Local is better. "Champions of Cheese," the Kamas-based Gold Creek Farms was recently awarded first- and second-place awards for its smoked cheeses in the 2012 World Championship Cheese Contest. The local farm competed against cheeses from around the world Switzerland, Australia and France taking two ranking positions. At just three years old, Gold Creek Farms won first place for its smoked cheddar and second place for its smoked parmesan in the hard smoked cheeses category, beating out more institutional names such as Swiss Valley Farms and Carr Valley Cheese Company.
"We didn't start making cheese until 2009," said Gold Creek Farms executive chef Fernando Chavez. "We're just this small farm. We do pretty much everything by ourselves. We grow our feed, milk our cows and everything goes toward cheese."
Chavez, who runs the cheese-making process for the farm, moved to Kamas from Mexico as a teenager. With more of a culinary background than a cheese-making background, Chavez said he was nervous when he first took over. But his family background in cheese-making a family tradition his sister carries on in Mexico paid off.
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