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| Cave Aged Chandoka sign created by Cheesemonger Natalee, who should also be a professional artist. |
My colleagues at Metcalfe's Markets in Wisconsin often mock me for two things, both of which occur when I get really excited about cheese: my dorky happy dance that looks like a 1970s disco move gone wrong, accompanied by a loud: "Oh yeah, baby."
I can't help it. Both occur without warning, and both often occur on Wednesdays or Thursdays, when loads of cheeses from far away and not-so-far-away factories, farms and warehouses arrive at our stores in Madison and Wauwatosa and I am there to open boxes to reveal glorious wheels of cheese we've been waiting on for weeks, and sometimes months.
Two weeks ago, on my way to the Isthmus Beer & Cheese Fest to teach beer and cheese pairings every 30 minutes, I stopped quickly at Metcalfe's Hilldale to load up on supplies and sample cheeses. I did a double take at a pile of shiny black and silver repack labels sitting on the counter that said "Standard Market Cave Aged Chandoka." My heart may have actually stopped.
"Do. Not. Tell. Me. That. This. Cheese. Came. In. And. No. One. Told. Me." I enunciated to my cheesemonger colleague, Dean, who began to look at me in what can only be described as sheer terror. He promptly sprinted to the walk-in cooler and came out holding a half wheel of Standard Market Cave Aged Chandoka. This is the cheese that won Runner-Up Best in Show at the 2015 American Cheese Society competition, and of which only 20 wheels are available every few months.
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| Dean holding a half wheel of the elusive Standard Market Cave Aged Chandoka. Oh yeah, baby. |
So why am I getting so excited about this cheese? Well, you'll recall that this cheese is one of the first really-successful examples of what can happen when one cheese has two makers. Americans are finally embracing the European model of separating cheese making from cheese aging, while celebrating both the cheesemaker and the affineur.
Standard Market Cave Aged Chandoka is a mixed milk cheese crafted with goat and cow's milk by Katie Fuhrmann and her team on LaClare Farm, and cellar-aged by David Rogers and his team at Standard Market in Westmont, Illinois. Last summer, it was named the second best cheese in America at a competition widely regarded as the Oscars of the artisan cheese industry. The Cave Aged Chandoka tied Roth's Private Reserve from Emmi Roth in Monroe (another cue the happy dance cheese) for runner-up honors, while Best in Show went to Celtic Blue Reserve from Ontario, Canada.
At the time of its winning, only four wheels - yes, just four wheels - of the winning batch existed in the cellars at Standard Market, with 20 wheels scheduled to be available around Christmas. Until now, the cheese has been available in very limited retail in the Chicago market at Standard Market, Eataly and Mariano's. The night that the cheese won at ACS, I basically trapped David Rogers in a corner (in a nice way, of course) and made him promise to get Metcalfe's on the list for a wheel on the next round of aging. Being the awesome guy he is, he not only kept his word, but sent us two wheels.
That means that anyone living within walking, driving or running distance of Madison can now eat one of the best cheeses in the world. If you're into bandage-wrapped, earthy, crumbly and melt-on-your-tongue goodness, please visit us at Metcalfe's Hilldale at the corner of Midvale and University Ave. Because when these two wheels are gone, they're gone, and I'm not about to push my luck of trapping David Rogers in a corner again to budge in line for awesome cheese.
Well, maybe I will. Grin. Because there's no better feeling than getting so excited about cheese than spontaneously breaking into dance and being willing to embrace your inner dorkiness amongst friends and strangers. Because yeah, this cheese is that good. Prepare for a happy dance of your own.
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