Congrats Cheesemonger Jordan Edwards!

We are thrilled to announce the winner of our Send your Monger Packing competition: Jordan Edwards of Pastoral Artisan in Chicago, Ill.!

We were struck by how hard Jordan has worked on his way to becoming a cheesemonger – and obviously you were, too; Your votes determined the winner of this competition. Thanks to your support, Jordan is headed to the Cheesemonger Invitational (CMI) on June 29th in Brooklyn, New York! He’ll get full sponsorship to compete in the event, thanks to the folks at Cypress Grove, including airfare to and from New York, hotel accommodations, a daily stipend for the duration of the trip, and entry fee for the Cheesemonger Invitational contest.

Jordan grew up in Chicago, and until he began working in restaurants at the age of fourteen, had only experienced cheese as it came from the welfare food bank. He worked his way up from dishwasher to executive chef, and was on a culinary path until the restaurant he worked at abruptly shut down when the owner pawned the stove and fryer to pay off gambling debts. Understandably discouraged, Jordan found a job with Pastoral delivering cheese to restaurants. With every delivery, he made a point to learn about the cheeses he was dropping off. After six months in delivery, Jordan’s car was stolen! Fortunately, Pastoral’s owners had become impressed with him and offered him a position behind the cheese counter, and now he can’t imagine doing anything else. Jordan has never competed in the CMI before, and is excited to attend for the first time.

The culture team will be posting updates live from the scene at the CMI, so follow us @culturecheese to see how Jordan does!

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