WHAT: Three Wegmans Food Market stores will host free “Talk & Taste” events in the Cheese Shop.
WHEN AND WHERE:
Wegmans Fairfax | Thursday, August 20, 5 to 7 p.m.
11620 Monument Drive, Fairfax VA
Wegmans Columbia | Friday, August 21, 5 to 7 p.m.
8855 McGaw Road, Columbia MD
Wegmans Allentown | Saturday, August 22, 1 to 3 p.m.
3900 Tilghman St., Allentown PA
ROCHESTER, NY – If you love learning more about where your food comes from and what it takes to produce cheeses that are “best in class,” then you won’t want to miss Wegmans’ “Talk & Taste” events. At these three meet-and-greet tastings, customers can sample some of North America’s best cheeses from cow’s, goat’s, or sheep’s milk, and hear about the journey from prime pastureland and milking sheds to the Cheese Shop in the store. A number of cheeses that recently won awards at the American Cheese Society’s 2015 competition will be among those sampled, including Wegmans’ own ‘1916’ aged goat cheese. Nearly 1,800 different cheeses were entered this year.
“When the cheesemakers and producers visit, our employees will meet with them to deepen their own understanding and appreciation for what makes these products so special,” said Cathy Gaffney, Wegmans vice president who oversees specialty cheese and the Wegmans Cheese Caves. “But we know that many who shop with us love learning about these things too, so we’re thrilled that these representatives saved time to meet with our customers.”
Representatives from these producers will visit with customers at each event:
- Carr Valley Cheese, a Wisconsin-based cheese producer that makes more than 100 varieties of cheeses from sheep’s, goat’s or cow’s milk. Varieties range from expertly-aged cheddars to small-batch artisanal cheeses. On hand from Carr Valley will be Sid Cook, master cheesemaker, and Beth Wyttenbach, sales manager.
- Vermont Creamery, a Vermont-based artisanal cheese producer that makes fresh and aged cheeses from cow’s and goat’s milk. (This producer is profiled in the summer issue of Wegmans Menu Magazine). Joey Conner, lead aged cheesemaker, will represent Vermont Creamery.
- Beecher’s Handmade Cheese, an artisanal cheesemaker, will be represented by lead cheesemaker Andrew Torrens and Kurt Beecher Dammeier, who opened Beecher’s Handmade Cheese locations in New York City and Seattle.
- BelGioioso is a Wisconsin-based cheese producer of outstanding Italian-style cheeses, such as Asiago, Fontina, Parmesan, and Provolone. Gaetano Auricchio, vice present of sales and son of the company’s founder, and Anthony Gatto, sales manager, will represent BelGioioso.
- Summerfresh is based in the Canadian province of Ontario and known for exciting cheese-spread flavors such as aged cheddar and chipotle dip, five cheese dip, and spicy artichoke and asiago dip. Company founder Susan Niczowski and Frank Kamberaj, national sales manager for Summerfresh, will greet customers.
Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. is an 86-store supermarket chain with stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, and Massachusetts. The family-owned company, founded in 1916, is recognized as an industry leader and innovator. Wegmans has been named one of the ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’ by FORTUNE magazine for 18 consecutive years, ranking #7 in 2015. The company also ranked #1 for Corporate Reputation, among the 100 ‘most-visible companies’ nationwide in the 2014 Harris Poll Reputation Quotient ® study.
Source: Wegmans Food Markets, Inc.
