Heritage, family, legacy, passion, plus the best milk⁠—they're key ingredients in our award-winning cheeses. Wisconsin's love of cheese spans over generations. It's why cheesemakers have shared their craft in this state for over 180 years, and why the Midwest’s oldest food festival is centered around—you guessed it, cheese! Meet these artisans, and taste of piece of Wisconsin Cheese history with recipes featuring their creations below and in the newest issue of Grate. Pair. Share.   

Congrats to Widmer’s Cheese Cellars! The company is celebrating 100 years of crafting two Wisconsin Originals, brick and stirred-curd colby, as well as aged cheddars. Take one bite of Master Cheesemaker Joe Widmer's award-winning brick cheese, and you'll notice a level of quality that comes with doing things the old-fashioned way. “Our product is so authentic that we still use the bricks my grandfather used,” Joe says of the bricks that press whey from cheese in the forms. He's credited as the only cheesemaker in the country still using real bricks to make this cheese!

Winner of more top national and international awards than any other cheesemaker in North America, Master Cheesemaker Sid Cook is known for crafting cheeses with traditional cheesemaking techniques, while pushing the boundaries of creativity. Carr Valley Cheese makes more than 50 original varieties. “The artisan cheeses that we're doing...we just literally made them up!” Sid shares. “My passion is innovation, doing things other people aren't doing in any place in the world.”

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