Vermont Cheese Summit Launches to Connect Buyers with Artisan Cheese
(Waitsfield, Vermont) 6/27/2022 – The Vermont Cheese Council announced today that sales are opening for the Vermont Cheese Summit on August 13-14, 2021. This two-day event focuses on providing opportunities for wholesale buyers and cheese industry professionals to visit Vermont and meet its cheese producers firsthand.
The Vermont Cheese Council is known as the host of the Vermont Cheesemakers Festival, an event that has been rated as one of the top 10 food festivals, summer food festivals, and events by the likes of Yankee Magazine, New England Today, and USA Today. Compared to that event, which is public- and consumer-facing, this event will be smaller and focuses on connecting wholesale cheese buyers and professionals (e.g. distributors, specialty cheese and food retail shops, chefs, cheesemongers, restaurant staff, etc.) with cheese producers directly. It includes one day of farm, creamery, and aging space tours hosted at cheese makers’ sites across the state on Saturday, August 13th, followed by another day of educational sessions and tastings with over 30 of the state’s award-winning cheese producers on Sunday, August 14th.
“Many wholesale buyers – whether specialty food shops, groceries, or chefs – choose to use and sell local and artisan cheeses for the quality they offer and also because they are actively engaged in supporting local farms and food suppliers,” shares Marty Mundy, Executive Director for the Vermont Cheese Council. “One thing COVID showed so many of us is how crucial it is to keep our food supply sustainable. We created this event to help people learn more about the products they are buying and the stories behind the people that make those products.”
This event will have only 150-200 attendees. While the Sunday tasting and educational events will be hosted at Shelburne Farms in Shelburne, Vermont, the cheese production and creamery tours will take place at 17 creameries across the state. These tours include a mix of opportunities to interact with smaller, newer cheese producers like Stony Pond Farm and Ice House Farm, as well as larger established names like Jasper Hill Farm and Vermont Creamery.
“As a founding member of the Vermont Cheese Council and the Vermont Cheesemakers Festival, we are thoroughly invested in the success of Vermont’s cheesemakers and the industry that supports them,” said Adeline Druart, president of Vermont Creamery. “Events like the Vermont Cheese Summit offer cheesemakers the opportunity to connect in person, to taste the cheeses, hear from other producers and form meaningful relationships with buyers, retailers and fellow cheesemakers. It also gives cheesemakers like us, on Saturday of the event weekend, the opportunity to offer industry peers the chance to hear our story from inside the walls of our creamery in Websterville, a unique and inherently personal experience that we are so looking forward to.”
More information about the event may be found at www.vtchese.com/summit2022.
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About the Vermont Cheese Council: The Vermont Cheese Council’s mission is to advance the production and image of premier cheese from Vermont by supporting the health, growth and success of the Vermont cheesemaking community. In addition to member programming, it hosts events and outreach programs that help consumers and commercial buyers experience the world-class cheeses produced in Vermont firsthand.
Organization website: www.vtcheese.com
Instagram: @vtcheese
Facebook: @vermontcheesecouncil
Press Contact:
Marty Mundy
info@vtcheese.com