ACS Providence 2105 Day 0

Posted on July 29, 2015September 14, 2015 by Monroe Cheese Studio

It’s arrival day at the 32nd annual American Cheese Society Conference, this year back on the East Coast in Providence, RI. The current mayor, Jorge o. Elorza welcomed us to “America’s Favorite City” (according to Travel + Leisure Magazine) in the front pages of our conference book.

I arrived mid-afternoon after a relatively traffic-free drive south, and I am all set up in an AirBnB at the south end of downtown which will allow me 15 minutes walking each way to help burn off the cheese calories.

We met up with a few of the other MCG members who are attending the conference this year at the Providence Coal Fired Pizza Co. for some excellent slices and few glasses of suds. We are able to meet a long lost Guilder, Louella Hill, at the restaurant who is now a board member of the California Artisan Cheese Guild and has just published a book called Kitchen Creamery. She was helping the Narragansett Creamery with their cheese display as part of the ACS conference “Pub Crawl” which apparently included the PCFP Co. on their map, as we eventually saw many ACS badges appearing around the necks of patrons.

The few “oldsters” (Caitlin, Jesse, and I) dispensed wisdom and advice during dinner, while the youngsters soaked it all in. I hope they are ready for their 7:45am breakfast and then keynote tomorrow morning!

Guild Grant for ACS Competition Entries in 2015

Posted on April 14, 2015April 14, 2015 by Monroe Cheese Studio

The Maine Cheese Guild announces that we will offer to cover the cost of every Maine Cheese Guild member’s first ACS Competition entry for 2015. We know from past experience that the more Maine cheeses that are entered into the largest cheese competition in North America, the more Maine cheeses will win awards and illustrate the quality of cheese being made and sold in Maine.

In addition, the Maine Cheese Guild will organize a group shipment of ALL Guild entries to the ACS Competition and will subsidize up to $500 of the cost for that, splitting any additional costs among those who participate. Details on this will be sent to everyone who participates in the First Entry Reimbursement as the shipping date approaches in July.

Reimbursement for your first ACS Competition Entry is simple: enter at least one cheese in the ACS competition. Each entry is $60 and you must enter before May 9th (there is a one-week late entry period, but the Guild will reimburse for only the regular entry fee on your first entry); you must be an ACS member to participate, and you will need to be prepared to upload a picture/scan of your current local license certificate when you enter the competition on-line. When you receive your email receipt, forward that email with your mailing address to our treasurer, Mary Belding–

(littlefallsfarmcheeseATgmailDOTcom using the @ and . symbols where upper-case)

–and she will send you a check for your first entry fee.

Good Luck!

ACS Conference Grant Opportunities

Posted on March 16, 2015November 16, 2015 by Monroe Cheese Studio

At our Annual Meeting last November we committed to sending as large a group as possible to this year’s American Cheese Society conference in Providence, RI July 29th through August 1s. To that end we committed to offering partial grants to UP TO TEN (or as many as we can afford) Guild members to help them with the cost of attendance; the grants would pay for the Early Bird conference fee of around $500, which would be roughly half of total expenses. (Be aware that you must also be a member of ACS to attend the conference, and to submit competition entries.)

It’s time to ask our members to apply to the Guild so that we know how many folks are interested so we can budget accordingly.

If you can commit to attending the ACS Conference this summer and would like to apply for a guild Grant to do so, please write

—one paragraph describing you and your cheese experience,
—and one paragraph describing what you seek to gain by attending the ACS conference;
—your name and contact info;
—send to [email protected] with the subject “Guild Grant Request” BEFORE our April 13th meeting.

At that meeting the group will discuss the number of folks seeking a grant, and given our current finances how many grants the Guild can afford to offer. If there are more grant seekers than grants available, the Guild board will review the applications and choose whom will receive Grants before the end of the Early Bird registration.

In addition to conference fee grants, the Guild has committed to offering to pay the entry fee for any Guild member’s first ACS competition entry, and to subsidize a group shipment of all Guild entries into the competition. More info about that effort later this year.