Crosscut Tout: Cheese Festival offers more than fromage

It's that annual weekend for Seattle to treat cheese seriously, hear cheese professionals, and taste the winner of the grilled cheese sandwich recipe contest.
Crosscut archive image.

A scene from a previous Seattle Cheese Festival

It's that annual weekend for Seattle to treat cheese seriously, hear cheese professionals, and taste the winner of the grilled cheese sandwich recipe contest.

The annual Seattle Cheese Festival happens again this weekend, and there's plenty of artisanal, handcrafted and farmstead cheese to taste and see (eight chef demos onsite; the winner in a grilled cheese sandwich recipe contest ) at the exhibitor stalls on Pike Place. In addition, three dozen local restaurants are adding a cheese plate to their menus over the weekend.

Best for true fans are the seminars, which bring cheese professionals to town for professional-level discussions. For example, Laura Dubouloz, who works in the caves of the famous Hervé Mons; and Allison Hooper and Mary Keehn, grande dames of the American cheese world.

Seminars are held at the Top of the Market event center. Tickets are $35 each and include a wine-and-cheese pairing.

  

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About the Authors & Contributors

Ronald Holden

Ronald Holden

Ronald Holden is a regular Crosscut contributor. His new book, published this month, is titled “HOME GROWN Seattle: 101 True Tales of Local Food & Drink." (Belltown Media. $17.95).