Bonus Minisode! Cheese 101 with Madame Fromage: Storing, Selecting and Serving Cheese

Madame Fromage

We're so excited to share our very first bonus mini-episode with our cheese community today! 

Alex sat down with our good friend and cheese queen extraordinaire Madame Fromage, a.k.a. Tenaya Darlington, for series of Cheese 101 chats! These mini tutorials are designed to help cheese lovers live their best cheese life with all kinds of valuable tips and tricks. Today, we talk about selecting, storing, and serving your cheeses so that they last long and taste their best when you enjoy them.

Get your learn on and then practice your newfound cheese care skills with your Collective Creamery share box or at your favorite cheese counter! And be sure to check out Madame Fromage on Facebook, Instagram, and on her website at madamefromageblog.com.

An Interview with Sue Miller of Birchrun Hills Farm

Our very own Sue Miller, one-third of the trio behind Collective Creamery, is featured in today's interview! Hear the story of how her first-generation dairy farm family saved their business from the brink by making cheese — and how Sue became the godmother of Pennsylvania's artisan cheesemaking renaissance (she would never say this, but we all know it's true). 

A Tasting with Sean Fitzgerald of Cherry Grove Farm

We dig into some extra-funky wedges with Cherry Grove Farm cheesemaker Sean Fitzgerald, including his pungent washed-rind baby, Rarebird, plus some special cheeses from Birchrun Hills and Valley Milkhouse. Listen for beer, cider, and wine pairing tips, too! 

An Interview with Cherry Grove Farm Cheesemaker Sean Fitzgerald

The cheese dames are back with another cheesemaker interview! This time, we sat down with Sean Fitzgerald, cheesemaker at Cherry Grove Farm in Lawrenceville, NJ. Along with head cheesemaker (and another good friend of the podcast) Paul Lawler, art student turned cheesemaker Sean creates an amazing lineup of artisan cheeses using Cherry Grove's grassfed Jersey cow's milk. 

A Tasting with Valley Milkhouse + Pennsylvania Ciders

It's time for our first tasting episode! Whenever we meet with an amazing cheesemaker, we grill them (lol) about their craft, their philosophy, their challenges, and their dreams — and then we taste some of their amazing cheeses, ideally paired with local libations. 

Take a listen to our first pairing ep, in which we dig into wedges from our own Birchrun Hills and Valley Milkhouse, plus 2018 Pennsylvania Farm Show Best in Show cheese St. Malachi from our friends Sam, Matt, and Stacey at The Farm at Doe Run! We pair these goodies with some of our favorite local hard ciders — find them at better bottle shops in southeast PA.

Episode 1: Meet Collective Creamery + an Interview with Stefanie Angstadt of Valley Milkhouse

It's the inaugural episode of our podcast all about cheese, cheesemakers and cheesemaking! First, get an introduction to the Collective Creamery team — that's Birchrun Hills farmer-cheesemaker Sue Miller, Valley Milkhouse cheesemaker Stefanie Angstadt, and food writer/cheesemonger Alex Jones.

Then, we go deep with Stef in our first featured cheesemaker interview. Hear all about how she quit her job in finance and combined her passion for cheesemaking with her Pennsylvania Dutch and Belgian roots to open a one-woman creamery and local food landmark just outside Philadelphia. 

Like what you hear? Subscribe on Apple Podcasts and Stitcher so you don't miss an episode! 

Our first full episode drops tomorrow!

We're just a day away from the first full episode of The Collective Creamery Podcast! Be prepared for lots of cheesy chat and a deep dive into one small-scale artisan cheesemaker's story, challenges, hopes and dreams. This podcast has been nearly a year in the making, and we can't wait to share it with you!

Before the big day, here's a plug for our Collective Creamery cheese subscription, available for pickup in Southeast Pennsylvania and shipped to households across PA, NJ, MD, DE, and NYC!

Do you experience cheese anxiety?

Let the ladies of Collective Creamery soothe your cheese anxiety with their new podcast. We'll share the stories behind our favorite American artisan cheeses, tell you all about the cheesemaking process, and offer serving suggestions, and tips for selecting, storing, and pairing those precious wedges.

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher now to catch our first full episode when it drops this Friday, April 6!

Get a taste of the Collective Creamery podcast, premiering April 6!

We're so excited to share our new podcast with you! On the Collective Creamery Podcast, we're crafting the conversation around American artisan cheese. We dig deep in interviews with some of the industry's top small-scale cheesemakers and dairy farmers, get the stories behind sought-after wheels, and rave about how to taste and pair our favorite artisan wedges. 

Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts to hear our first episode when it drops on April 6!