Whole Story

In my opinion, there are a few absolutely perfect (cheese) pairings: bright cheddar and dark Russian rye bread; creamy mascarpone and crispy gingersnaps; a crumbly blue and crisp apple; and exotic Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog and an airline ticket to northern California. To help celebrate American Cheese Month this October, you can come up with your own unique cheese pairing and enter the Smile for the Camembert Photo Contest on our new Whole Foods Market Cheese page on Facebook. Choose any one of the ten 2011 American Cheese Society’s (ACS) award-winning cheeses listed below and photograph it with your favorite pairing: loaf of bread, jug of wine, fruit, chocolate — anything that strikes you as a good match — edible, drinkable, or otherwise. Submit your photo via our Facebook Cheese page between October 3 and 14. Tell your network of friends and family because the public can vote on their favorite photo until October 17. Then Cathy Strange, the Global Cheese Buyer at Whole Foods Market and our very own Cheese Rock Star, will pick the winners based on quality and creativity of cheese pairing, creativity of photo and the representation of one of the 10 cheeses listed below (with bonus points for including the name or logo of the cheese in the photo). Contest details are on the Whole Foods Market Cheese page. The grand prize winner gets a $200 Whole Foods Market gift card and 5 runners up get a $50 gift card. All six winners also receive a gift basket with all 10 cheeses! Regardless of your desire to enter the contest, you’ve got to try some of these award-winning cheeses. Cathy Strange, was one of the technical judges for the ACS awards, so she knows her cheese!

• Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog — a California cheese featuring a creamy texture with a subtle, tangy flavor
• Rogue Creamery Rogue River Blue — a raw milk blue wrapped in leaves soaked in Pear Brandy from Oregon’s Rogue Valley
• Roth-Kase Gran Queso — a Wisconsin queso modeled on traditional Spanish cheese but produced with cow’s milk
• Old Chatham Camembert Square — a sweet and luscious mixed sheep and cow’s milk cheese from New York, a wonderful dessert cheese
• Old Europe Triple Crème Brie — produced for Whole Foods Market in Michigan, this cheese highlights the extra creaminess of triple cream products
• Cowgirl Creamery Mt. Tam — a stunning cheese from Marin County made from organic milk with overtones of mushrooms and herbs
• Black Diamond Canadian Cheddar Aged 5 Years — a rich and crumbly cheddar from Canada with a sharp finish
• Sartori Parmesan — an aged parmesan from Wisconsin with a nutty flavor and lingering finish
• Crave Brothers Mascarpone — a Wisconsin cheese made from sweet cream, lovely served with fresh berries
• Vermont Butter and Cheese Creamery Cremont — a combined goat and cow’s milk cheese with a luscious mouthfeel and a cream fraiche finish

Don’t go overboard and submit a photo with more than one marvelous accompaniment! Keep it simple. And remember, you’ll get extra points when you include the name or logo of the cheese in your photo. Click here for our Whole Foods Market Cheese Facebook page and the photo contest details. You can enter your pairing photo from October 3 through 14, but only once. Pair carefully! Encourage your friends to vote for your pairing photo and they might win a gift card, too. What will you pair with one of these winning cheeses?