December 30, 2011
Press Release: For Immediate Release
Re: 2011 Feline Foodie Awards Announced
From: Spaulding Gray, Portland’s Favorite Feline Foodie
It’s time for the Bi-Annual Feline Foodie Awards to be announced and Spaulding Gray, Portland’s Favorite Feline Foodie had sampled more than one hundred new cheeses this year and re-visited many that are his perennial favorites at the manse. As always, there promises to be a few surprises…
Best of Show:
No Woman – Beecher’s Handmade Cheeses
Seattle, Washington
This choice comes as no surprise to those who read his cheese website reviews on a regular basis. It was No Woman that stole his heart in 2008 and set him on this cheese odyssey with The Lady. Many wonderful cheeses have come and gone, but none has ever topped No Woman with this Feline Foodie. This cheddar is spiked with Jamaican Jerk Spices that take cheddar to another world, mon. The Lady understands the dire consequences of No Woman available upon demand… Not a day goes by that The Feline Foodie doesn’t thank The Brain that Beecher’s Handmade Cheese exists…
Second Place:
Rogue River Blue – Rogue Creamery
Central Point, Oregon
Cary Bryan and David Gremmels continue to amaze the American Cheese Scene with Rogue River Blue, a seasonal blue cheese that also was declared Best of Show at the 2011 American Cheese Society Competition in Montreal. Obviously, the ACS folks know good cheese… This cheese is made with raw cow milk and is also vegetarian suitable. Rogue Creamery walks the walk when it comes to Sustainable Agriculture Practices and everyday life practices as well. Hats off to two of our favorite cheesemakers!!!
Third Place:
La Tur
Piedmonte Region of Italy
The Lady discovered La Tur this past summer at Murray’s Cheese Boot Camp and it quickly caught fire here at the manse. This bloomy rind cheese is made of pasteurized cow, sheep and goat milk and aged between two and four weeks. It’s creamy, dense and delish.
Honorable Mentions:
Dinah – Kurtwood Farms, Vashon Island, Washington State
Bayley Hazen Blue – The Cellars at Jasper Hills – Vermont
Westfield Farms Capri – Massachusetts
San Joaquin Gold – Fiscalini Farmstead Cheese – California
Burrata – BelGioioso – Denmark, Wisconsin
Pleasant Ridge Reserve – Uplands Cheese – Wisconsin
Todd Trethowan’s Gorwydd Caerphilly – England
Woman Of La Mancha – Gothberg Farms – Bow, Washington
Grand Margaux – Lactalis – France
2-Year Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheddar – Tillamook Co-Op – Oregon
Villajos Artisan Manchego – Spain
Favorite Cheese Shop
Fred Meyer – Cheese Kiosk – Salmon Creek Store,
Vancouver, Washington
The Lady spends a lot of time in Cheese Shops all over the United States and visits a lot of great cheese shops. I, however, am not allowed to visit any of them because there are these silly “No Pets Allowed” laws that Humankind has imposed upon moi and all of us in the superior specie group. Therefore, this cheese shop was chosen after eavesdropping all year on erroneously-thought-to-be confidential conversations between The Lady and The Man. One of the most important functions The Man performs around the manse, after caring for my every whim, is to counsel The Lady and act as a sounding board regarding her work in the Cheese Mines. A side benefit is that I, too, get to hear all the skinny about cheese shops and the mongers who run them.
The Lady feels that Rebecca, who runs the Fred Meyer Salmon Creek Cheese Kiosk, is a true professional on every level when it comes to running a cheese shop. Along with her trusty sidekick, Marie, we gladly proclaim them our favorite cheese shop.
This was a tough choice – there were so many that The Lady admires and loves… but she always comes home raving about what a great job Rebecca and Marie are doing.
Best Cheese That Will Be Missed
Sally Jackson Aged, Raw Sheep Milk Cheese
The Lady and The Feline Foodie were greatly saddened last year when Sally Jackson and her husband made the tough decision to close their cheese operation in Eastern Washington State. Regardless of your position on raw milk and FDA standards that led to the situation Sally faced, the best domestic raw sheep milk cheese ever eaten at the manse is Sally Jackson Aged Raw Sheep Milk Cheese.
The Lady’s Best Cheese Day/Week
The Lady had trouble with this category and decided to choose two: Getting Rogued at Rogue Creamery and attending The Slow Food Festival in Bra, Italy.
Technically one was a day and one was a week so maybe that makes it Okay…
Spaulding Gray’s Best Cheese Day
Any day The Lady brings home a new cheese is Spaulding Gray’s Best Cheese Day. He had a lot of “Best” days in 2011 and looks forward to even more in 2012…
Favorite Cheese Headline
Truck Driver Goes Missing With 20 Tons of Cheese
Well, this is a no-brainer for a cheesehead… The Feline Foodie is only left wondering why this didn’t happen sooner and doesn’t happen more often…
Funniest Cheese Headline
The headline pretty much says it all; leaving only one question… does cheese begin to melt at 98.6°?
Best Chuck E Cheese Stories of the Year
For some inexplicable reason, the damnedest things happen at Chuck E. Cheese Restaurants. After Disneyland, CEC is supposed to be one of the happiest places on earth, especially for children celebrating birthdays who love pizza… but when some adults walk into CEC, their synapses stop snapping and mayhem takes over.
Police break up birthday party brawl at Chuck E. Cheese’s
Just another typical night at Chuck E. Cheese
Another brawl between parents at Chuck E. Cheese in Detroit
What the heck are they putting in the cheese at Chuck E.???
Business lunch at Chuck E. Cheese???
Okay, if you can figure this one out… please clue The Feline Foodie in… the State of California audited the City of Montebello and certain City Officials were writing off “Business” lunches at CEC… no matter how you spin this story… this dog just won’t hunt…
The Lady and Spaulding Gray, Portland’s Favorite Feline Foodie, thank you for reading our choices of cheeses and some silly headlines that caught their eye during 2011.
Now, go forth and eat cheese… lots of cheese…
For more information, you can contact The Lady via her email address: marcellathecheesemonger (@) gmail.com
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