MADISON, Wis. — It was a cheese lovers' delight during the Art of Cheese Festival in Madison, Wis., recently. Cheesemakers, experts called cheesemongers, writers, and cheese aficionados from around the country gathered to celebrate cheese. There was no better place in the United States for the event to be held. Wisconsin is the country's leading cheese producer and the state would rank fourth in the world in cheese production if it was a country.
So, people schmoozed at street fairs with Wisconsin makers of brie and cheddar, attended classes on how to paint the cheese, went on cheese tours and learned how to match cheese with everything from chocolate to cocktails.
Alisha Norris Jones was in cheese heaven. She is a freelance cheesemonger – essentially a sommelier of cheese — with her own brand called Immortal Milk. As she toured the Art of Cheese Festival for the first time, she shared her expertise on how to best enjoy a cheese fair.
Go at it your own way
In a reclaimed barn in Waterloo, Wis., people take their seats around a long wooden table, accentuated by dahlias and cheeseboards as sparkly chandeliers dangle overhead. "I feel like I want to get married here," says Norris Jones.
She's teaming up with sommelier Belinda Chang to host a guided cheese and wine pairing during a chef-designed lunch in the barn. It's a gourmet way for people to fuel up after a tour of a creamery where cheese and butter are produced. It also gives Norris Jones and Chang time to explain how they approach a cheese festival.
"So, number one, hydrate," says Norris Jones. "Lots of water. Cheese usually is accompanied by wine or a cocktail. So, start there [with the extra water]. And personally, I love all of my non-cheese festival meals to be very veggie forward."
Chang, a James Beard award-winning sommelier, has a different tactic. "I've been Wisconsin cheese-loading leading up to this big event. I imagine it's how they do it when they do the Coney Island hot dog challenge, just to get it in so your body is acclimated," she laughs.
Remember your cheese origin story
Norris Jones has one. She grew up in Boston, Mass., specifically Dorchester. Kraft Singles was a childhood favorite. "Loved cheese from day one."
And if cheese was a language, Norris would speak it fluently. "I am taking care of cheese from its birth, as in, like coming out of the creamery, to your mouth. I try to bone up on cheese from every part of the world.
Try the stinky cheeses
The people attending the barn luncheon eye triangular pieces of limburger perched on thin glasses full of spoon tomatoes the chef calls "the tiniest, cutest little cherry tomatoes you will ever see." They're coated in champagne vinaigrette. Norris Jones slowly paces through the room and explains the basics of limburger cheese. It's a "washed rind cheese," meaning it's usually rubbed in brine or beer or wine. The only producer of the cheese in the United States is in Wisconsin.
Explore the festival's melting pot of cheese and people
"My big goal is to meet more [cheese] producers," she says. It's also about meeting cheeses. "I'm really hoping to try White Jasmine," explains Norris Jones. The Pakistani-American owned company describes its cheese as eastern spice meets Midwest nice. "They're making a lot of flavors that reflect their background. So, I feel like there's a Tikka Masala situation out there that I really want to try."
She explains one of the reasons she's going after it. "You don't see a lot of folks of color [in the cheese industry], although cheese spans cultures." She acknowledges that one of the barriers to getting into the business is capital. "And it's great to see someone get what they need, provide jobs, provide another lens into their culture and what they're into through cheese. And I try to support that whenever I can."
"This is incredible," she says, after nibbling on the 13-spice White Jasmine tandoori cheese square.
Pair cheese with many things
People like to eat cheese in concert with something else, whether that's crackers or pasta or salads or even the beloved crust and tomato sauce. The festival offers six "art of pairing" courses. Norris Jones teaches two of them, one is called the art of pairing cheese and bloody marys. Her co-host is Brian Bartels, a mixologist and the author of a book about the drink.
They have spent months together figuring out combinations like a spicy harissa-infused carrot juice — bunny mary — paired with a green olive brick spread and a beef broth vodka martini that's partnered with a triple crème, buttery cheese called sark.
So, in the upper level of a Madison supper club, there are piles of bagels and heaps of cream cheese for people to nosh on so that they don't get too intoxicated from the five bloody marys they're about to imbibe. After each pairing, the room gets louder and louder, as people laugh and chat with each other.
When the class ends, Norris Jones reflects. She says a lot of the events she participates in, outside this festival, are more cheesemonger focused. She doesn't really get to talk to people who aren't in the industry or who try her cheese suggestions. "One of my favorite things about the art of the bloody mary, these were folks that came out here because they love food, they love drinking, they love learning and are food enthusiasts in the best way possible. And that's so invigorating, and so, like, beautiful. I don't get a lot of that."
Take a (cheesy) fashion leap and figure out your destiny
At the festival's cheese ball, held at an upscale Madison music venue, the dress code is "music gala glam with a generous side of cheese." There's an ample amount of actual cheese, including raclette tables, a Wisconsin Cheese Bar where cheesemonger "bartenders" serve chunks of cheese, and even a few guys stretching and pulling fresh mozzarella into the air out of a large bowl full of warm, melted cheese. The fashion look is decidedly dairy, with people wearing cheese and cow print-themed clothing. There's even a woman from Florida with a cheese top hat.
No cheese designs though for Norris Jones. She's in a puffy taffeta cupcake babydoll dress. She makes a beeline for Jen the Tyromancer who uses cheese to tell fortunes. People can choose samples from platters that hold about 10 to 12 cheeses, and Jen predicts what's coming up in their lives by "reading" their cheeses.
The tyromancer gives Norris Jones encouraging words, and she is able to devour the cheese that holds her future. Afterwards, she reflects on the whole experience. "Makers and mongers don't really get a chance to, you know, dress to the nines when you're getting up at 5 a.m. and putting your hands in milk. So that was – it was great."
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