The Comté Cheese Association is delighted to announce that Michael Scott has won the 12th annual Comté Scholarship for American Cheese Society Certified Cheese Professionals™ (ACS CCPs™)! Scott won an all-expenses-paid trip to the Comté region to explore the cheese and its culture first-hand, and a $750 cash stipend.
Michael Scott, a cheese specialist for Whole Foods Market in Wellesley, MA, upon learning the news replied, “I can’t believe it! I won a trip to the Comté region this summer! This is absolutely fantastic! I can’t wait!”
Michael Oliver from Heber Valley Cheese in Midway, UT and Jen Maiser from Whole Foods Market in Lake Oswego, OR were also named as runners-up. They will receive a special gift for their effort.
The essays were judged on the basis of knowledge and creativity by a panel of three renowned cheese experts: Cathy Strange, WFM Ambassador of Food Culture, Whole Foods Market, Inc.; Comté Cheese Association trade@comte-usa.com Comté Cheese Association: Laura Werlin, Author and Cheese Educator; and Nora Weiser, Executive Director of the Good Food Foundation and Director Emeritus of the American Cheese Society.
This year the essay question asked applicants: “What would you tell a monger to convince him/her/them to add Comté to their cheese selection?”
Scott’s winning essay may be read here: https://media.comte-usa.com/essays/24-M-Scott-Essay.pdf
The Certified Cheese Professional™ (CCP) Exam was established by the American Cheese Society in 2012 to encourage high standards of comprehensive cheese knowledge and service for professionals in all areas of the cheese world. The exam is based on the knowledge and skills required to successfully perform cheese-related tasks in jobs across the board.
Made exclusively in the Jura Mountain region of France, Comté is an artisanal cheese with AOC (Controlled Appellation of Origin) and PDO (European Protected Denomination of Origin) designations. Each wheel of Comté reflects a unique terroir, a season of production, and centuries of cheesemaking and affinage traditions.
For further information, please contact: Comté Cheese Association Email: trade@comte-usa.com.
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The Comté Cheese Association – Comité Interprofessionnel de Gestion du Comté – was set up by decree on 11th June 1963. It represents all those who are involved in the production of Comté— dairy farmers, cheese-makers, affineurs—and carries out activities in all fields of interest to the trade, including research and technical issues, economics, information and communications, marketing, law and promotion of the Comté appellation, defense of local traditions and protection of the environment.
