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VERMONT BUTTER & CHEESE CREAMERY Product Line
TAKING HOME THE WIN IN CHEESE OR DAIRY PRODUCT (p. S14) and Perishable Foodservice Product (p. S21), its Outstanding Product Line win brings Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery's 2012 sofi total to an impressive three Golds. The creamery was started by two young visionaries devoted to nontraditional agriculture. In 1984, Bob Reese was overseeing a dinner celebrating Vermont agricultural products, and was in need of a locally made goat cheese. He reached out to Allison Hooper, who had spent time in the French region of Brittany, "learning all the essentials of what was to become my life passion: cheesemaking," says Hooper. She made the chevre, he delivered it to the chef. The dinner was a success and Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery was born. For close to three decades, Hooper and Reese have devoted great attention to each product created at the creamery. Cheese or Dairy sofi Award Winner Bonne Bouche—the signature aged goat's milk cheese—is hand-ladled and ash-ripened for a creamy, fluffy texture and delicate, yeasty rind. Vermont Butter & Cheese is the first creamery in the country to develop this "geo-rinded" cheese, which took 12 years to perfect, Hooper says. Today the company remains small with only 44 employees, while a creamery renovation and expansion is underway to allow for wider distribution. The creamery team recently collaborated with Wegmans and Whole Foods Market to create new products. "We are excited to partner with customers to enhance their product offering," Hooper says. Contact: Adeline Druart, Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery; 802.479.9371; adruart@vermontcreamery.com; vermontcreamery.com.—L.S.L.
➊ 479° POPCORN Product Line
Contact: Monique Llamas monique@479popcorn.com 415.876.7600 479popcorn.com
➋ STONEMILL KITCHENS Gourmet Dips Line Contact: David Lakey davel@resers.com 503.526.8398 stonemillkitchens.com
➌ URBAN ACCENTS INC. Gotta Cook Tonight™ Contact: Rebecca Uphoff ruphoff@urbanaccents.com 773.528.9515 urbanaccents.com
➍ WILDLY DELICIOUS FINE FOODS Product Line
Contact: Austin Muscat austin@wildlydelicious.com 416.444.2011 wildlydelicious.com
S10 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE ❘ specialtyfood.com ➍
FINALISTS
PRODUCT LINE