Originally posted on 4/23/2013
Update: Chef Jason Bangerter is now the Executive Chef at Langdon Hall.
And the winner is....Every cheese lover in Canada, that's who! But...not my tum tum. Sooo much cheese for lunch...15 types of cheese...all delicious, but only one grand prize winner.
Chef Jason Bangerter of Luma laid on a spread of amazing house-made breads and bowls of raw veggies that remained mostly untouched because we all thought the damn things were centerpieces.
See this pile of loveliness? It was just one of four. I'll admit to a moment of panic when the wine, heat of the room and belly full of cheese threatened to turn on me.
Granted, the room was full of food nerds who get excited about things like this, but when the big winner was announced, there were audible gasps and assorted 'what the whats'. Ricotta. Yup. Ricotta. From Quality Cheese Inc. The Grand Prix winner. Well, it was creamy, sweet, finely grained and truly lovely.
Chef Bangerter turned the lovely ricotta into a silky sweet, creamy, delicious pudding. It was fantastic - not too sweet - with a wee drop of Cave Spring Indian Summer Riesling. If you haven't tried it yet, what are you waiting for, the end times?
Look folks, here's what I'm saying; support Canadian cheese makers - especially the smaller, local, operations. Read the labels. Look for the scary things, such as: "milk solids". That stuff can come from as far away as India or China, even if the package says, "Made in Canada".
In addition to the brands I've already named, comb the cheese case for these winning brands: Latin Foods Inc., Fromagerie Domaine Feodal Inc., Aria Foods Inc., Fromagerie Eco-Delices, Gunn's Hill Artisan Cheese, Fromagerie du Presbytere, Cows Creamery, Fromagerie La Station, Fromgerie L'Ancetre, Maple Dale Cheese, Fromagerie Perron, The Black River Cheese Company Ltd., and Grizzly Gouda from Sylvan Star Cheese, which was roof of the mouth shredding sharp. Grrr....