From their press release:
Invited chefs from Asheville area restaurants will compete for the title of sMacDown champion during Carolina Mountain Cheese Fest on April 24, 2016 from 12 – 4 PM at Highland Brewing in Asheville, North Carolina. Chefs Chris Hall and Joe Scully of Corner Kitchen Catering, Eden Roorda of Native Social Pub, Greg Campbell of The Barleycorn, Chris Sizemore of The Local Joint, Joe Marple of The Southern and Chris Kronberg of Foggy Mountain Brew Pub will compete in the mac & cheese competition. Attendees are able to purchase a Tasting Ticket to be able to taste each chef’s mac and cheese dish and submit their vote. Judge’s Pick will be decided by a panel of judges including Asheville Citizen-Times food editor Mackensy Lunsford, Mountain Xpress food editor Gina Smith and Asheville restaurateur Eric Scheffer. Tasting Tickets are $5 each (and a small service charge) and can be purchased at the Fest website www.mountaincheesefest.com. Only 100 tasting tickets will be sold and must be purchased in addition to a general admission ticket. Winners will be announced at 3:15 PM the day of the Fest.
Additional events planned for the Fest include the BeMyMonger competition. Participants will compete in various cheese monger themed challenges, including wrapping, pairing, slicing and dicing cheese. The competition is free for attendees purchasing a general admission ticket, but participants will need to pre-register at the Fest website www.mountaincheesefest.com. Victor Chiarizia, a cheesemaker and owner of Fruit of the Fire Glass will create the judge’s pick awards — blown glass chalices — for both the BeMyMonger and sMacDown competitions.
Workshops taking place during the Fest include sessions around raising healthy goats, home cheese making, charcuterie 101 and ethical eating. Workshops are also free with a general admission ticket, but pre-registration at the Fest website is required.
Throughout the Fest various hands on demonstrations and events will take place. These include a goat milking demonstration, a history of cheese display, a mozzarella stretch event, ricotta making demonstration, goat milk soap making demonstration and cheese board creation.
Tickets for the second annual Carolina Mountain Cheese Fest are currently on sale through the Festival website www.mountaincheesefest.com. Adult tickets (ages 12+) are $12.00 with children under 12 free. Please note that pets are not permitted at the Fest.
The WNC Cheese Trail was formed in 2012 by a small group of independent artisan cheesemakers with the intent of promoting the production and sale of WNC artisan cheeses, facilitating consumer education and encouraging tourism to the region to benefit local cheesemakers. The primary tool of the organization is the WNC Cheese Trail map that was designed and printed in 2013. The purpose of the map is to encourage locals and tourists to seek out member cheesemakers to buy handmade, traditionally crafted cheeses direct from the producer. It is also intended as a tool for restaurants, retailers and distributors to find local cheesemakers. For more information contact Rachel English Brown at [email protected]
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