Good Food Awards in San Francisco

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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

MCG Cheesemakers Win Four Awards at 2011 ACS

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logo_200_lowThree Maine cheese makers won four awards at the 2011 American Cheese Society competition held at the ACS Conference in Montreal, Quebec, Canada this year. There were 1676 entries this year competing for ribbons in 109 different categories. This is, by far, the largest dairy product competition in North America, and the entrants represent cheese and dairy products that have also won awards around the world.

The four awards won by Guild cheese makers are:

Three Maine cheese makers won four awards at the 2011 American Cheese Society competition held at the ACS Conference in Montreal, Quebec, Canada this year. There were 1676 entries this year competing for ribbons in 109 different categories. This is, by far, the largest dairy product competition in North America, and the entrants represent cheese and dairy products that have also won awards around the world.

The four awards given to Guild cheese makers are:

  • American Made / International Style: Open Category Cow’s Milk — 3rd Place to Hahn’s End, Phippsburg
  • Blue Veined Made with Cow’s Milk with Rind or External Coating — 2nd Place to Spring Day Creamery, Durham
  • Yogurts, Plain, Made with Sheep’s Milk — 3rd Place to Appleton Creamery
  • Aged Goat’s Milk Cheese: Open Category — 3rd Place to Appleton Creamery

“Maine produces some of the best milk in the world,” said Eric Rector, President of the Maine Cheese Guild in response to the announcement of these awards. “So it’s not a surprise that year after year, Maine cheese makers are recognized for their outstanding products at major competitions such as that conducted by the American Cheese Society.”

Rector also pointed out that “the support given to the Guild every year by its members, including it’s Sponsoring Partners, make it possible for us to bring world-class cheese making instructors to Maine to continue to improve our skills, as well as to help Maine cheese makers attend important conferences like ACS. This year the Guild helped send four cheese makers to the ACS Conference in Montreal where they were able to learn from and connect with the best in the world. We would like to thank all our supporters for their contribution to this kind of recognition.”

Congratulations to our three Guild winners in 2011!

The Maine Cheese Guild is sponsored by its members, as well as by Five Islands Farm, Treats of Maine, and Turner Farm.

ACS — Day 3

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Click here to see the Caitlin Hunter’s album of pictures from our last day at the conference.

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IMG_2703-1Out of my and Kevin’s Craig’s List apartment on Rue Hutchinson — uphill from downtown — early this morning, looking forward to the coasting down to the Palais to pick-up my tastings tickets first thing…except, as I swiped my credit card to get my code to unlock a bike at the rack around the corner, I took a *little* too long, or I pushed the wrong part of the screen, and instead of displaying the unlock code, I got the welcome screen. When I swiped my card again, it said I had already taken out the maximum number of bikes…! So I got a little extra exercise this morning by walking downhill. I still arrived in time to get the first two tastings tickets handed out.
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