U.S. Championship Cheese Contest brings the best back to Green Bay
ASHWAUBENON – Forget the Oscars, the Golden Globes and those other awards events — the real best-of-the-best contest returns to Green Bay this month when the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest makes its Resch Expo debut.
The contest, hosted by the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association, includes 2,249 entries in 113 classes from 35 states. In short, that’s a lot of cheese from a lot of places. And if past experience is anything, it’s really good cheese and members of the public can taste a lot of it.
The every-other-year contest, launched in 1981 and held most often in Green Bay, will be at the Resch Expo for the first time on Feb. 21 through 23. Judging is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 21 and 22. Even better than the judging are samples of competing and champion cheeses. It’s a chance to taste the best of familiar cheeses or try something unique.
“It’s really fun to put out things that perhaps they’ve never seen,” said John Umhoefer, executive director of Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association.
Richard Guggisberg, center, of Guggisberg Cheese in Ohio celebrates a first-place victory at the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest with Kim Rabuck and Marieke Penterman of Marieke Gouda, which took second and third places, on March 7, 2019 in Green Bay, Wis. Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
The best cheese will be revealed at 2 p.m. Feb. 23. This portion of the event is not open to the public, but will be streamed live at USChampionCheese.org and on Facebook.
The contest also includes categories for butter, yogurt, and dry dairy ingredients.
This will be the 21st biennial U.S. championship — world championships are held in alternating years, usually in Madison. Both championships started in Green Bay, which Umhoefer calls the epicenter of U.S. cheese making, and the U.S. championship remains here, although it skipped 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The contest regularly sees record entries, although this year did not reach 2019 levels, which…
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