Seattle Cheese Festival 2007

As ideas go, this is one of the best. Several years ago, Pat McCarthy, owner of DeLaurenti Specialty Food and Wine at Pike Place Market, saw the increase of interest in cheese at the shop. He was also aware of how many professional farmers and novices were getting into cheese making and thought it would be great to have a festival at the Market to showcase the artisanal cheese. The first event was held in 2005. In 2006, 75,000 people attended. The three-day event has become a big deal. In 2005, McCarthy was awarded the Gourmet News Retail Leadership Award for establishing the event.

On Saturday and Sunday, Pike Street through the Market is closed to traffic so people can wander along and sample cheese. This, of course, is what draws the most people. But the event has even more to offer. On all three days, there are educational seminars, cooking demonstrations (some at Pike & Stewart and some at local restaurants, all with well-known Seattle chefs), tastings and even a movie, "The Cheese Nun." Irresistible.

In addition, there is a Wine Garden on Saturday and Sunday on the main thoroughfare of the Market and wine tasting in DeLaurenti’s wine shop. Kids will have great fun participating in the scavenger hunt where they follow a map and get a cheesy treat when they find the right location ("just like a mouse in a cheese maze" as the website says). Local restaurants will also get involved by including a "Cheese Fest Best" dish on their menu.

There will be approximately thirty cheesemakers in attendance, local, U.S. and international; and more than 250 cheeses to sample. This year’s festival will start off with a truckle (a barrel-shaped cheese that weighs 18 pounds) race. Three local personalities will roll the barrels with cheese-making spatulas from Rachel the Pig to Beecher’s Handmade Cheese shop. Get those video cameras ready.

Besides the education aspects of the event and the sheer fun, there’s also a fundraising portion as well. People can donate the suggested amount, a whopping $1, that will help establish a scholarship fund for aspiring cheesemakers. The idea of the scholarship is that the student will attend school in the Northwest and learn about cheesemaking here, but there are no actual restrictions from attending school in, say, Wisconsin.

The Seattle Cheese Festival is one of those things that makes a city interesting and amusing, not just for visitors but for all us locals who just want to have fun. There’s no charge to attend, but go ahead and donate to the scholarship fund, buy some cheese and wine and take part in what your city has to offer!

Click here to read about DeLaurenti Specialty Food and Wine

May 2007

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