Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/831597
OCG Show Daily Sunday, June 4, 2017 4 6 LEELANAU RACLETTE WINS SUPER GOLD AT WORLD CHEESE AWARDS By Lorrie Baumann Leelanau Raclette was just one of two American cheeses to bring back a super gold award from the 2016 World Cheese Awards. From the entire world, only 66 cheeses, out of 3,060 cheeses entered into the competition, were awarded super golds. "It's a big honor for us because we are such a small company, and there are not a lot of creameries from Michigan. It makes us feel so special. It was a huge accom- plishment for us to win such an award," says Cheesemaker Anne Hoyt, who owns Leelanau Cheese Company with her husband John, who is also a Cheesemaker. "Every year we win something; gold, silver, bronze, but this award is very rare, and we are very proud. It promotes lots of sales, and all our customers love it which helps keep us going. It's like winning at the Olympic Games." The Hoyts have been making their Swiss-style raclette in northern Michigan for more than 20 years. Their career together started after John, who'd left Michigan to travel through Europe, met some Swiss cheese makers, and decided to find out more about what they did for a living. "He attended an agricultural school in Switzerland to learn how to make cheese and started working on alpine farms milking cows and making cheese. He specifically learned how to make raclette cheese, which is the tradi- tional cheese from the Valais region," Anne says. It was while John was begin- ning his career as a cheese maker that he met Anne, who was work- ing as a shep- herd. The two of them worked together on two alpine farms over the next two years, and then they decided that they'd like to strike out on their own. "John always wanted to come back to Michigan," Anne says. "We moved to Detroit, where John is from, and we got married." From their American launching pad, the couple started looking for a place where they could make cheese the way they had in Switzerland. They found their new home in Leelanau County, a penin- sula in northern Michigan that extends out into Lake Michigan. It's the home of a substantial portion of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, which was named the most beautiful place in America in a 2011 poll conducted by the "Good Morning America" television pro- gram. "Leelanau was just so beautiful when we visited. It reminded me of Bordeaux, with rolling hills and rural countryside with lots of orchards, vineyards and several dairy farms. We thought the cheese would work well with the blossoming wine industry," Anne says. Although the cou- ple now has two full- time employees to help in the creamery and two part-time staff who help in the small retail shop, for their first years at Leelanau, the two of them worked on their own. They make the traditional raclette that John had learned to make in Switzerland. Swiss-style raclette is a semi-hard, washed-rind cheese, and is traditionally served melted over boiled new potatoes, a tradition in Switzerland's mountain communities. Its nutty flavor also makes it work as a table cheese. "It melts very nicely, just like butter," Anne says. "People are getting our cheese for both reasons – sometimes they're melt- ing our cheese over potatoes for the raclette dinner, but many just eat it at room temperature." The Leelanau Raclette is aged a min- imum of three months, and Anne and John make it every other day year-round in their 300-gallon kettle. Each batch of cheese makes 25 wheels, or about 200 pounds of cheese. "Right now we are building our inventory for the busy sum- mer season; then we'll be working on the fall color tour; then it will be C h r i s t m a s cheese. It's hard to take a break," Anne says. "If we didn't make cheese right now, we wouldn't have any to sell later in the summer, so we never really stop making the raclette cheese." The Hoyts dedicate several wheels per batch for aging. Their 8-10 month old Aged Raclette won Best of Show at the 2007 American Cheese Society com- petition and has scored well in other major competitions. They also make a fromage blanc spread which is very pop- ular in the summer tourist season. Leelanau Fromage Blanc is made about twice a week in a 100-gallon kettle and flavored with garlic, dill, peppercorn or black truffle. The Hoyts also make an artisanal ricotta during the cooler months. HOWGOOD RAISES $4.2 MILLION SERIES A FINANCING HowGood, a leading consumer data com- pany and developer of the world's largest database of sustainable food and con- sumer products ratings, has closed a $4.2 million round of Series A financing, from investors FirstMark Capital, Contour Venture, Serious Change LP, Great Oaks Venture, High Line Venture Partners and individual investors Jake Lodwick and Joanne R. Wilson. Humanity United, a foundation dedicated to bringing new approaches to global problems and advo- cate for labor rights, also joins the round. The funding will help grow the breadth and depth of product information available to consumers, including rollout into key vertical areas such as personal care and household items. In addition, HowGood will continue its growth tra- jectory among major supermarket chains nationwide. HowGood has developed the world's largest database of sustainable food rat- ings, including an in-store rating system that identifies industry leaders in the food system. HowGood is currently the only company that rigorously researches the goodness of food products based on mul- tiple metrics and highlights those ratings for consumers at the point of purchase. With more than 70 industry-specific indi- cators per food item, from ingredient sourcing to labor practices, the organiza- tion has rated more than 200,000 products. "There is a fundamental trend towards sustainable consumer products," said Rick Heitzmann, Founder and Managing Director of FirstMark Capital. "The food and beverage industry is a $600 billion industry; 83 percent of Americans consider sustainability when buying food and 21st century customers are not only extremely focused on quali- ty, but also how their food and consumer goods are produced. We continue to be impressed by HowGood for their propri- etary data, technology, and commitment to building a sustainable food system. We believe they are uniquely positioned to capture this market with a simple system that consumers cannot find elsewhere." HowGood recently announced a part- nership with Giant Food of Landover, Maryland, a division of the Ahold- Delhaize Company. While HowGood is already available in 27 states, this partner- ship brings the company's central mission to a new region. With this partnership, HowGood's simple, accessible rating sys- tem will reach more Americans, making it easier for consumers to identify authentic brands they can trust, and in turn, support an overall better food system. "We've spent the last few years hon- ing not only our data but also educating consumers on why these ratings matter," said Alexander Gillett, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of HowGood. "While many are concerned for the impact our food system makes on the planet, many shoppers get to the shelf and quickly realize there is rarely any information that evaluates food products based on sustainability. HowGood changes that. The funding allows us to not only expand our operations, but also serves as a testament to the range of busi- nesses that value a sustainable food sys- tem." HowGood has rated more than 200,000 products, with only 5 percent of the industry earning the highest rating. The in-store ratings can be found on the shelves of hundreds of stores across 26 states and are also accessible via iTunes and Google Play. WHOLE COW MILK YOGURTS FROM BELLWETHER FARMS The Callahan family, Founders of Bellwether Farms, believe in using only full-fat milk for making their yogurt. For 10 years, Bellwether Farms Sheep Yogurt has claimed front-row status in dairy cases across the U.S. Bellwether Farms will be introducing its first Organic Cow Yogurt made with milk from Jersey cows pastured on a farm down the road from its Sonoma County, California, sheep ranch and creamery. The new Organic Cow Yogurt will arrive in freshly designed four-packs of 3.75-ounce transparent cups. Bellwether Farms sources fruit from Oregon's Columbia River region to blend into Strawberry, Blackberry, Blueberry and Spiced Apple yogurts. "We know our customers appreciate the high quality of the fruit we source, and this cup reveals the fresh fruit ready to blend into the creamy yogurt," says Liam Callahan, co- Founder, Cheese and Yogurt Maker. "We source the best fruit and add the minimum amount of sugar necessary." Plain and Madagascar Vanilla fla- vors are also available. In addition to the single-serve cups, a 5.3-ounce cup is planned along with a 32-ounce foodser- vice size, in all six flavors. Pastured Jersey cows give milk that is naturally high in heart healthy fats and nutritious A2 protein, and packed with essential vitamins and min- erals. Bellwether Farms blends 12 live, active bacte- ria strains that work togeth- er to deliver the probiotic benefits expected from yogurt. Bellwether Farms doesn't strain, drain or add stabilizers to make thicker yogurt. The creamy smooth texture comes naturally, coaxed by careful han- dling of the freshest milk delivered daily to the creamery.