A Taste in Time

A seminar and comparative tasting of European and American cheese and beer in conjunction with The Seattle Cheese Festival and DeLaurenti Specialty Food and Wine.

Where: The Pike Brewing Company -Museum Room, communal seating.
1415 1st Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101

Savor the flavors and nuances of time honored recipes for both beer and cheese from England , France and the USA. Join Charles Finkel, founder of Pike Brewing Company and pioneer in America's craft beer movement, and

Debra Dickerson, owner of 3D Cheese and pioneer of America's farmstead, artisan cheese movement for a guided tasting of European and American beers and cheeses.
 

Northwest Terroir
Speaker: Jeffrey Roberts

What gives Northwest cheese its distinctive characteristics? How does the terroir, or the soil and climate, affect the flavor profile of the milk and, ultimately, influence the resulting complexities in the cheese? Jeffrey P. Roberts, the author of The Atlas of American Artisan Cheese, will share his expertise. Roberts hails from Montpelier, Vermont, and is the co-founder of the Vermont Institute for Artisan Cheese at the University of Vermont. He is also one of the organizers of the American Raw Milk Cheese Presidium for Slow Food USA. Seminar includes specifically paired wines.
 

From the Mountains to the Plains: Exploring European Cheeses
Speaker: Daphne Zepos

Geography can determine the type of cheese that's made in a particular place, how it's made and the economic ramifications in a community. Daphne Zepos, who is the co-owner of Essex Street Cheese Co. in New York - which hand selects and imports only Comté cheese - will share her insight about how a cheese and its maker are shaped by the environment, and the unique qualities that distinguish a cheese made in the mountains or one that comes from a farm located below sea level. Zepos is also the former fromager at the Artisanal Premium Cheese Center in New York and consults on affinage, or the art of finishing and ripening cheese. Seminar includes specifically paired wines.
 

The Art of Affinage
Speaker: Peter Dixon

In an ideal world, once a cheese leaves its creator, it becomes the priority of a discerning affineur who ages the cheese until it is perfectly ripe for eating and therefore ready to be sold. Peter Dixon, who has been making dairy foods in his home state of Vermont for more than 20 years, explains the craft of affinage through a discussion about various families of naturally rinded cheese. Dixon has worked at Guilford Cheese Company, Shelburne Farms, Vermont Butter and Cheese Company, and Westminster Dairy. For the past decade, Dixon has served as consultant on numerous projects, including creating new cheeses for Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy and aiding the startup of Estrella Family Creamery. Seminar includes specifically paired wines.

From Curds to Consumer
Moderator: Hsiao-Ching Chou

Panelists: Matt Day of Mt. Townsend Creamery; Laure Dubouloz, Herve Mons Affineur Company; Bill Stephenson, cheese purchaser for DPI Northwest; Steve Philips of Port Madison Farm, Connie Rizzo, cheese buyer for DeLaurenti Specialty Food & Wine

A cheesemaker's job is not done after a cheese has been made. During this panel, moderator, Hsiao-Ching Chou, who is a consultant at Suzuki + Chou Communimedia and the former food editor at the Seattle P-I, will lead a discussion about the process of sending a cheese from a farm, such as Mt. Townsend Creamery, through the chain of affinage to wholesaler or retailer, and, ultimately, to the consumer. Seminar includes specifically paired wines.

Do You Taste What I Taste?
Speaker: Peggy Smith

Can a cheese taste like wet dog and dirt or fruit and butterscotch? Just like wines, cheeses invite tasters to speak a new language. Peggy Smith, who has played guitar with Mary Chapin Carpenter, worked alongside Robert Mondavi and was chef at Chez Panisse Café before trading in her toque for a cowgirl hat to be a co-owner of Cowgirl Creamery, will identify the various flavors in cheeses in order to facilitate a better understanding of the descriptors. Seminar includes specifically paired wines.
 

French Washed Rind Cheeses
Speaker: Laurent Mons

Laurent Mons is a renowned affineur and cheese retailer in France. He manages two cheese shops, teaches culinary students and cheese professionals, and works at the Training Center for Dairy Products in his native France. Mons will focus on washed rind cheeses and discuss how diverse the cheeses in one category can be. Seminar includes specifically paired wines.