We’re so proud and thrilled to announce that Leslie Uhl, Rittenhouse Cheesemonger and recent CCP (Certified Cheese Professional), and Perfect Bite Top Pick at 2014 Cheesemonger Invitational, is the winner of the 2014 Comté Scholarship for CCPs!
As the name denotes, the scholarship is open only to CCPs, and is offered by the
Comté Cheese Association. The prize? A four-day, all-expenses paid trip to the Comté Region of France in June 2015! Leslie will be joining a group of journalists and a representative from the Comte Association to learn about the history and production of Comte—and to soak up some local culture along the way. She’s excited to tour the farms, visit the maturation cellars and meet the makers responsible for one of her favorite cheeses!
In order to win the scholarship, all applicants must submit a short 500-word essay in response to the question:
In your opinion, why is it important to preserve traditional production methods for such cheeses as Comté?
Each application is judged on knowledge and creativity, and we think Leslie really hit it out of the park with her fabulous response. Here’s an excerpt from her essay:
“Just as my childhood suppers and my grandparents’ kitchen are a place all their own, with specific aromas, textures, flavors, and sounds, each wheel of Comte feels like an epic family album, filled with memories of traditions-past and the recipe for future generations. Maybe I have the same reverence for my Grandma’s Chex Mix recipe as a fifth generation cheesemaker, following in his ancestors’ footsteps, or maybe I’m just a foodie and a hopeless romantic, but if a morsel of food has the ability to transport us to a different time and place, special to us in one million different ways, isn’t that something worth protecting?”
Please join us in congratulating Leslie, and check back in with her at Rittenhouse when she returns from her trip next summer!
