Olga Dominguez is Zabar's Cheese Manager, and has been for many many years! This year she was asked to be a judge at the American Cheese Society. Here is her report from the front lines of the best of American Cheese:
The excitement of playing a small part in such an important event in the World of Cheese was almost overwhelming. However, being a judge at the American Cheese Society comes with a great responsibility to help the cheesemakers. As we were told at the beginning, this is more about judging and less about the competition. With 1,327 entries this year there is no way all of them would be winners but they can all learn to be better cheesemakers.So as a Judge I felt a duty to make sure that I looked at each cheese fairly and gave as much feedback as possible. I tried to use my viewpoint as a retailer to provide a new prospective so that the cheesemaker could continue to improve. But what made this easy and so enjoyable was the professional way that the show was run with the help of countless volunteers. These people were there because they believed in the American Cheese movement and wanted to be a part of it. The organization and professionalism was really shown at the Awards Ceremony which was carried out just as if it was the Academy Awards.
And to watch the reactions of the cheesemakers as they won was truly one of the greatest experiences a cheesemonger can have. To know that I played a part in this event and in helping many, many cheesemakers continue to make cheese is a humbling yet inspiring thought. It was an experience I will not forget.
-- Olga Dominguez
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