SOUTH WOODSTOCK, Vt. – Vermont Farmstead Cheese Company (VFCC) is proud to announce that its BrickHaus Tilsit cheese has been awarded second place at the 2013 U.S. Championship Cheese Contest, the first major national cheese competition of 2013. VFCC is the recipient of 33 industry awards to date, a major accomplishment for the company which has been producing farmstead and artisanal cheeses for just over two years.
This year, the prestigious U.S. Championship Cheese Contest, held in Green Bay, Wis., drew a record-breaking 1,702 entries from cheesemakers across the country. The competition graded products spanning 82 categories, with VFCC’s BrickHaus Tilsit receiving a 98.65 rating out of 100, placing it second in the Open Class Semi-Soft category.
“Our BrickHaus Tilsit has proven a favorite among industry experts and consumers alike, having received five awards for excellence in the past two years,” states VFCC Head Cheesemaker Rick Woods. “This cheese is a fantastic representation of our team’s talent and I’m thrilled that it’s getting the attention it deserves.”
Tilsit cheese is an adaptation of the Danish Havarti. It originates in Old Prussia where Danish immigrants settled in the town of Tilsit. They sought to produce a cheese reminiscent of their homeland, but ultimately created a more full-flavored product representative of their new home. This Danish ancestry coupled with VFCC’s five-pound loaf format inspired the name BrickHaus. As a washed curd cheese, VFCC employs special techniques to handle its delicate nature during the cheesemaking process, resulting in a smooth textured, medium-firm cheese rich with buttery and fruity notes.
VFCC’s award-winning lines of cheese and crackers, including BrickHaus Tilsit, are available throughout the U.S. at leading retailers and restaurants, as well as online. For further information, visit: www.vermontfarmstead.com.
ABOUT VERMONT FARMSTEAD CHEESE COMPANY:
The Vermont Farmstead Cheese Company (www.vermontfarmstead.com), which began as an inspiring community effort to save a local farm and its surrounding rural landscape, is today an award-winning cheese company creating an entirely new generation of unique farmstead and artisanal cheeses.Based in South Woodstock, VT, the farm is home to a prize-winning, multi-breed herd, with an adjoining 5,500-sq. ft. production facility. The company’s creative cheesemakers employ traditional and sustainable dairy farming practices in creating a line of the highest-quality, “old-world” cheeses with distinct Vermont authenticity and style.
Moreover, the company’s mission is to foster and support the state’s farming communities, having established The Vermont Dairy Foundation as a way to develop sustainable small family dairy farms in Vermont through education and business support. The Foundation was also created to help reverse the trend of declining dairy farms and boost the agricultural way of life in Vermont.
Source: Vermont Farmstead Cheese Company