little falls farm cheese cave

There’s a terrific article in the NYT food section today defining and discussing the advantages of affinage for the cheese retailers (some of whom are becoming affineurs), as well as for the customer. It includes a loud and strident argument against the benefits of affinage by cheesemonger and author Steve Jenkins, claiming it’s “a total crock” and “all it does is drastically inflate the cost of cheeses that have benefited zero from this faux-alchemical nonsense.” The story has many quotes from the best known practitioners of affinage (Murray’s, Jasper Hill, Artisanal) as well as many cheese makers (Cowgirl Creamery, Vermont Butter and Cheese) who also speak to it’s critical nature in the production of high quality cheeses. The payoff comes at the end of the article when three NYT food writers critique a blind tasting of the same cheeses from Murray’s, Artisanal, and Fairway (where Jenkins is the cheese buyer).

The Good Food Awards launches its second year with a call for entries July 6 to September 1. Seedling Projects, the “‘do tank’ for the food movement” behind the initiative, invites food producers from across the country to submit their beer, charcuterie, cheese, chocolate, coffee, pickles and preserves to a blind tasting with Alice Waters, Michael Pollan, Ruth Reichl, Amanda Hesser, Nell Newman and 80 other food movement leaders. This year, they have also added a spirits category. The catch: everything must be produced in an environmentally and socially responsible manner to be eligible to enter the blind tasting.

Last year’s 71 winners received some unexpected perks, from special placements in Whole Foods Market and Williams Sonoma stores nationwide to media coverage in the San Francisco Chronicle, Washington Post and New York Times. All winners are honored in a ceremony and marketplace at the San Francisco Ferry Building and receive the Good Food Awards Seal to place on their winning products all year long.

You can review the sustainability criteria and enter online at www.goodfoodawards.org. The entry fee is $35.

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Samantha Rosekrans
Outreach and Communications
Seedling Projects
415.796.3713