Photo courtesy of Whole Foods
Global cheese expert Cathy Strange, the vice president of specialty for Whole Foods, and Van Salmans, of the cheese marketing organization Salmans and Associates, will each receive the Wisconsin Cheese Maker Association‘s (WCMA) new Luminary Award at the 2022 Cheese Expo in April. The award “recognizes the contributions of leaders in dairy product sales and marketing … [who have] introduced new concepts, products or innovative ideas to drive sales nationally or internationally,” according to Wisconsin State Farmer. Strange and Salmans are two of 12 WCMA Recognition Awards recipients who will be honored at the expo in Milwaukee April 14-22.
The latest COVID surge has prompted organizers to postpone Cheesemonger Invitational San Francisco until March 4-6, 2022. The move has been made in conjunction with the Good Food Awards Weekend, which has been rescheduled for March 3 (Mercantile) and 4 (Awards Ceremony). The Good Food Award winners will still be announced on Jan. 14; a list of finalists can be found here.
The team from Cheese Cave of Claremont, California, triumphed at LAFonDuel, which challenged Los Angeles-area cheese shops (including Lady & Larder, DTLA Cheese, Cailloux Cheese Shop, Milkfarm, and Cultured Slice) to showcase their fondue game. The event was sponsored by Columbia Cheese and emceed by DJ Fondastic, otherwise known as Adam Markowitz, who talked with Deli Market News about how the day of molten cheese went down.
At the National Milk Producers Federation annual meeting in Las Vegas earlier this month, Cabot Vermont Sharp Cheddar won the Chairman’s Award and was named Best Cheddar —two of 15 accolades the cooperative was awarded at the event. VermontBiz has more details here.
Susan Axelrod
Susan Sherrill Axelrod is a former editor of Culture. Her love affair with cheese began at age 12, when she bicycled to a gourmet shop to taste an exotic newcomer—French brie. She lives with her partner in midcoast Maine, where she enjoys a well-made cocktail, hiking with their dog, Lucy, and spending as much time as possible on the water.
