Fromagination - Featured Cheesemaker

Andy Hatch, Uplands Cheese
If what Uplands cheesemaker Andy Hatch says is true -- that half of the secret to making Pleasant Ridge Reserve is simply getting out of the way of the milk and letting its unique properties and flavor profile shine through – then many would argue the other half to the secret of this near-perfect cheese is Andy Hatch himself. Andy joined the Uplands Cheese team near Dodgeville, Wis., in 2007, and with Mike Gingrich, continues to craft the one cheese that first put the Wisconsin artisan cheese community on the map. Made only from milk when the farm’s dairy cows are grazing on fresh grass, Pleasant Ridge Reserve is proudly sold at Fromagination and served at many of the nation’s finest restaurants.

Pleasant Ridge Reserve-Extra- Aged

Cow's milk cheese, aged 18-24 months, this beauty is our top-selling cheese. Crafted seasonally on the farm by cheesemaker Andy Hatch at Uplands Cheese near Dodgeville, Wisconsin. Rich and hearty with complex layers of caramel and an intriguing tart fruitiness. Winning Best in Show at the American Cheese Society's annual competition in 2001, 2005 and 2010, Pleasant Ridge Reserve continues to delight and surprise all who are lucky enough to sample it.

Pleasant Ridge Reserve

Cow's milk cheese, aged 9-12 months and crafted on the farm at Uplands Cheese near Dodgeville, Wisconsin. Made from seasonal milk only when cows are grazing on fresh grass. Winning Best in Show at the American Cheese Society's annual competition in 2001, 2005 and 2010, Pleasant Ridge Reserve continues to delight and surprise all who are lucky enough to sample it.

Chris Roelli, Roelli Cheese
It took nearly a year for fourth generation cheesemaker Chris Roelli to perfect the recipe of Dunbarton Blue, one of the best and newest Wisconsin Original cheeses. One bite of this open-air cured, earthy cheddared-blue will make you glad he took his time. Imparting the feel of an English cheddar, but spiked with the delicate, subtle flavor of a fine blue, Dunbarton Blue is named after a neighboring local township between Shullsburg and Darlington, Wis. The cheese is handcrafted in small batches and aged in the family’s historic aging cellar, where it ripens to perfection surrounded by a rock wall foundation.

Dunbarton Blue

Cow's milk, American Original, combines the greatness of an English Cheddar with the bite and creaminess of a French Blue. Open air cured. Light blue veining. Crafted by cheesemaker Chris Roelli at Roelli Cheese near Shullsburg, Wisconsin.

Brenda Jensen, Hidden Springs Creamery

Brenda Jensen never planned on being a cheesemaker. Sure, she could blame her husband, Dean, for bringing home the first 50 sheep (or as she calls them, “the ladies”) five years ago to their farm near Westby, Wis. But once she got her hands on the milk, she wanted to make cheese. Today, Brenda is recognized as one of the best sheep’s milk cheesemakers in the nation. Her hand-made Driftless cheese, named for the farm’s location in the “Driftless” part of the state – is soft and creamy and crafted in a variety of seasonal flavors with ingredients sourced locally. Her hard sheep’s milk cheeses, including Ocooch Mountain, is a mountain-style, raw-milk cheese aged 3-4 months.

Ocooch Mountain

Sheep's milk cheese, washed rind, raw-milk farmstead cheese crafted by Cheesemaker Brenda Jensen at Hidden Springs Creamery near Westby, Wisconsin. Sweet, crumbly. Aged 3-4 months, the natural rind promotes an intense flavor and a firm, tight texture with tiny eyes. Slightly granular on the pallet with a nutty flavor that lingers.

Willi Lehner, Bleu Mont Dairy

He’s been called an “off-the-grid rock star cheesemaker” by the New York Times, profiled as a “local hero” in Saveur Magazine, and captured on film yodeling in his underground cheese cave, but Willi Lehner doesn’t let such accolades go to his head. A cheesemaker in the truest sense of the word, Willi relies on intuition and innovation to make some of the best hand-made cheese in America. You’ll find him every Saturday, rain or shine, at the Dane County Farmer’s Market in Madison, selling the fruits of his labor: the science and art we call cheese. We are proud to offer his Bandaged Cheddar at Fromagination.

Bleu Mont Bandaged Cheddar

Cow's Milk, English-style farmhouse cheddar, cloth-bound and cave-aged less than one year. Crafted by cheesemaker Willi Lehner, of Bleu Mont Dairy near Blue Mounds, Wisconsin. Paired with a lager or off-dry riesling (as per Wine Spectator’s recommendation), the cheese makes a wonderful addition to a salad course or even dessert.

Sid Cook, Carr Valley Cheese

If Master Cheesemaker Sid Cook at Carr Valley Cheese in LaValle, Wis., was required to wear every medal, carry every trophy and don every ribbon he’s ever won for making specialty cheeses, he wouldn’t be able to move under all the weight. Clocking in at more than 200 national and international awards in the past five years alone, the man officially is a cheese genius. As the inventor of at least 50 American Original cheeses -- meaning he simply made them up – it’s sometimes challenging to keep up with all the new cheeses Sid dreams up. But we keep trying.

Mobay

Master Cheesemaker Sid Cook's whimsically delicious take on the famous French cheese, Morbier. Features a layer of sheep milk cheese and a layer of goat milk cheese separated by a layer of grape vine ash. Both delicate and rustic. Taste each layer separately and then together for three different flavor profiles in one great cheese.

Bruce Workman, Edelweiss Creamery

Bruce Workman has the distinction of being the only cheesemaker in North America making “Big Wheel Swiss. “ His Edelweiss Emmentaler, crafted in a historic cheese plant near Monticello, Wis., is made using raw milk and a traditional Swiss copper vat. Each wheels weighs about 180 pounds and ages peacefully in the company’s cellars in Monroe. Edelweiss partners with a cooperative of dairy farmers dedicated to pasturing cows to bring a pure but complex flavor profile to a line of cheeses made from pastured milk. Soon, his Edelweiss Emmentaler will be made only from the milk of these grass-fed cows, earning Bruce yet another distinction: grass-based cheesemaker.

Emmentaler

Cow's milk cheese based on the original Emmentaler from Switzerland. This version, made using a traditional copper kettle, is produced by Master Cheesemaker Bruce Workman in Monticello, Wisconsin, using grass-fed milk from Edelweiss Graziers Cooperative. Punctuated by large, smooth holes, the interior paste is a pale, caramel color, becoming darker towards the rind.