Wall Street Journal, 11.10.06
At this year's annual American Cheese Society competition, aficionados and producers were
dazzled by a newcomer: Hidden Springs Creamery of Westby, Wis., won six awards, including
two first-place honors.
Tasters may have been puzzled by how this cheesemaker emerged from nowhere. Just two
years ago, Hidden Springs did not exist and its owner, Brenda Jensen, was working as a manager at a global packaging company.
Ms. Jensen is among a growing number of dairy farmers who have left corporate jobs for the allure of the cheese world. According to the American Cheese Society, which represents artisanal and craft cheesemakers, the number of cheesemakers who have joined the organization has more than tripled in the past seven years, from 426 in 2001 to 1,346 in 2007. And cheesemaking has attracted producers from non-food backgrounds. Jeff Roberts, author of "The Atlas of American Cheese," found that
almost a third of artisanal cheesemakers in 2006 had come from other careers ranging from doctors to dotcommers.
At this year's annual American Cheese Society competition, aficionados and producers were
dazzled by a newcomer: Hidden Springs Creamery of Westby, Wis., won six awards, including
two first-place honors.
Tasters may have been puzzled by how this cheesemaker emerged from nowhere. Just two
years ago, Hidden Springs did not exist and its owner, Brenda Jensen, was working as a manager at a global packaging company.
Ms. Jensen is among a growing number of dairy farmers who have left corporate jobs for the allure of the cheese world. According to the American Cheese Society, which represents artisanal and craft cheesemakers, the number of cheesemakers who have joined the organization has more than tripled in the past seven years, from 426 in 2001 to 1,346 in 2007. And cheesemaking has attracted producers from non-food backgrounds. Jeff Roberts, author of "The Atlas of American Cheese," found that
almost a third of artisanal cheesemakers in 2006 had come from other careers ranging from doctors to dotcommers.