BANDON, Ore. —Face Rock Creamery brings home top awards from the 32nd Annual American Cheese Society (ACS) Judging & Competition. The Bandon-based creamery took the highly coveted first place award for its “2-Year Extra Aged Cheddar” in the highly competitive category of Aged Cheddar (Over 12 and up to 24 months), which identifies the premier aged cheddars in the country. The creamery also took a third place award for its “Garlic Olive Fromage Blanc” in the Fresh Unripened Cheese with Flavor Added category. This is the third year in a row that Face Rock has taken home first place honors from the competition.
The creamery’s 2-Year Extra Aged Cheddar is “sharp and luxurious with a smooth buttery flavor and creamy texture enhanced by cheese crystals that indicate a quality aged cheddar." said Brad Sinko, the creamery’s head cheesemaker. “Our Garlic Olive Fromage Blanc is a soft, fresh, spreadable cheese that stands out with a savory and unforgettable combination of garlic and black olives.”
The ACS annual conference is a prestigious industry event that brings together hundreds of cheese industry leaders at the largest cheese judging competition in the nation. Featuring 1,779 different cheeses from 267 creameries, the “Oscars of the dairy world” were held on July 31, 2015 in Providence Rhode Island. Previous Face Rock winners are “Vampire Slayer” and “In Your Face” cheese curds. To have earned four prestigious awards is a notable achievement for the creamery, which celebrated its two-year anniversary in May 2015.
Find a complete list of winners from the 2015 American Cheese Society Competition at: http://cheesejudging.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/2015-ACS-Winners-Brochure.pdf
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About Face Rock Creamery
Launched in May, 2013, Face Rock Creamery makes fine cheddar and fromage blanc in the southern coastal town of Bandon, Oregon, a town that has made cheese since the 1880s. Face Rock sources its milk from a single dairy that raises a herd of grass-fed, pasture-raised cows 15 miles from the creamery, allowing the creamery to make cheese the same day the cows are milked. Come take a tour of the 9,000 sq foot cheesemaking facility, or have a snack in the cafe' and retail shop. Face Rock cheese is available at the creamery, nationally at facerockcreamery.com and in more than 1,000 stores.
About Brad Sinko, Head Cheesemaker
Sinko is a second-generation cheese man. His father owned the Bandon Cheese Factory, which originally opened in 1937. After graduating with a microbiology degree from Oregon State University, Sinko returned to Bandon to help his dad run the factory and found, as Wallace and Gromit might say, that he was just crackers about cheese. He took over the factory and ran it until 2003, when a larger competitor acquired and closed it. Sinko then headed to Seattle as a founding head cheese maker at Beecher's and spent a decade creating cheddars that won many American Cheese Society awards and a best in show title at the World Cheese Society competition, beating more than a thousand competitors. In 2013, he returned to his Bandon roots to make cheddars of great character as the head cheesemaker at Face Rock Creamery.
About Greg Drobot, President
When former real estate developer Greg Drobot moved to the coastal town of Bandon, Oregon in 2010, he was sad to discover the town's once-vibrant cheese industry had gone bust. He'd grown up cooking with his mom, and became an avid foodie who loved pushing his palate at new restaurants. With the goal to renew the cheese tradition in Bandon, he launched Face Rock Creamery in May, 2013, in a brand new facility on the site of the town's historic Bandon Cheese Factory, which was torn down after a competitor bought and closed the creamery. Under Drobot’s leadership, the creamery has grown rapidly. Face Rock Creamery currently employs 20 full time employees and has a retail footprint that spans more than a thousand retail locations in nine states.
Source: Face Rock Creamery
