Judging Panel Selected For 2014 World Championship Cheese Contest

Wisconsin Cheeemakers Association Deli January 27, 2014

Madison, WI – Fifty cheese experts from around the world will convene to choose the World Champion Cheese at the 2014 World Championship Cheese Contest, to be held March 18-19 at the Monona Terrace Convention Center in Madison, Wisconsin, USA.

This year’s international team will hail from 19 nations and 14 U.S. states – the largest judging panel ever convened for this Contest. The panel will evaluate cheese and butter entries overseen by Chief Judge Robert Aschebrock, veteran USDA dairy grader. “The Judge Selection Committee carefully reviewed numerous prospective judges to arrive at a well-qualified team. In addition to an excellent international presence, this year’s panel represents a wide range of expertise which is more and more important as this Contest continues to grow,” said Aschebrock.

International judges are expected to join the World Championship Cheese Contest from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Mexico, Portugal, The Netherlands, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

The World Championship Cheese Contest will again invite the winner of the Cheddar Category in the National Collegiate Dairy Products Evaluation Contest to observe the judging. “WCMA is pleased to partner with Chr. Hansen to bring in the top student cheddar judge to learn from our international expert panel,” said John Umhoefer, executive director of Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association, the contest host. Blake Jorgenson, a student at Iowa State University, will be invited to observe the judging at the Contest this year.

Contest officials anticipate more than 2,600 entries from around the world for this 30th biennial competition. Cheese and butter makers are encouraged to visit the contest website at www.worldchampioncheese.org. Online entry is easier than ever with MyEntries©, a unique online entry feature that saves time and money. MyEntries© allows the user to securely enter and pay online and instantly view scores and scoresheets. Entries are stored from year to year in one convenient, secure location. Entry forms and fees for the contest are due February 18, 2014.

Contest entries must be shipped to arrive by March 7th to WOW Logistics in Little Chute, Wis. WOW Logistics and Wisconsin Aging and Grading Cheese, Inc. will store, sort and label entries.

Assisting Robert Aschebrock for the 2014 contest are Chief Judge Emeritus Bill Schlinsog, Middleton, Wis., and Assistant Chief Judges Tim Czmowski, Agropur, Inc., Hull, Iowa, Stan Dietsche, Oshkosh Cheese Sales & Storage, Oshkosh, Wis., Jim Mueller, Mueller Consulting, Green Bay, Wis., and Sandy Toney, Masters Gallery Foods, Plymouth, Wis. The contest chairman is Brian Eggebrecht of Welcome Dairy, Colby, Wis., assisted by Steve Krause, TOSCA Ltd., Green Bay, Wis., Kevin Thome, Cheese Reporter, Madison, Wis., Dan Stearns, Agropur, Inc., Weyauwega, Wis., Dave Buholzer, Klondike Cheese Co., Monroe, Wis., and Craig Linz, TetraPak, Winsted, Minn.

Judges for the 2014 event include the following:

International Panelists

  • ARGENTINA – Roberto Castañeda, Technical Director for the Technological Research Center for the Dairy Industry, Buenos Aires.
  • AUSTRALIA – Russell Smith, Dairy Australia, Victoria.
  • CANADA – Louis Aird, Import/Export Fine Cheese Director, Saputo Cheese, Montreal, Quebec.
  • CROATIA – Dr. Samir Kalit, Professor, University of Zagreb.
  • DENMARK – Per Olesen, Bornholms Andelsmejeri, Klemensker.
  • FRANCE – Roland Barthelemy, President of the Guild of Fromagers, and author of “Cheeses of the World”, Orly.
  • GERMANY – Richard Ellner, retired head of the department of quality assurance and analytics in the Bavarian Research Center for Agriculture, Freising-Weihenstephan; and Josef Hubatschek, ALPMA, Rott am Inn.
  • GREECE – Antonios Athanasoulas, R&D Director, Tyras, SA, Trikala.
  • IRELAND – Enda Howley, Cheese Grader, Irish Dairy Board, Dublin.
  • ITALY – Davide Fiori, General Manager, Luigi Guffanti Formaggi, Arona.
  • MEXICO – Luis Jimenez-Maroto, Sensory Coordinator, WI Center for Dairy Research and Arnoldo Lopez, University of Wisconsin Department of Food Science.
  • NEW ZEALAND – Chris Vickers, Fonterra Cooperative Group Ltd., Palmerston North.
  • THE NETHERLANDS – Jo Penders, FrieslandCampina Cheese Specialties, Wolvega.
  • NORWAY – Siv Borghild Skeie, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, presently working at the University of Wisconsin Madison, Dept. of Food Science as a Fulbright grantee.
  • PORTUGAL – Mariana de Almeida, Agricultural Engineer, Lisbon.
  • SOUTH AFRICA – Kobus Mulder, Dairy Consultant, Durbanville, Western Cape.
  • SPAIN – Jose Luis Martin, Cheesemonger, Quesarte, Madrid; and Jose Luis Galvan, Itacyl, Palencia.
  • SWITZERLAND – Ernst Oettli, Gourmino AG, Langnau im Emmental, Bern, and Walter Bisig, Director, Agroscope Liebefeld-Posieux Research Station ALP, Bern.
  • UNITED KINGDOM – David Lockwood, Managing Director/Partner, Neal’s Yard Dairy, London and Chris George, Cheese Journeys.


An additional international judge will be confirmed shortly.

U.S. Panelists include:

  •  Jill Allen, Dairy Products Quality Assurance Manager, Tillamook County Creamery Association, Tillamook, Ore.
  •  Greg Anderson, Procurement Manager, Pace Dairy Foods, Rochester, Minn.
  •  Doug Anker, Consultant, Zillah, Wash.
  •  Marc Bates, Bates Consulting, Cannon Beach, Ore.
  •  Jeff Broadbent, Professor of Food Science at Utah State University, Logan, Utah.
  •  Dave Burk, Cheese Grader, Marathon Cheese, Marathon, Wis.
  •  Dr. Richard Dargan, Team Leader – Supplier Food Safety and Quality, Schreiber Foods, Inc., Monett, Mo.
  •  Dominique Delugeau, Executive VP Specialty Cheese, Deli & Marketing, Saputo Cheese USA, Richfield, Wis.
  •  Todd Druhot, Gourmet Cheese Specialist, Atlanta Foods International, Atlanta, Ga.
  •  Nana Farkye, Professor, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, Cal.
  •  Craig Gile, Master Cheese Grader, Cabot Creamery, Montpelier, Vt.
  •  Glenn Hatcher, Director of Quality Systems, Pacific Cheese, Hayward, Cal.
  •  John Jaeggi, Cheese Industry and Applications Program Coordinator, Wisconsin Center forDairy Research, Madison, Wis.
  •  Mark Johnson, Senior Scientist, Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research, Madison, Wis.
  •  Dr. Kerry Kaylegian, Pilot Plant Manager, Penn State University, University Park, Penn.
  •  Dan Konz, Cheese Grader, DairiConcepts, Kimball, Minn.
  •  Terry Lensmire, Licensed Cheese Maker/Grader, Agropur Inc., Appleton, Wis.
  •  Max McCalman, Maître Fromager, Author, Speaker and Dean of Curriculum, Artisanal Premium Cheese Center, New York City, N.Y.
  •  Neville McNaughton, Cheese Consultant, CheezSorce, Davisville, Mo.
  •  Bill Novak, President, Novak Cheese of Wisconsin, Green Bay, Wis.
  •  Mike Pederson, multiple products grader, Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Argyle, Wis.
  •  David Satterness, Regional Sales Manager, Chr. Hansen, Inc., Sioux Falls, South Dak.
  •  Dr. Tonya Schoenfuss, Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minn.
  •  Cathy Strange, Global Cheese Buyer, Whole Foods Market, Austin, Texas.
  •  Nial Yager, Buyer/Planner, Washington State University Creamery, Pullman, Wash.

For contest updates, visit worldchampioncheese.org.

Source: Wisconsin Cheeemakers Association