By Dave Warner
A day after the Cheese Festival in Little Falls, the New York State Cheese Council met in Dolgville for their Fall Conference. The Fall Conference seeks to unite cheese professionals of all capacities to promote locally made cheeses and to discuss the unique challenges that New York State cheese businesses face.
Rachel Banks, a member of the Council, stated, “It was my first time at the festival, and I loved it. It seemed like, even though it poured, tons of people came out, and they were all for it. I bought tons of cheese, and it made me quite happy to see that much made in New York.”
Banks said she was not expecting all of the live music. “It was cool. It was a nice touch. You read about these places, and then you visit them, and it’s a nice coming together of people.”
Sarah Simiele, also a member, said, “I know people would be out, rain or shine. We had a great time.”
“It’s interesting to see how excited people are about cheese. We typically don’t see that on the retail side, so to know that there is that kind of excitement about New York Cheese from the general public is really wonderful,” stated Simiele.
Banks said that when they first decided to start the council, she started calling around and had to decide when to hold the event. “When will people have a reason to be in town? The Little Falls Cheese Festival was one of them, and the American Cheese Society was holding their conference in Buffalo. We thought, ‘Why not let people make a weekend of it?'”
Simiele said one of the goals was to also get more cheese professionals to attend the festival because “There is a cheese scene around New York Cheese, and we want to contribute and keep growing.”
They both finished by saying, “Eat more New York Cheese.”
The event was held at Tiffany’s Creative Designs, an elegant repurposed church with beautifully landscaped grounds and on-site parking.
