Inside Chicago's Cheese World: The Great American Cheese Collection

The Plant is an ongoing sustainable farming project that grows and produces food in a repurposed industrial building in The South Side's Back of the Yards neighborhood. At the top level, there is a cheese sanctuary unbeknownst to many cheese-loving Chicagoans. It’s called the Great American Cheese Collection. Once described by the Tribune’s Bill Rice as the “missionaries of American cheeses,” the Great American Cheese Collection is the single largest source for artisan American-made cheese in the entire country. They represent more than sixty small cheese makers and 300 different cheeses. They provide cheese for more than 400 fine dining restaurants around the nation, including Chicago restaurants like Gilt Bar and Tavern on Rush.

The Great American Cheese Collection is the brainchild of Giles Schnierle, who began his career in the mental health field designing programs for drug rehabilitation. “I woke up one day and realized I sucked at it,” says Schnierle. “I was too impatient.” Schnierle then decided to enter the culinary world as a chef and began his own catering company. “I was known as the Bar Mitzvah King of the North Shore,” explains Schnierle. “What made us different was that we gave people the kind of food you would see in a restaurant. Each plate was amazing.”

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