Mary Lindemann from Pine River Pre-Pack is a volunteer and a competitor at the US Cheese Championship. While competing at Lambeau was a lot of fun, she says the event’s move to the Resch Center has been a positive change. The new venue isn’t the only change, with Green Bay being in the bullseye for loads of snow, there are also some changes in the schedule.
Due to the weather all remaining judging rounds will take place Wednesday, February 22 from 2:00-5:00 p.m. The final announcement of the Top 20 cheeses and U.S. Champion will still take place at 2:00 p.m. (CT) on Thursday, February 23 at Resch Expo and will be livestreamed at USChampionCheese.org.
While some competition changes may be at the will of Mother Nature, Pine River Pre-Pack is celebrating sixty years of weathering the storms this year. In 1985 they entered their first cheese into the competition and ever since they’ve been collecting awards. Mary gives the credit to the dairy farmers that supply milk to the company as well as the entire team at the cheese plant.
Demand for cheese spread has always been strong around Christmas and the Super Bowl, but Mary says that the cheese dip and spread category has been showing growth. Part of that growth at Pine River can be attributed to the new product flavors they’ve developed. The number one seller is the Port Wine, but their portfolio of flavors now spans 21 flavors, including a new 60 month aged cheddar to celebrate their anniversary. Many of those flavors are inspired by food trends, but Mary says that employees also bring in their ideas for future flavors.
While Mary and the team from Pine River Pre-Pack awaits news from the judging table, they volunteer their time helping out at the contest. Mary’s time is spent doing everything from checking in the entries ahead of the contest, answering questions from the public about the dairy industry during the competition to making sure each judge has everything they need. With the public being able to sample cheese, there are also many hours spent slicing cheese as they come off the judging table.
While the event is open to the public this week, the weather may keep the crowds away. Be sure to watch their website and Facebook page for any further updates and cheese judging results.
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