Websterville, VT— Vermont Creamery was honored for excellence in artisan cheesemaking with four Sofi™ Awards, the Specialty Food Industry’s most prestigious distinction. The 2017 Sofi Awards were announced on April 19 at the One World Observatory in New York.
St. Albans, the newest non-GMO certified aged cheese to join the Vermont Creamery lineup, won Best New Product in the cows’ milk cheese category. Vanilla Crème Frâiche won gold in the dessert sauce category; Bonne Bouche took silver in the non-cows’ milk cheese category and Cultured Butter with Sea Salt took bronze in the dairy category.
“We are so proud to be recognized four times over by the Specialty Food Association,” said Adeline Druart, President of Vermont Creamery. “These awards are a true testament to the talent of our cheesemakers, the dedication and passion of our entire team and the quality of our product line across four major categories.” “We look forward to celebrating amongst our peers at the Summer Fancy Food Show.”
Cultured Butter with Sea Salt Crystals won a gold sofi in 2015; Bonne Bouche won gold in in 2012 and was a finalist in 2016. Bonne Bouche, Vanilla Crème Fraiche and Cultured Butter with Sea Salt have all received top accolades from the American Cheese Society, U.S. Championship Cheese Contest, the World Cheese Awards and the Good Food Awards in previous years. This is the first award for St. Albans.
The 2017 Sofi™ Awards honor 154 winners of Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Best New Product awards in 39 categories. Winners were chosen from 3,000 entries. Over 12 days in March 2017, a diverse panel of expert judges participated in a series of blind tastings to select sofi winners. Each entry was evaluated on excellence of taste and ingredients, and scored accordingly at gold, silver, and bronze levels. New products within each category had an additional assessment for innovation. In all, 62 judges including chefs, culinary instructors, recipe developers, food journalists, and specialty food buyers participated in the selection process. View the full list of winners here.
About Vermont Creamery
Combining the European tradition of cheesemaking with Vermont’s terroir, Vermont Creamery’s line of fresh and aged goat cheeses, cultured butter, and crème fraîche have won over 100 national and international awards. In their 32nd year of business, Vermont Creamery supports a network of more than 15 family farms, promoting sustainable agriculture in the region. In 2014, Vermont Creamery was the second cheesemaker in the world to earn B Corp Certification reflecting its commitment to their employees, environment and community. Vermont Creamery is an independently operated subsidiary of Minnesota-based Land ‘O Lakes, Inc., one of America’s premier agribusiness and food companies. For more information, visit www.vermontcreamery.com.
Source: Vermont Creamery