Inside the annual event by the Cheese Culture Coalition.
A cheese plate from the Cheesy Chopped Championship. Photographed by Leslie Cooperband.
Sometimes, you wander into an experience that transcends your expectations and blows your mind.
After stepping away from the cheese world when we sold our farmstead creamery (Prairie Fruits Farm & Creamery in Champaign, Illinois) in 2024, we dove back in, attending and presenting at the 2026 American Cheese Society Conference. When my husband and I entered the Biscuit Lounge in historic downtown Louisville, Kentucky, hot and sweaty from a long walk, we had little idea how the evening would unfold—or how deeply the event would touch us.
We were there for the Cheese Culture Coalition’s (CCC) annual Cheesy Chopped Championship, a fundraising event that riffs on the Food Network’s cooking competition Chopped. Since 2020, the Coalition’s mission has been to “create a more equitable and inclusive cheese industry for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color through education and grant programs.”
The Cheesy Chopped Championship came together as an impromptu fundraiser at the 2024 conference. Three BIPOC cheese mongers are presented with an array of donated cheeses and accompaniments and tasked with building a cheese board that represents who they are and how they are connected to cheese. They are allowed to bring their own elements (sauces, condiments, etc.) from home, too, and must complete their boards within a set time, then present them to a panel of judges. There are two rounds before a winner is crowned.
Cheese bites from the competition. Photographed by Nathan Aldridge.
The Biscuit Lounge was built in the restored Nabisco Biscuit Factory and provided a stunning backdrop for the competition. The decor, comfortable couches and chairs, original brick walls, and hardwood floors created a welcoming vibe emblematic of the CCC’s motto: “Cheese is for everyone!” The space was packed with people building a din of engaging conversation. There was a generous spread of cheeses and accompaniments for guests to enjoy, a monger from Quesos Navarro (Jalisco, Mexico) crafted grilled small bites with unctuous melty cheeses, and a Japanese cheesemaker, Chiyo Shibata from Fromage Sen, dressed in an arresting traditional kimono, sampled beautiful French-inspired cow’s milk cheeses. Of course, there was a silent auction item table, and I couldn’t resist bidding on a giant cooler full of cheeses and accompaniments (and I won!).
Cheesemaker Chiyo Shibata from Fromage Sen dressed in a traditional kimono. Photographed by Gordon Edgar.
French-style cheeses by Japan’s Fromage Sen. Photographed by Gordon Edgar.
The three competing mongers hailed from different parts of the country, and all worked at and/or owned independent cheese shops. Each reflected a unique set of life experiences that led them to cheese. All three mongers designed thoughtful, beautiful boards and shared rich, inspirational stories accompanying them. As each described their cheese and accoutrement choices and how those pairings reflected specific elements and experiences from their lives, I began to realize that this was not your typical cheese event. These folks were not trying to sell us anything or extol their excellence. These people were simply crafting cheese boards from the hearts.
The winning monger, Tobias Benavides, a Peruvian-American from Rainbow Grocery Cooperative in San Francisco, brought guests to tears as he described the Incan ancestors who inspired his perfect bite. Barely 24 years old, his oratory was layered, referencing connections to his past.
Tobias Benavides, winner of the Cheesy Chopped Championship, holding a trophy. Photographed by Gordon Edgar.
While he and the other mongers shared their stories, I sat back on my barstool to take it all in: the connections to cheese through heritage, the struggles of keeping small, independent cheese shops afloat in a world of consolidation and convenience, and the generosity of the makers who donated products for the event. Indeed, it was a microcosm of the beauty that can unfold when people from diverse backgrounds come together to indulge in a particular passion. I was overcome by the overwhelming joy wafting through the lounge. No hidden agendas, no ulterior motives—just a group of cheese nerds coming together for the sheer love of cheese and an honest desire to share that love.
Leslie Cooperband
For nearly 20 years, Leslie Cooperband and her husband Wes Jarrell owned and operated Illinois’ first farmstead dairy-creamery, Prairie Fruits Farm & Creamery LLC (Champaign, Illinois). Both soil scientists and academics by trade, they left behind their professorial lives to become goat dairy farmers and farmstead cheese-makers. They transformed a 7-acre cash grain farm into an orchard and goat dairy in 2003 and opened their doors in 2005. They milked 80 goats seasonally and made 8-10 styles of artisan cheese, many of which won national awards, including the American Cheese Society and the Good Food Awards. Their pasture-based goat herd was certified “Animal Welfare Approved” for 14 years. Although the dairy-creamery was the main enterprise, the farm had a farm store, hosted farm to table meals, and offered tours, classes and other agri-tourism events. Leslie and Wes sold their farm business in February 2024, and it is thriving. They currently live on the neighboring farm, which they are restoring and rewilding. Leslie writes a weekly Substack post and is working on a book about her experiences as a dairy farmer and cheese maker.
