Culture Magazine

BES T CHEESES 2024 culturecheesemag.com 13 VOICINGS of some of the hardest jobs, but being a cheesemaker or a farmhand is really, really tough work. RP: I recently heard someone complaining that the price of cheese has gone through the roof. And I was like, well, you know, you can't hire anybody to work in a cheese department for under $25 an hour. An independent store needs to make their money somewhere. And if the cost of hiring people to either sell or produce cheese has gone up 50 percent in the last 10 years, it certainly does make sense that the cost of the finished good is gonna go up, too. And [they] said, "I hadn't even thought of that. It had not occurred to me that there's physical labor involved in this, that it's not just somebody trying to make a margin off me." CM: Food is very undervalued across the board, but cheese is one of those things you always hear people complain is so expensive. And the price per pound that we pay for artisan cheese is actually really high compared to other items at the grocery store. RP: Yeah. Unfortunately, it's not subsidized like a bunch of other things are. If you look at the price of a gallon of milk and how much actual cheese curd you'd get out of a gallon of milk, it sort of helps put things into perspective. CM: I do want to talk about ACS a bit, because on top of your incredible career, you're also on the Board of Directors at ACS and are Chair Emeritus of the Judging and Competition Committee. How surprised do you think your 15-year- old self would be to find out that you help organize a cheese competition? RP: Well, my first job ever at 14 was in a deli. And it was that first day in April on the East Coast when it's 70 degrees and everybody goes out, and the deli got slammed… and I loved it. That pace was something I really loved. So, I think in hindsight, it sort of made sense. I wish I had known a little more when I was like 18; then maybe I would've gone to school for hospitality and done something a little more relevant to my career. But that's why it's hindsight, right? CM: How did you get involved with ACS? RP: Montreal was my first ACS conference. My good friend Shelly, who worked at World's Best Cheese, encouraged me to go and see what it was all about. So, I stayed at my sister's house and signed up to volunteer all day, every day. My first shift, I got plucked out of a group of volunteers and put in a 53-foot refrigerated trailer and was told I'd be receiving all the cheese for the competition and had to organize them in my trailer. CM: A bit of trial by fire. RP: Exactly. But I love that. I love making sense out of chaos. CM: How have you seen the conference grow since Montreal? RP: I think with the [creation of ] the [Certified Cheese Professional Exam], you get this whole new group of people who come every year. Seeing all these people come to conference for the first time wide-eyed is incredible. And I think the quality and the creativity of sessions that are offered, and the diversity in sessions, has gone up significantly. CM: All of this year's Best of Show winners were independently owned creameries. Do you think that is significant in any way, or do you think it's just a random roll of the dice? RP: I think it's really interesting that we have this cross section of both independent cheesemakers and large companies that enter. And I think that's one of the benefits of the ACS judging model—if you are a giant company and you have all this equipment to automate what you're doing, you have this level of consistency and technical expertise that can help you score really high. But [for] some of these small artisan guys, having your hand touch it just makes it all that much better, too. So, it's sort of like the paradox of the two. CM: In a small operation, there's so much variation from wheel to wheel, so I think maybe you get higher highs and lower lows. So it's the cheesemaker's job to pinpoint that super high, high. RP: Exactly. CM: I imagine the logistics for Judging and Competition have been simplified since keeping it at the same location every year. It must be devastating when cheese arrives at J&C in bad shape. How often do you wind up throwing out cheese from a maker? RP: The logistics piece is awful. One of the reasons we really wanted to move it was for Canadian cheesemakers, because they would send stuff via FedEx and it [would get] stuck at the border in those Styrofoam boxes. There were so many years we got product that was just dead upon arrival—especially in the middle of July when it's 110 degrees outside. So, we've been working with Fortune Fish [and Gourmet] in Chicago to consolidate and truck in all the Canadian cheese for us. This year, all of our Canadian cheeses made it without a problem. I think every single Canadian cheesemaker who entered won at least a ribbon. Having that opportunity to give Canadian cheesemakers a little flexibility to get cheese in has been incredible. CM: Before we finish up, I want to ask if you have any advice for someone who is debating whether to get involved in ACS. RP: Volunteer! J&C is the best—I'm a little biased—but it's a lot of fun. Working the competition is amazing because you really get to see the whole landscape of American cheese all at once. When are you ever gonna have that chance again to see 30 different mozzarella producers all lined up next to each other? It's a great opportunity to actually understand what's happening in the cheese industry in real time. I don't own my own business—I have certainly worked my way up—and volunteering for ACS is a great way to make connections and create opportunities for yourself within the industry. It's not an organization that's just run by people who own their own business, people who have MBAs, or work for mass organizations; there really is an opportunity for any and everybody to get involved and grow as a person and grow your career along with it. c "Breaking down that preciousness to be more inclusive rather than exclusive is certainly an area where we have room to grow."

• Cover