Accident, MD – FireFly Farms (http://www.fireflyfarms.com), producer of handmade cheese from Mountain Maryland, proudly celebrates another successful season earning sixteen new individual awards won by its acclaimed line of cheeses in national and international cheese judging programs.
“The past year has been another great year for the FireFly Farms’ team,” remarked FireFly Farms Director of Operations, Matt Cedro. “These sixteen new awards bring our total individual award count to a staggering eighty-nine! FireFly Farms has earned a respected place among American cheese makers, and is looking forward to further expanding its product line and product distribution in the coming year.”
The cheese judging programs recognizing FireFly Farms’ cheeses included:
- The American Cheese Society Competition & Judging. This leading competition of North American-made cheeses, takes place each year in conjunction with the annual ACS conference. The ACS cheese judging is the largest annual competition held in the United States with entries from hundreds of North American cheese manufacturers;
- The American Dairy Goat Association’s commercial product competition. Serving the dairy goat industry since 1904, the ADGA Products Committee Competition takes place each year as part of the ADGA Annual Convention and seeks to celebrate excellence in products produced from American goat’s milk;
- The Maryland Cheese Guild’s first annual Maryland Artisan Cheese Contest held in conjunction with the Maryland Wine Festival;
- The Good Food Awards. The Good Food Awards celebrate the kind of food we all want to eat: tasty, authentic and responsibly produced. The Good Food Awards recognizes outstanding American food producers and the farmers who provide their ingredients; and,
- The World Cheese Awards hosted at the BBC’s Good Food Food Show. This worldwide event is the largest cheese competition on the planet. This competition includes thousands of cheeses from 30 countries judged by 250 expert judges from all over the world.
An unprecedented seven of FireFly Farms’ cheeses were recognized with new awards this season:
- FireFly Farm’s fresh goat’s milk cheese Allegheny Chevre received a second-place award in the ADGA commercial products competition. This new award brings Allegheny Chevre’s total individual award count to three. Previous awards include its international recognition at the World Cheese Awards in 2014.
- FireFly’s newest soft-ripened goat’s milk cheese Cabrita received its first distinction at the Maryland Artisan Cheese Contest: the Judges Choice Award.
- FireFly’s soft-ripened goat’s milk cheese, Merry Goat Round received a gold medal in the Maryland Artisan Cheese Contest and was designated “Best-in-Show.” These two new awards bring Merry Goat Round’s total individual award count to twelve. Previous awards include its international recognition at the World Cheese Awards in 2004, 2007, 2008, and 2012.
- FireFly’s soft-ripened goat’s milk blue cheese, MountainTop Bleu received a second-place award in the ADGA commercial products competition, a bronze medal in the Maryland Artisan Cheese Contest, and a third-place award in the American Cheese Society Competition & Judging. These three new awards bring MountainTop Bleu’s total individual award count to twenty-five – FireFly Farms’ single most-awarded cheese. Previous awards include 2005 selection by Saveur Magazine editors as one of their 50 favorite American cheeses and its international recognition at the World Cheese Awards in 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2013, and 2014.
- FireFly Farm’s washed-rind goat’s milk cheese Cabra LaMancha received a second-place award in the ADGA commercial products competition, a bronze medal in the Maryland Artisan Cheese Contest, a bronze medal at the World Cheese Awards, and a first prestigious Good Food Award. These four new awards bring Cabra LaMancha’s total individual award count to eighteen. Previous awards include its 2005 selection by Southern Foodways Alliance as one of the “Top 10” American goat’s milk cheeses and its international recognition at the World Cheese Awards in 2008, 2009, 2012, and now 2015.
- FireFly Farm’s goat’s milk blue cheese Black & Blue received a first-place award at the ADGA commercial products competition, a third-place award in the American Cheese Society Competition & Judging, a silver medal at the Maryland Artisan Cheese Context, and a silver medal at the World Cheese Awards. These four new awards bring Black & Blue’s total individual award count to fifteen. Previous awards include a total of six first-place finishes in the ADGA commercial products competition in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013 and now 2015.
- FireFly Farm’s newly launched cow’s milk blue cheese Moo & Blue received a silver medal at the Maryland Artisan Cheese Context.
“These sixteen new awards for our handmade cheeses are just fantastic,” commented FireFly Farms’ head cheese maker, Dan Porter. “We are committed to the art and craft of cheese making. It’s so nice to see the efforts of farmers and our cheese makers recognized for their results: cheese that superior in aesthetics, taste, freshness, and quality.”
Hailed as one of the best places to visit in Mountain Maryland’s Garrett County, the Market features FireFly Farms’ award-winning cheeses as well as other specialty, hand-selected items from the region and around the world. All of FireFly Farms cheeses are crafted on site in the adjacent creamery using fresh milk purchased from local family farms. Visitors can view the specially constructed production and aging facilities and cheese making process through observation windows.
FireFly Farms cheese is available at farmer’s markets, restaurants and many specialty retail stores. For information on where to purchase please contact the farm directly or visit http://www.fireflyfarms.com.
About FireFly Farms:
FireFly Farms offers nationally & internationally award?winning premium goat cheese that features the distinct regional flavors of Mountain Maryland’s Allegheny Plateau. Each cheese is artfully handcrafted and aged with precise detail; and, each offers distinguished flavor, exceptional texture, noteworthy composition, and unprecedented aesthetics. The cheese of FireFly Farms is produced using agriculturally sustainable, locally?sourced fresh goat’s milk and time?honored, traditional methods of goat cheese making.
Source: FireFly Farms