard Hispanic Cheese category for its Roth GranQueso Reserve with its nuanced flavor notes of pineapple and browned butter and second place in the Open Class Smear Ripened Hard Cheese category for Roth's Private Reserve - a rich, earthy Alpine-style cheese with a sweet and nutty finish that is made in tra- ditional copper vats prior to aging. The Wisconsin twist on this European- inspired Alpine comes in heat treating (thermalizing) but not fully pasteurizing the milk, bringing out a unique set of fla- vors. The company has capitalized on the increasing American appetite for Alpine- style cheeses. "The flavors of Alpine cheeses are bold, and they're what the American consumer is increasingly seek- ing out," said Kirsten Jaeckle, Marketing Manager at Emmi Roth. "The smear- ripening process for crafting Alpine-style cheese is laborious, but using the yeast- bacteria solution allows the cheese to cure from the outside in. The result is a palate of earthy, mushroomy, beefy flavors." Emmi Roth's U.S. operation in Wisconsin is well positioned to meet American's growing hunger for gourmet cheeses. "We're nimble; we're a bou- tique, artisan and specialty cheese com- pany, but we also have scale," explained Jaeckle. The company has a smaller plant in Monroe, Wisconsin that makes up to 20 different varieties of cheese, and it's here where innovation takes place. An hour west in Platteville, Wisconsin, Roth oper- ates a 77,000 square-foot facility that can quickly bring a new cheese up to the scale of national distribu- tion to large and small natural and gourmet chains and independents as well as leading traditional grocery chains. The Roth range of cheeses crafted in Wisconsin offers a spin on several traditional cheeses, including robust lines of Havarti, Raclette, (Buttermilk) Blue, Gouda and Fontina, as well as the Alpine-inspired American original Grand Cru line and Spanish-inspired original GranQueso line. The company's original GranQueso, rubbed with a spice blend that includes cinnamon and paprika, and parent to this year's longer-aged U.S. Championship Cheese Contest winner, GranQueso Reserve, won seven consecutive first place American Cheese Society awards from 2004-10, and has placed third or higher every year since 2011. The com- pany also produces single flavors of tra- ditional European butterkäse and Swiss cheese. Emmi of Switzerland is a leading producer of authentic, traditional Swiss cheese varieties. The lead brand of the European side of Emmi Roth is its cave- aged Kaltbach line, topped by the crum- bly, fruity-tangy Le Gruyère AOP, the classic Swiss hard cheese that picks up extra richness of flavor and its unique rustic brown patina from nine months of aging in the renowned Kaltbach caves. Emmi also offers a line of more traditional Swiss cheeses. In addition to the hallmark Le Gruyère AOP, these include the classic Emmentaler AOP, as well as the Appenzeller Classic, often called Switzerland's spiciest cheese, an aged raw milk cheese washed with an herbal brine that includes wine and cider, which yields a complex nutty, spicy flavor reminiscent of ginger, black tea and clove. In addition to its Kaltbach and traditional Swiss cheeses, Emmi of Switzerland offers several niche Swiss cheese varieties. While both Emmi of Switzerland and Roth Wisconsin cheeses are popular among U.S. gourmet shoppers, Jaeckle is particularly excited about the company's current – and future – domestic cheeses. "There's a hunger for American-made cheeses, and that's been very exciting, because it didn't always used to be that way," she explained. "The market is more educated, but there's still education left to do. The majority of consumers shopping for gourmet cheese, even if they're shopping at a specialty grocer rather than a cheese shop, still rely very heavily on their cheesemonger. So in addition to producing interesting high- quality cheeses, we're working to edu- cate the consumer, a consumer that has an appetite for new and unique flavors." SHEEP'S MILK CHEESES FROM THE CHATTAHOOCHEE HILLS By Lorrie Baumann Just three and a half years after Many Fold Farm started producing artisanal sheep's milk cheeses in the Chattahoochee Hill Country southwest of Atlanta, Georgia, the cheeses made by husband and wife, Ross and Rebecca Williams, and their families are drawing critical notice as well as fans from as far away as Austin, Texas; New York and Chicago. Many Fold Farm was founded in 2009 by Ross and Rebecca Williams, two young farmers who started out wanting to do something meaningful with their lives. Ross first farmed at Warren Wilson College, where he programmed the farm's sales database, revamped the website, learned to drive a tractor, herded and man- aged cattle and milked cows. From there, he went to Heifer International's Overlook Farm, where he taught visitors about the role that livestock play in alleviating hunger and poverty around the world. From there, he and Rebecca went to work for Hickory Nut Gap Farm in Fairview, North Carolina, where five generations of the McClure family have worked the land. They struck out on their own in 2009, pooling their resources to buy a farm 30 miles from where they grew up, where they're now raising sheep, chickens and two daughters. The first few years were spent stocking the farm with sheep and building the creamery, says Tim Gaddis, the farm's Director of Operations. "First and foremost, we're not cheesemakers and farmers, we're grass farmers. You have to raise good grass, and with good grass comes good milk, and from good milk comes good cheese," Gaddis says. Many Fold Farm now makes five different sheep's milk cheeses, of which four are soft-ripened fresh cheeses. Garrett's Ferry and Condor's Ruin are the two flagship products. Garrett's Ferry Soft, buttery, ultra- creamy, semi-lactic crottin-style cheese made from pasteurized sheep milk with tra- ditional lamb rennet and aged from three to six weeks. The name comes from a historic ferry across the Chattahoochee River and reflects the Williams' commitment to stay true to where they come from, to give back to the community and to run a sustainable farm, Gaddis said. Naming cheeses after local landmarks and people that are part of the history of the Chattahoochee Hill Country is part of the philosophy. Condor's Ruin is named after the still-standing ruins of a fluid milk dairy operated by the Condor family in the late 1800s. This is a velvety, ash-ripened cheese that's dense with rich, complex fla- vors. It's made from pasteurized sheep milk with traditional lamb rennet and aged for three to six weeks. Last year at the 2014 ACS competition, Condor's Ruin won first place in its category for a sheep's milk cheese aged less than 60 days. Brebis, which is made from a classi- cal French recipe and represents the sheep's milk equivalent of a chevre, won a second-place ribbon from the American Cheese Society in 2013 and a third-place ribbon in 2014. "I'm super proud of the fact that we've won back-to-back places. It shows that the quality continues year after year. I think it's really something to be proud of," Gaddis says. He's just as proud that Many Fold Farms cheeses will be included this year at the Slow Food Cheese Festival in Bra, Italy. "I think it's pretty cool to be taking a little Georgia sheep's milk cheese to Italy," he says. "That's a pretty good accomplishment for making cheese for three and a half years now." JUST DESSERTS DOUBLES PRODUCTION SPACE WITH MOVE TO FAIRFIELD, CALIFORNIA San Francisco Institution and award-win- ning baked goods producer, Just Desserts, will open a new, 75,000 square- foot manufacturing facility in Fairfield, California this month. The plant, which includes some administrative offices, will take over production from the com- pany's previous facility in Oakland. Just Desserts will maintain a presence in San Francisco, retaining its innovation center – including the company's test kitchen – and some administrative offices. "Our business enjoyed double digit growth in 2014 through the introduction of our new organic and vegan product offer- ings," says Michael J. Mendes, CEO of Just Desserts. "With the introduction of new products, our new proprietary-packaging platform and expanded production facility, we expect accelerated growth in the future." The company, which produces cakes, including single serve cakes; cup- cakes, and brownie and cake bites, is moving from Oakland because of its need for a larger facility. The Fairfield site is double the size of Just Desserts' current bakery in Oakland. It has been designed and equipped to handle the company's new organic and premium vegan baked items and will have enhanced production capabilities, as well as an in-house quali- ty control laboratory. Mendes says the company conduct- ed an exhaustive search for a new site, scouting out possible locations as far away as Nevada and Texas. "We chose Fairfield because of the value of real estate, the city's business-friendly envi- ronment, and the fact that the transporta- tion lanes are attractive for shipping and transporting product," says Mendes. "We also found that the access to skilled workers in the area is well-suited to our needs." At full production, Just Desserts estimates it will create over 100 new jobs at the Fairfield facility. "We are pleased that Just Desserts will be joining our community of top food and beverage companies that have found a sweet spot in Fairfield," says Ken Cantrell, Senior Economic Development Project Manager with Fairfield's economic development department. "We have attracted compa- nies because of our commitment to build- ing a strong infrastructure that includes an ample supply of water and a state-of- the-art wastewater system."