U.S. Championship Cheese Contest brings the best back to Green Bay
ASHWAUBENON - Forget the Oscars, the Golden Globes and those other awards events — the real best-of-the-best contest returns to Green Bay this month when the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest makes its Resch Expo debut.
The contest, hosted by the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association, includes 2,249 entries in 113 classes from 35 states. In short, that's a lot of cheese from a lot of places. And if past experience is anything, it's really good cheese and members of the public can taste a lot of it.
The every-other-year contest, launched in 1981 and held most often in Green Bay, will be at the Resch Expo for the first time on Feb. 21 through 23. Judging is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 21 and 22. Even better than the judging are samples of competing and champion cheeses. It's a chance to taste the best of familiar cheeses or try something unique.
"It’s really fun to put out things that perhaps they’ve never seen," said John Umhoefer, executive director of Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association.
The best cheese will be revealed at 2 p.m. Feb. 23. This portion of the event is not open to the public, but will be streamed live at USChampionCheese.org and on Facebook.
The contest also includes categories for butter, yogurt, and dry dairy ingredients.
This will be the 21st biennial U.S. championship — world championships are held in alternating years, usually in Madison. Both championships started in Green Bay, which Umhoefer calls the epicenter of U.S. cheese making, and the U.S. championship remains here, although it skipped 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The contest regularly sees record entries, although this year did not reach 2019 levels, which Umhoefer attributed mostly to the amount of labor it requires to prepare and submit entries. As with many industries, labor shortages have been an issue.
"We are kind of seeing a slow build-back to the record we had in 2019," Umhoefer said. "We didn’t have losses in companies, we just had fewer entries."
Often, the difference between first place and finishing out of the money is thinner than your most finely sliced cheese. Entries are evaluated on flavor, body, texture, salt, color, finish, packaging and other attributes. Like the cheeses, judges come from across the country.
The 2019 U.S. champion was a baby Swiss wheel produced by Guggisberg Cheese of Millersburg, Ohio, Guggisberg's second win in three contests. The baby Swiss scored 98.543 points, and second and third place, Gouda varieties by Marieke Gouda of Thorp, scored 98.419 and 98.39, respectively.
"All of the cheeses are good; some are just better," Umhoefer said.
More:Swiss cheese named America's best, Marieke Gouda places 2nd, 3rd in contest
The association is not sure how the public turnout will be at The Resch. The expo center will allow more room than the Lambeau Field Atrium — the last Green Bay host location — but the atrium had a lot of positive aspects, including regular foot traffic, great interior natural light, also important to judging, and just the ambiance of being at Lambeau.
"We never quite know what we’ll see. We are very happy to have people come in. It's no cost to join us on those (first two) days," Umhoefer said.
Previous five U.S. Championship Cheeses
2019: Baby Swiss Wheel, Guggisberg Cheese, Millersburg, Ohio. Maker: Team Guggisberg Doughty Valley
2017: Reserve Black Pepper BellaVitano, Sartori Cheese, Antigo. Maker: Mike Matucheski
2015: Swiss Wheel, Guggisberg Cheese, Millersburg, Ohio: Maker: Team Guggisberg Sugarcreek
2013: Gouda Mature, Holland's Family Cheese, Thorp. Maker: Holland Family Cheese Team.
2011: Evalon. LaClare Farms Specialties, Chilton. Maker: Katie Hedrich
Eastern Wisconsin companies competing in the 2023 championship include:
Agropur of Luxemburg and Weyauwega
Arla Foods of Kaukauna
BelGioioso Cheese Inc. of Denmark
Caprine Supreme LLC of Black Creek
Door Artisan Cheese Company of Egg Harbor
Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery of New London
Emmi Roth USA of Seymour
Foremost Farms USA of Appleton
Hay Americyan Foods LLC of Green Bay
Henning’s Cheese of Kiel
Mosaic Meadows – LaClare Creamery, Saxon Creamery, and Simply Dairy of Malone
Land O’Lakes, Inc. of Kiel
Milk Specialties Global of Fond du Lac
Pine River Dairy of Manitowoc
Pine River Pre-Pack, Inc. of Newton
Red Barn Family Farms of Appleton
Renard’s Cheese/Rosewood Dairy, Inc. of Algoma
Ron’s Wisconsin Cheese, LLC of Kewaunee
Saputo of Black Creek
Sargento Foods – Baker Cheese of St. Cloud
Schreiber Foods of Green Bay
Tea Rose Toggenburgs, LLC of Berlin
The Artisan Cheese Exchange of Sheboygan
Union Star Cheese of Berlin
Central Wisconsin companies competing in the 2023 championship include:
Eckerman Sheep Company of Antigo
Feltz’s Dairy Store of Stevens Point
Foremost Farms USA of Marshfield Lactalis of Merrill and Wausau
Land O’Lakes of Spencer
Lynn Dairy, Inc. of Granton
Maple Grove Cheese, Inc. of Milladore
Marieke Gouda of Thorp
Mullins Whey, Inc. of Mosinee
Nasonville Dairy of Curtiss and Marshfield
Sartori Cheese of Antigo
Weber’s Farm Store of Marshfield
Wisconsin Dairy State Cheese Company of Rudolph
Contact Richard Ryman at rryman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @RichRymanPG, on Instagram at @rrymanPG or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RichardRymanPG/.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: U.S. Championship Cheese Contest brings the best back to Green Bay
