April’s Featured Food - Wisconsin Cheese Producers

Nothing says Wisconsin like CHEESE! We have put together some of our favorite cheesemakers throughout Wisconsin into a four-course meal, highlighting characteristics about these cheeses that we think make them shine!

Cheesemaker: Sid Cook

Certified Master Cheesemaker Sid Cook has won more top national and international awards than any other cheesemaker in North America. As a fourth-generation cheesemaker, he received his cheesemaking license when he was 16, and now owns and operates four cheese plants and eight retail cheese stores in Wisconsin.

Featured Cheese: Mobay

Sid’s whimsically delicious take on the famous French cheese, Morbier. His version features a layer of sheep milk cheese and a layer of goat milk cheesese parated by a layer of grape vine ash and pressed together.

Cheesemaker: Tony Hook

Tony Hook brings over 50 years of cheese making experience to the company. Both Tony and Julie hold their Wisconsin cheesemakers’ licenses, and Julie is still the only woman to win the overall world champion championship award for Colby at the World Cheese Championship. Tony continues to work at the factory every day it is open.

Featured Cheese: Five year cheddar

Made from pasteurized cow milk, featuring vegetarian rennet. Hook’s Five-Year Aged Cheddar Cheese is made in five-pound blocks, develops rich, complex flavors over time. In some years, delicate proteins form crunchy pockets of caramelized intensity.

Cheesemaker: Marieke Penterman

Marieke Penterman grew up on her family’s dairy farm in the Netherlands After moving to Wisconsin, she missed the authentic Gouda cheese from her homeland. Determined to recreate it, Mariekebecame a licensed cheesemaker. She traveled back to the Netherlands to learn traditional Gouda-making techniques. By 2024, she earned the prestigious Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker certification, becoming only the fourth woman to do so.

Featured Cheese: Gouda

This cheese is one of a kind! It’s unexpectedly different and perfectly aged. It is uniquely aged to have the traditional crystals of aged Gouda, but also maintains the rich and creamy texture of a younger Gouda. This reserve was made in February 2021,with lovely crunchy crystals that make this a unique, one-of-a-kind cheese.

Cheesemaker: George Crave

George Crave is President and Owner of Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese. He is also the head cheesemaker responsible for the production of the company’s Fresh Mozzarella, Mascarpone, Oaxaca, Farmer’s Rope and Fresh Cheddar Cheese Curds.

Featured Cheese: Chocolate Mascarpone

Crave Chocolate Mascarpone is a velvety and sweet farmhouse cheese made using fresh milk and cacao