New York, NY – Cheese Journeys’ inaugural cheese-centric voyage to Vermont will begin in time for the Vermont Fresh Network Annual Forum Dinner on August 5, 2018, followed by a week of visits to the state’s northwestern-based creameries, including small artisan producers along with well-known ones such as Jasper Hill Farms and Vermont Creamery. The tour will aptly conclude with the pièce de résistance: an exclusive experience at the 10th annual Vermont Cheesemakers Festival at historic Shelburne Farms on August 12, 2018.
The Vermont Fresh Network’s 22nd Annual Forum Dinner, also at Shelburne Farms, is a celebration of the organization’s mission to advance relationships between farmers, chefs, and consumers. Recognizing the importance of these connections to sustaining the local community, and invigorating the economy, this “grazing” feast will immerse the Cheese Journeys traveler in Vermont’s agricultural and cuisine scene, tasting the state’s bounty and meeting up with chefs, farmers, and other purveyors.
Time at Shelburne Farms will also include a tour of the onsite creamery to witness the cheddaring process and learn of the many characteristics that contribute to the Farms’ terroir and fantastic cheddar. A visit to award-winning Shelburne Vineyards will add to the appreciation of this region’s agricultural heritage and diversification.
From the Burlington area, the cheese travelers will head south to visit Orb Weaver Farm, one of Vermont’s pioneering cheesemaking facilities established thirty-five years ago. Today the farm continues to milk from just six cows, with outstanding results: two farmhouse cheeses, one aged in caves carved into a hillside, while the other is waxed coated. A visit to Mad River Taste Place will not only showcase food and beverages from the namesake region, but as home to the Vermont Cheese Council, offers one of the best selections of Vermont cheeses. Mary Tuthill, a local cheesemonger with several professional cheese certifications, will guide the group through cheese and charcuterie boards curated specially by her.
The next three nights are at the Trapp Family Lodge, of “The Sound of Music” fame. Among the highlights during the stay include beers from the on-site von Trapp Brewery paired with a selection of award-winning cheeses from the von Trapp Farmstead creamery. The cheeses are all organic and made from the farm’s cow’s milk. Blue, Alpine-style, and soft-ripened fromages are all handcrafted, as well as a washed-rinded cheese named ‘Oma,’ a cheese typically favored in the von Trapp family’s native Austria.
Some of the von Trapp cheeses are aged at the nearby Cellars at Jasper Hill, which together, with Jasper Hill Farm, is one of America’s most innovative and successful artisan cheese businesses. An exclusive visit to the creamery with founders and brothers, Andy and Mateo Kehler, will not only include tasting of some of the most prized cheeses here in the US and abroad, but will also provide an opportunity to learn about their philosophy of cheesemaking, affinage, and sustainability.
A tasting of aged, raw milk farmstead cheeses from nearby Mt. Mansfield Creamery will be paired with Vermont ciders, and a visit to Ploughgate creamery where cultured butter is handmade will be sure to delight. No cheese venture in Vermont would be complete without a stop at Vermont Creamery, one of the country’s best-known goat dairies. Co-founders Allison Hooper and Bob Reese, who introduced fresh chèvre on the East Coast almost 35 years ago, will reveal how they developed their highly-acclaimed fresh and aged goat cheeses, cultured butter, and other European-style dairy products.
Returning back to Burlington in advance of the Vermont Cheesemakers Festival will allow a visit of the Burlington Farmers Market, a food walking tour, and a chance to experience the art of fermentation thanks to two breweries, Zero Gravity and Queen City, as well as Citizen Cider.
The Vermont Cheesemakers Festival, considered one of the best festivals in the US, will be the perfect culmination to the Vermont Cheese Journeys trip, with nearly fifty cheesmakers, local wine, craft beer, and numerous other food and beverage purveyors in attendance, as well as presentations about farmstead and artisan cheesemaking, cooking demos, workshops, and educational seminars.
Cheese Journeys founder, Anna Juhl, will lead this Vermont adventure, accompanied by two co-hosts: Tenaya Darlington, author and academian who goes by ‘Madame Fromage,’ and Jeff Roberts, author and considered Vermont's food scene expert.
About Cheese Journeys :
Cheese Journeys was founded in 2013 to take food enthusiasts and professionals on custom tours designed to deepen their knowledge of artisan products, learn about customs and trends, and connect with producers and other food lovers during a relaxing and tasty adventure. These tours provide insider access to explore worlds that few culinary travelers discover on their own. Additional upcoming tours in 2018 include a Cheddar Odyssey in England, a Philadelphia & Chester County Getaway, Alpine Regions of France & Switzerland, and Amsterdam. Anna Juhl, founder and CEO of Cheese journeys, is a dedicated food professional and cheese enthusiast, offering a warm and personal style of hospitality which lies at the heart of Cheese Journeys, an ASTA member.
Source: Cheese Journeys