Cheese festival returns to Prince Edward County

Artisan Ontario cheese—in all its delicious manifestations—will be in the spotlight at the new Ontario Cheese Festival.

Alleluia, a cheese festival is returning to Prince Edward County!

The Ontario Cheese Festival will take place September 28 in Picton, Ontario, showcasing delicious cheese and tasty artisan foods from leading producers across the province.

There is nothing like a cheese festival for sampling and purchasing the best in artisan cheese.

Taste and buy the best in cheese made from cow, sheep, goat and water buffalo milk, plus wine, cider, craft beer and spirits, and jams, honey, charcuterie, pickles and more.

Learn about artisan cheese at tutored tastings conducted by outstanding cheese educators. Discover what pairs best with which cheese.

Ontario Cheese Festival is the brainchild of Patricia McDermott, owner of Agrarian Market in Picton since 2012 and operator of farmers markets in the County for the last 15 years.

“After starting my cheese shop in Bloomfield in the County over 10 years ago, and attending The Great Canadian Cheese Festival, I knew I wanted to bring my love of cheese to more people. I’ve supported the local food movement for over a decade and this event is the next logical step.  With the support of the Dairy Farmers of Ontario, we are excited to bring you the Ontario Cheese Festival, a celebration of Ontario cheese and dairy.”

The festival will unfold at The Cape, a meticulously restored landmark a short walk from Picton’s Main Street. The sprawling Georgian manor was built in 1863 as a private residence. While it was owned by an American railway tycoon, the residence greeted Prime Ministers and dignitaries. Today, The Cape, with its stunning façade, spacious grounds, reception rooms, veranda, ballroom and extensive garden, serves as a magnificent event space.

More than 50 exhibitors and vendors are expected for the festival, including many of Ontario’s leading cheese producers. Among the first to sign up:

Wildwoood made by Stonetown Artisan Cheese.

Stonetown Artisan Cheese of St. Marys, makers of handcrafted Alpine-style cheeses;

Mountainoak Cheese of New Hamburg, makers of award-winning Gouda and other European-style cheeses;

Empire Cheese & Butter Co-operative of Campbellford, makers of award-winning cheddars since the 1876;

A selection of cheese made by Upper Canada Cheese Company.

Upper Canada Cheese Company of Jordan Station, makers of small-batch artisan cheese made exclusively with the milk of Guernsey cows;

Bushgarden Farmstead Cheese of Elgin, where Nigel Smith uses raw milk from his own herd of cows to make cheese;

Golspie Dairy of Oxford County near Woodstock, dairy farming since 1874, making fresh milk British-style cheese since 2022.

You’ll be able to sample wine and purchase it, if 19+, from some of the best wineries in Ontario, such as Case Dea Winery of Wellington and Tawse Winery of Vineland.

For something totally different try vodka or a cream liquor made from milk at Vodkow Dairy Distillery of Mississippi Mills.

Deepen your knowledge and appreciation of cheese at three different cheese tastings and pairings. In each seminar, you’ll taste and learn about up to eight fabulous artisan cheeses, selected artisan condiments, plus offerings of wine, craft beer, cider or spirits, all from our exhibitors. You’ll learn the story of the coveted cheeses and the passionate people who make them, plus tips on how to present, pair and appreciate the culinary treasures.

Seminars will be led and cheeses selected by acclaimed cheese sommelier Vanessa Simmons of Ottawa and cheese educator Roxanne Renwick of Toronto.

Sponsorship for the festival is being provided by Ontario Dairy Farmers, the marketing organization and regulatory body representing more than 4,000 dairy farmers in Ontario. Additional support comes from Longo’s, the supermarket chain.

Admission to the festival and all exhibitors and vendors is $75.00 per person which includes an insulated souvenir tote bag for your purchases, a tasting glass for sampling wine, beer, cider and spirits (19+) and free parking.

There will be live music to entertain you.

Children 10 years and younger admitted free when accompanied by an adult.

Admission to tutored tastings is $30.00 per person per tasting which covers up to eight artisan cheeses, selected artisan condiments, plus offerings of wine, craft beer, cider or spirits (19+).

Personally, I cannot wait. From my experience as founder and director of The Great Canadian Cheese Festival in Picton from 2011 to 2017, there is nothing quite like gathering with kindred spirits to try and buy the best of artisan cheese and sample other artisan foods in the ambiance of Prince Edward County.

I’m planning to make a weekend of it. I hope you will, too. See you there!

—Georgs Kolesnikovs

 

 

 

 

$33,000 in prize money at oldest cheese competition in Canada

Attention, Canadian cheesemakers!

Entries are open for the 2022 Canadian Cheese & Butter Competition presented by Dairy Farmers of Ontario at the 100th anniversary Royal Agricultural Winter Fair with more than $33,000 in prize money provided by Dairy Farmers of Ontario.

It’s the oldest cheese and butter competition in Canada dating back 100 years to 1922 when the Fair was first held at Exhibition Place in Toronto.

Entry deadline is June 1. Judging for the competition takes place June 10 with winners announced soon after.

The competition is open to Canadian cheese made with all milks—cow, goat, sheep, water buffalo and mixed—by producers in all provinces.

Click to read and download the 2022 competition book with rules and regulations in English.

Cliquez pour lire et télécharger le livret du concours 2022 avec le réglementation en français.

Judges for the prestigious competition are selected on the basis of their knowledge, understanding and appreciation of cheese. The Jury is evenly divided between judges strong on technical aspects of cheese and those strong on aesthetics.

Technical Judges: Art Hill, Kelsie Parsons, Barry Reid, Cecilia Smith,  Heather Thelwell.

Aesthetic Judges: André Derrick, Erin Harris, Andrew Moulton, Martin Raymond, Sue Riedl.

Judging Facilitator: Connie Smith. Competition Superintendents: Debbie Levy and Lisa McAlpine.

Presenting Sponsor of the Cheese & Butter Competition: Dairy Farmers of Ontario.

Evaluation of cheese will be based on the following:

  • Aroma
  • Flavours
  • Texture and Body
  • Appearance and Rind Development
    (if rind is appropriate to the cheese)

In the 2021 competition, the Grand Champions were:

Grand Champion in Cow Milk: Miranda, Fromagerie Fritz Kaiser, Noyan, Quebec, Cheesemaker Fritz Kaiser;

Grand Champion in Goat, Sheep, Water Buffalo and mixed milk: Fuoco, Fromagerie Fuoco, St. Lin Laurentides, Québec, Cheesemaker Jason Fuoco;

Grand Champion Cheddar and Ontario Champion Cheddar: Balderson Medium Cheddar, Lactalis Canada, Chesterville, Ontario;

Grand Champion Butter: Lactantia Cultured Salted Butter, Lactalis Canada, Chesterville, Ontario.

The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair celebrates 100 years of world class Equine and Agricultural excellence on November 4-13, 2022.

Since its inception in November 1922, The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair has become the world’s largest combined agricultural and equestrian show.

The Royal draws more than 300,000 visitors to Toronto annually to see thousands of unique entries from elite Canadian and international breeders, growers and exhibitors, more than 4,500 large and small animals, shows, activities, shopping, dining and—of course—The Royal Horse Show.

Come and experience The Royal, there’s truly something for the entire family. Click here for information and tickets.

 

Upper Canada Cheese: The new Guernsey Shore

The Guernsey girls of Upper Canada Cheese on the shores of Lake Ontario.

Forget about Jersey.  It’s really all about Guernsey, and these Guernsey Girls are taking it from farm to table.

On the fair-weather shores of Lake Ontario, there lives a Guernsey herd of cows. These girls delight in their surroundings—basking in the lakefront sun, fresh air and fertile soil of land protected by Ontario’s Greenbelt at St. Anns, nestled in the bountiful Twenty Valley. Their blissful disposition on the family owned Comfort Farm assists in producing celebrated, uniquely golden-shaded, flavourful milk with distinct, local characteristics: ideal for premium cheesemaking.

It must be true, happy cows make superior milk.

And that makes Upper Canada Cheese Company’s founding partner Wayne Philbrick very happy as well. His creamery has committed since 2005 to using the exceptional Guernsey milk from this herd of about one hundred, one of only a half-dozen Guernsey herds in Canada, relying on their rich milk to create his select, artisanal cheeses: Comfort Cream and Niagara Gold.

After growing up in the Niagara Peninsula on a family-run fruit farm, Philbrick experimented with tandem passions for wine- and cheese-making, eventually getting hooked on the craft cheeses of Quebec during trips to the region. In developing the “first generation” of his two top-sellers, he chose Guernsey milk for the truly special features it afforded: enriched health benefits, quality, colour and, of course, creamy taste.

The breed originally hails from the island of Guernsey in the English Channel, but its adaptable temperament and unparalleled characteristics make it a clear winner for boundless gourmet-cheese production.  Guernsey milk contains 12% more protein, 30% more cream, 33% more vitamin D, 25% more vitamin A and 15% more calcium than the average Holstein milk.  Along with its uncommonly high yield of beta carotene, a great source of vitamin A which has been recently touted to help reduce the risk of certain cancers, the milk also has 5% butterfat and a notable 3.7 % protein content.

Working closely with the Dairy Farmers of Ontario, Upper Canada Cheese has a rare arrangement with the DFO to deliver their Guernsey milk first in the morning before the truck picks up any other milk; allowing only the purest, freshest ingredients available to merge with the talents of their cheesemakers. The creamery also retains a license and the exclusive rights to create products using this particular local herd. Building these relationships required the ongoing persistence, perseverance and patience of Philbrick to ensure their specialty cheeses would always uphold an extraordinary and unique profile.

Upper Canada Cheese is located in Jordan Station, Ontario.

Now, in the first new Niagara creamery in generations, Upper Canada Cheese Company handcrafts and ages premium artisanal cheeses on-site at their Jordan Station location which also houses a cheese boutique that caters to the “culinary enthusiast.”  Together with selected gourmet products, the epicurean store integrates Upper Canada’s make room and cellaring facility into a traditional train station building design; suggesting a historic return to the time-honored craft of cheesemaking itself.

“Each day, fresh, pure Guernsey cow milk is transformed into cheeses of uncommon taste and texture, revealing a subtle range of flavours influenced by the seasons, forage and feed,” Philbrick says. “Then, our cheeses are ideally aged in our own cellars until they’re ready for you.  This is the whole food, farm to table idea; a minimum of food processing intervention to produce the purest cheeses possible.”

So, while this Guernsey herd might not “gym, tan and laundry” exactly like their counterparts on the shores of Jersey, these girls are thankfully proving to be a lot more tasteful.

TASTING NOTES

Comfort Cream – A camembert-style soft, white bloomy rind cheese with a silky, creamy, golden interior. Rich flavours of fresh truffles prevail with an intense, buttery palate and a long, tangy finish. This delicate and luscious artisanal cheese is hand-salted, hand-turned and hand-wrapped. Comfort Cream is stored in temperature and humidity-controlled cellars for at least four weeks before sale, with an additional few weeks of aging seeing the cheese ripen and mature in flavour, texture and colour.

Niagara Gold – An Oka-style, semi-soft, washed rind cheese fashioned after recipes developed by the Trappist monks of the Loire Valley. This is a cheese with nutty, earthy overtones and mellow, buttery flavours. A luscious cheese that is delicately mild and sweet when young and gains pungency and piquant qualities with age. The rind may be eaten or trimmed depending on your taste. It is sold after five months of careful aging in cellars and, under good conditions, it ages well for months and continues to develop unique flavours over time.

Also available:

Guernsey Girl Grilling Cheese, Guernsey Curds and Guernsey Gold Ricotta Cheese

UPPER CANADA CHEESE COMPANY

If you can’t drop by, check out the Where To Buy page, or order by phone or email.

Wayne Philbrick, Founding Partner, Vivian Szebeny, Managing Partner
4159 Jordan Road, Jordan Station, ON  L0R 1S0
Telephone 905.562.9730

Upper Canada Cheese Company will be a featured cheesemaker at The Great Canadian Cheese Festival taking place June 4-5 at Crystal Palace in Picton, in the heart of Prince Edward County, Ontario’s hot new wine region and fastest-growing culinary destination.

—Christine Darragh

Based in the Garden City of St. Catharines, Ontario, freelance writer Christine Darragh specializes in food and wine and other attractions of the Niagara Peninsula.