If you look into any niche, you’ll find extremely passionate people, maybe even people who dedicate their lives or careers to it. That’s certainly true for the cheese industry. Very few niches, however, lead to a cheese-fueled rave at a concert venue in Brooklyn complete with fierce competitions, the host MC Mr. Moo, and 1000 people cheering over a perfect quarter pound cut of Gruyère. That’s the world of cheese and the annual Cheesemonger Invitational (CMI).
It’s a somewhat miraculous spectacle. Tons of industry professionals from farmers to cheese makers to distributors to mongers fill Brooklyn Steel, a concert venue in Bushwick, NYC. It’s a party complete with rock music and all you can eat cheese. At the heart: a competition designed to challenge and test the best cheesemongers in the country.
The competition includes:
- Written Exam
- Taste Test (identify name, country, and milk)
- Aroma Test (identify distinct aromas related to cheese)
- Cut Test (cut 2 perfect 1/4 lbs)
- Paper Wrap (perfectly wrap 1/4 pieces of cheese)
- Plastic Wrap (perfectly wrap half and quarter wheels of cheese)
- Salesmanship
- Perfect Beverage Pairing
- Perfect Plate
- Perfect Bite
I’ve known about CMI since I started working at France 44 in 2019. A few f44 Cheesemongers have competed in years past. It sounded chaotic, exhilarating, and not like anything I’d ever like to do. It was delightful to work behind the cheese counter, but I didn’t want to compete in a competition, on stage, in front of tons of people I didn’t know. But while the competition is a big part of CMI, that’s not all it’s about.
CMI felt like an amazing opportunity to meet lots of other mongers, producers, and seasoned professionals. So this past spring, I decided that the appeal of meeting so many amazing people across the industry was worth navigating the intimidating competition.
I put a lot of work into studying for the exam, studying cheeses for the blind taste test, and practicing cutting perfect quarter pound pieces of cheese and wrapping them beautifully and quickly in cheese paper. I also decided to make cheese-themed friendship bracelets. It’s a short amount of time to meet people and I wanted to make as many memories as I could. Friendship bracelets felt like the perfect thing to hand out at a cheese rave, right?
The bracelets took the me most time to prep. The second most demanding piece were my three perfecting pairings.
Each contestant is assigned three cheeses for a perfect beverage pairing, perfect plate, and perfect bite. Two months of trial and error, lots of frustration, and delicious but-not-quite-perfect prep, and I was thrilled with what I landed on.
My Perfect Beverage: L’Amuse Signature Gouda and Armagnac Palmer
This iconic tangerine-hued gouda is deeply savory and richly sweet. I depended on a lot of research I had done on gouda pairing and knew I wanted the paired beverage to feature dark liquor and bright fruit. I riffed on an Old-Fashioned and used armagnac, smoked black tea, and cherry juice to make delicious and perfectly paired drink. Highly recommend.
- 2 oz Marie Duffau Napoleon Bas Armagnac (a gorgeous brandy from Southwest France)
- 1 oz Cold-brew Lapsang Souchong (a smokey, tannic black tea)
- 1 oz Tart Cherry Juice
- ¼ teaspoon Luxardo Cherry Syruo
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
Pair with a wedge of L’amuse Signature Gouda
My Perfect Plate: Challerhocker and Rosemary Spice
Challerhocker, or the creepy little boy cheese, always evokes cozy autumn memories: potato and leek soup, fall leaves, candied nuts by a fire. Savory, nutty, and comforting, I knew I wanted to lean into fall flavors. I started with a spiced caramel pear jam and added a rosemary cracker for texture and contrast. I also did many test batches of maple-tahini roasted walnuts with a little bit of Aleppo chili. I was able to craft a plate with both harmonizing and contrasting texture and flavors.
- Rosemary crackers
- Eat This Yum! Spiced Caramel Pear Jam
- Roasted Walnuts with Aleppo, Maple, and Tahini
- Sliced D’Anjou Pear
- Challerhocker!
My Perfect Bite: 1655 Gruyere and Soy Cucumbers with Furikake
For the perfect bite, I drew Gruyere. On one hand, this ruled because Gruyere is such a versatile culinary cheese. However, I felt overwhelmed by the options and my desire to do something very different from the Challerhocker pairing. I had too many ideas, so I decided to do some research and development the best way I could think of: eating a piece of gruyere while watching a movie. A few bites towards the rind and I thought “woah, that bite tastes like soy sauce…” and it all developed from there. I went with a soy marinated cucumber slice, piece of Gruyere, and a shake of furikake (sesame and seaweed seasoning from Japan) and green onion. It was so different from other cheese pairing’s I’d had.
I flew to New York on Thursday to begin the CMI weekend. I reviewed for the exam on my 6am flight, reading the encyclopedia The Oxford Companion to Cheese on the plane. All my supplies and ingredients in tow, I landed and headed to a warehouse in Long Island City to begin the days of education and meet my fellow competitors. Experts from across the industry, from makers to importers to distributors to cheese agers shared their knowledge with us. Each presenter offered their expertise accompanied with exclusive pictures and paired cheese flight. It’s a ton of valuable information in just a few days with experts from across North America and Europe
Sunday was competition day. Early in the morning we hit the ground running with the exam, the blind taste test, the cheese obstacle course, and the mock salesmanship before prepping your three perfect pairings. Finally, the the doors open to the public. The competition becomes a cheese rave with tons of folks from across the industry (and non-industry people from New York who just love cheese). I passed out cheese themed-friendship bracelets I made to my fellow competitors. A favorite moment was handing cheese-maker Sarah Appleby of Appleby’s Cheshire a “Cheshire” bracelet, which she couldn’t believe I made. She told me it made leaving the English farm for a cheese rave in Brooklyn worth it.
Eventually, over loud music, way too much cheese, and hours partying, they announced the top six finalists, and I was honored to be one. I was excited and really proud of myself, but in total disbelief and overwhelmed.
Adam Moskowitz, the person behind CMI, pulled us all into a huddle. He’s the MC and host of the event and his CMI persona is known as “Mr. Moo” complete with cow onesie. Adam encouraged us, reminding us this was not the moment for disbelief. He told us we had to give the crowd a great show, which resonated with me. This room was full of tons of people who paid to be there and stood for a long time; I wanted to make it a fun for them. I shook my nerves and had a blast on stage with my fellow finalists.
We spieled about our favorite cheeses. I picked Chabichou du Poutou, a Loire-Valley goat cheese with a gorgeously wrinkly rind and complexly tart flavor. We all had to wrap oddly shaped cheeses as well as we could. We battled out over cutting perfect quarter pounds of Gruyere – I am proud to say I got two perfect cuts.
Finally, they announced the winners and I am so proud to have taken third place next to all the amazing mongers on stage and at the whole competition. The competition was was so much work, totally exhausting, and an absolute blast. I’m so thrilled for all the people I’ve met.
At CMI, I met is Sam Schad, grandson of Judy Schad of Capriole Creamery and farm. Judy Schad is one of the original artisan domestic cheesemaker in the United States. As an original “goat lady”, she is foundational to what we’re able to do at France 44 today: sell artisan cheeses to people who care about where their food comes from. It was amazing to see the family not only representing Capriole, but continuing their beautiful operation.
I was reminded of the power of these cheeses. I reached out to Sam, arranged a shipment to be flown to Minnesota and this week we’re so excited to welcome the Capriole Cheeses: Sofia, Wabash Canonball, and Piper’s Pyramide, back into our cheese case this weekend. The human connection at CMI was a big part of why I wanted to go, Having the Capriole cheeses in the case are a tangible manifestation of those connections. We can’t wait share those cheeses with you.
Part of the CMI finalist prizes is an industry tour of Wisconsin which I embark on next week. Stay tuned for part two of the CMI blog where I’ll take you along the Wisconsin cheese landscape.
And if YOU want a cheese friendship bracelet, let me know.
