$5,500 Cheese Scholarship Awarded for compelling research on decoding the relationship between pasture and flavor
The Daphne Zepos Teaching Endowment announced it awarded its annual $5,500 scholarship to Matt Benham. He is the eighth person to win this coveted award. Matt will travel abroad to study and then present his original work of cheese research at the American Cheese Society Conference in Des Moines, Iowa in July 2021.
“Somehow we have forgotten the inherent wisdom of animal agriculture. It can put marginal land to productive use ”
Matt Benham
DZTA scholarship winner 2020
Matt began his cheese career at Beecher’s Handmade Cheese in New York City. He started as cheesemaking assistant before rising to the rank of Production Floor Manager. He moved to Arethusa Farm Dairy in Connecticut where he became Head Cheesemaker. During his tenure Arethusa has won many awards at the American Cheese Society annual competition and World Cheese Championships.
Matt plans to travel to the Jura region of France, Emilia-Romagna in Italy, and Wales in the United Kingdom. He will study how each region transforms native forage into cheese’s unique flavors in cheese.
From Matt’s winning application:
I had originally imagined that my presentation at the 2021 ACS conference would entail a comprehensive survey of all that we knew about how an extensive, grass-based management system could enhance cheese character. The incentive to transition to this method of farming, I imagined, would be obvious to all. In the course of my research, however, it became apparent that farmers and cheesemakers didn’t need convincing as much as they needed actionable information: guidance that would allow them to weigh the costs and benefits of management changes with eyes wide open. A set of overlapping decision trees took shape: do I currently have access to ample pasture? Is my current herd well-suited to a largely grass-based diet? Will any projected loss in yield be offset by a higher unit price? Meanwhile, an artisan cheesemaker might wonder: will I see greater variation in componentry throughout the year? And will my recipes be tolerant of this variation?
About the Award
The Daphne Zepos Teaching Award (DZTA) aims to grow a squad of cheese professionals who teach about the history, culture and techniques in making, aging and selling cheese. Each year a new recipient is chosen to go forth and learn about cheese. The winner will return to share their learnings with the cheese community — at the annual American Cheese Society
Conference and beyond. The scholarship is funded by the Daphne Zepos Endowment, a 501(c)(3) non-profit. Learn more at http://daphnezeposteachingaward.org
About Daphne
Daphne Zepos was one of the most outspoken, insightful and dynamic advocates for the cause of traditional cheese here in the U.S. and around the world. Daphne played a prominent role in nearly every major cheese event in the U.S. and Europe. She lectured, moderated, and presented at the American Cheese Society’s Annual Conference. She taught at Slow Food’s bi-annual Cheese in Bra, Italy, at the College of Marin, and at courses throughout the country, including the Cheese School of San Francisco, Neal’s Yard Dairy in London and Zingerman’s in Ann Arbor.
