Guest Columns

Perspective:
Cheese Education

Cheese State University sets new standard for industry expertise

Molly Browne

Molly Browne is education director for Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, and Dean of Mongers for Cheese State University. She contributes this column exclusively for Cheese Market News®.

The cheese industry has a wonderful tradition of sharing knowledge and passing information on to newcomers, but relying on this tapestry of sources can be a barrier to entry for many. Throughout my career, I have heard many peers and colleagues bemoan the lack of a singular training resource available across the cheese industry.

When I started working in a cheese shop, my training consisted of a crash course in the specific cheeses the shop carried, a little background producer information and not much else. The day we opened our doors, it was instantly clear that to deliver the great service our customers deserved, I was going to need to learn a lot more. Eleven years into my cheese career, I, like most others who have been here for a while, have built a foundation of knowledge one brick at a time, pulling from a network of those more educated than I was, American Cheese Society Certified Cheese Professional (ACS CCP) exam and conference sessions, articles, new books, monger trainings like Counter Culture, and the Cheesemonger Invitational.

Thus, when Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin set out to create a professional training program for the cheese world, we were inspired to make something that would help resolve this once and for all.

At long last, our industry has a reliable and accessible resource for professional training and education. While Cheese State University was specifically created for cheesemongers, this program can help any passionate cheese professional gain a deeper understanding of the world of cheese, build a network of connections and excel in their careers. Cheese State University enrollees have access to a world of educationally driven content at their fingertips starting with The Cheese State University Field Guide, a comprehensive three-part curriculum that covers a broad range of topics including cheese history, dairy farming, milk chemistry, cheesemaking science, cheese families, attributes and defects identification, food safety and much more.

Students can use the Field Guide to prepare to take the Cheese State Scholar assessment, which if passed, earns them this title and a certificate that demonstrates their prestigious achievement.

All the content that makes up Cheese State University, and especially the information included in the Cheese State Field Guide, includes comprehensive knowledge and expertise contributed by an incredible committee of industry luminaries, including veteran mongers, dairy farmers, cheesemakers and cheese scientists.

Technical advisors include the late Pat Polowsky, the inimitable Jane Bauer and experts from the Center for Dairy Research. The Field Guide also includes essays by special guest authors like Liz Thorpe, Adam Moskowitz of Columbia Cheese and the Cheesemonger Invitational, Alisha Norris Jones of @_immortalmilk, Zoe Brickley of Jasper Hill Farm and many more.

In addition to this course, Cheese State enrollees also have access to The Wisconsin Cheese Atlas, where they can find a ton of information about various Wisconsin cheeses, including sensory descriptions and pairings. They’ll also be able to watch The Cheese State Turo-Files, a video series that offers coaching for mongers on how to approach complicated topics like rennet, pregnancy and lactose with their customers.

Additionally, they will be able to browse through a collection of articles, gear guides, cheese shop features and career inspiration in the Pat Polowsky Student Union. And finally, they can join The Quad, an app just for Cheese State students, where they can connect with fellow pros and find even more inspiration and information. And they can access all of this for free!

“Cheese State University doesn’t miss a beat,” says Karen Lange, ACS CCP and Cheese State University enrolled cheesemonger. “If this was available when I was studying for the ACS CCP, it sure would have made understanding the whole process of cheesemaking a lot easier. Cheese State is definitely the place to be if you are a cheesemonger.”

Tour the Cheese State University campus at www.CheeseStateUniversity.com. Enrollment is only open to cheese professionals.

CMN

The views expressed by CMN’s guest columnists are their own opinions and do not necessarily reflect those of Cheese Market News®.

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