Accident, MD – FireFly Farms (http://www.fireflyfarms.com), producer of handmade cheese from Mountain Maryland, proudly celebrates another successful season earning fifteen new individual awards won by its acclaimed line of cheeses in national and international cheese judging programs in 2016.
“The past year has been another great year – fifteen new awards as we approach out fifteenth anniversary in October,” observed FireFly Farms Director of Operations, Matt Cedro. “These fifteen new awards bring our total individual award count to a staggering one hundred and two!”
“FireFly Farms is proud of its respected place among American cheese makers,” remarked FireFly Farms President Mike Koch. “In the past fifteen years, American cheese making has really boomed. We’re proud that as the competitions grow, our cheeses continue to be recognized among the best!”
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 second annual Maryland Artisan Cheese Contest held in conjunction with the Maryland Wine Festival;
- 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.
Five of FireFly Farm’s cheeses were recognized with new awards this season:
- FireFly Farm’s soft-ripened goat’s milk cheese, Merry Goat Round received a bronze medal in the World Cheese awards and a silver medal in the Maryland Artisan Cheese Contest. These two new awards bring Merry Goat Round’s total individual award count to fourteen. Previous awards include its international recognition at the World Cheese Awards in 2004, 2007, 2008, and 2012.
- FireFly Farm’s soft-ripened goat’s milk blue cheese, MountainTop Bleu received a first-place award in the ADGA commercial products competition, a gold 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-eight – 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 third-place award in the ADGA commercial products competition and a second-place award in the American Cheese Society Competition & Judging. These two new awards bring Cabra LaMancha’s total individual award count to twenty. 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 2015.
- FireFly Farm’s goat’s milk blue cheese Black & Blue received a first-place award at the ADGA commercial products competition, a gold medal and “Best-in-Show” designation at the Maryland Artisan Cheese Contest, and a bronze medal at the World Cheese Awards. These four new awards bring Black & Blue’s total individual award count to nineteen. Previous awards include a total of seven first-place finishes in the ADGA commercial products competition in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015 and now 2016.
- FireFly Farm’s long-aged goat’s milk cheese Bella Vita received a third-place award at the ADGA commercial products competition, a gold medal at the Maryland Artisan Cheese Contest, and a first-place award in the American Cheese Society Competition & Judging. These three new awards bring Bella Vita’s total individual award count to twelve. Previous awards include a 2010 first-place award at the American Cheese Society Competition & Judging, a Super Gold Medal at the 2010 World Cheese Awards, and a 2007 designation as “Reserve Best-In-Show” at the American Dairy Goat Association’s annual commercial product competition.
“These fifteen new awards for our handmade cheeses are just fantastic,” commented FireFly Farm’s 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 Farm’s 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 many retail stores and. For information on where to purchase please contact the farm directly or visit http://www.fireflyfarms.com.
Source: FireFly Farms
