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GOURMET NEWS www.gourmetnews.com n JUNE 2017 n GOURMET NEWS 8 0 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 competi- tion, 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 Lee- lanau 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 traditional cheese from the Valais region," Anne says. It was while John was beginning his ca- reer as a cheese maker that he met Anne, who was working as a shep- herd. The two of them worked to- gether 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 De- troit, where John is from, and we got mar- ried." 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 peninsula in northern Michigan that extends out into Lake Michi- gan. 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 program. "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 couple 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 Lee- lanau, 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 tradition- ally served melted over boiled new potatoes, a tradition in Switzerland's mountain com- munities. 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 – some- times they're melting our cheese over pota- toes for the raclette dinner, but many just eat it at room temperature." The Leelanau Raclette is aged a minimum of three months, and Anne and John make it every other day year- round in their 300-gal- lon kettle. Each batch of cheese makes 25 wheels, or about 200 pounds of cheese. "Right now we are building our inventory for the busy summer season; then we'll be working on the fall color tour; then it will be Christmas 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 competi- tion and has scored well in other major com- petitions. They also make a fro- mage blanc spread which is very popular in the summer tourist season. Leelanau Fro- mage Blanc is made about twice a week in a 100-gallon kettle and flavored with garlic, dill, pepper- corn or black truffle. The Hoyts also make an artisanal ricotta during the cooler months. Whole Cow Milk Yogurts from Bellwether Farms The Callahan family, Founders of Bell- wether 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, Califor- nia, 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, Blue- berry 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 flavors are also available. In addition to the single-serve cups, a 5.3-ounce cup is planned along with a 32-ounce foodservice size, in all six fla- vors. Pastured Jersey cows give milk that is nat- urally high in heart healthy fats and nutritious A2 protein, and packed with essential vi- tamins and minerals. Bell- wether Farms blends 12 live, active bacteria strains that work together 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 handling of the freshest milk delivered daily to the creamery. Hammond's Expands Crisps Line with Snack Sizes, Gourmet Flavors Hammond's Brands, the parent company of Hammond's Candies, Old Dominion Peanut Company, McCraw's Candies and the re- cently launched Mellow Snacks, shared the details of long-awaited new additions to its popular Crisps line. New packaging, re- freshed branding and innovative flavors will help retailers meet an increasing demand for snacks that provide a sugary fix with a salty kick. Hammond's new Crisps come in eight complex but perfectly balanced flavors: dark chocolate peanut, sea salt caramel peanut, original peanut, cashew, s'mores, coconut, hickory smoked almond and cinnamon apple walnut. Six-ounce SUR bags come six per DRC with a suggested retail price that ranges from $2.99 to $3.99, making the Crisps an ideal addition for snack shelves in stores both big and small. "Snack sales account for a full 40 percent of the $370 billion U.S. packaged food mar- ket and this percentage is expected to grow each year thanks to Millennials' tendencies to snack much more than any other genera- tion," said Andrew Schuman, Hammond's President and Chief Executive Officer. "From a profit perspective, retailers can't go wrong with offering a wide variety of snacks for these consumers. Our new Crisps flavors are one way that Hammond's is fulfilling its commitment to helping these candy sellers satisfy today's appetites with old-fashioned recipes and fresh ingredients." The new line of Crisps began helping stores across the na- tion increase their sales volume in the already proven seg- ment with its first shipment in March. For more information about placing your Crisps order, visit www.hammondscandies.com or call 888.226.3999. About Hammond's Hammond's Candies began delighting candy lovers with artisan candy canes, beautifully spun ribbon candy and larger- than-life lollipops when it was founded by the Hammond family in 1920, making it Colorado's favorite handmade confec- tioner for decades. In 2007, the company became the Hammond's Brands that it is today through its acquisition by current President and Chief Executive Officer An- drew Schuman, growing from a m u c h - l o v e d , local candy company to a leading gourmet sweet provider with national regard (and has doubled the number of employees). Since then, Hammond's has gone on to ac- quire such companies as McCraw's Can- dies in 2010 and Old Dominion Peanut Company in 2012 as well as to gain im- pressive recognitions for brand packaging and product innovation. Visit Hammond's at booth #5864. For more in- formation, go to www.hammondscandies.com or call 800.CANDY.99 (800.226.3999). Fol- low Hammond's Candies on Facebook at www.facebook.com/hammondscandies and on Pinterest at www.pinterest.com/hammonds candies.

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