Portrait of a Wisconsin Artisan Cheesemaker Calendar

Becca, who photographed The Master Cheesemakers of Wisconsin, is back on the scene with an exciting new Wisconsin cheese-related project: a new calendar that portrays 12 different artisan cheesemakers. It’s truly gorgeous, and worth a look.

Back from Rhinelander

Great trip to Rhinelander — a crowd of about 75 turned out to see us and sample a terrific array of master-made cheeses at the Rhinelander District Library. It was incredible how many (generally excellent!) questions were fired our way — the whole program ran a little over 90 minutes, and we signed a number of books. Thanks to Chris at the library, Trig’s (for the awesome spread of cheese), the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board (for providing great cheese-related souvenirs for guests), and Brown Street Books for making this event such a blast — well worth the long but beautiful drive from Minneapolis.

Off to Rhinelander

We’re making an appearance in Rhinelander, WI, tonight, courtesy of the Rhinelander District Library. It should be a great trip — a local store, Trig’s, is threatening to inundate the audience with samples, and we always enjoy taking our show on the road.

In other news, I’ve got a short story about Wisconsin blue cheese over on The Heavy Table — have a look!

Becca Dilley / Heavy Table

A Book Review via Blogcritics.org

Some kind words about The Master Cheesemakers of Wisconsin written by Brian D’Ambrosio over at Blogcritics.org:

By connecting us to the hands behind the wheels, this wonderful — and useful — book helps us appreciate those who create 35 percent of all specialty cheeses sold in the United States and help keep Wisconsin on the map.

MCoW Wins a Midwest Book Award

We’re pleased to announce that The Master Cheesemakers of Wisconsin has won a Midwest Book Award in the “Midwest Regional Interest” category. We couldn’t have done it without the help of the University of Wisconsin Press, the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, or the master cheesemakers of Wisconsin. In celebration, here’s a very low-res camera phone photo of the medal they handed us:

It was a nice touch that they decided to hold the award ceremony on the night of our three-year wedding anniversary, too!

Finalist for a Midwest Book Award

We’re pleased to announce that The Master Cheesemakers of Wisconsin is one of three finalists for the Midwest Regional Interest category of the Midwest Book Awards. The ceremony’s May 12, so we’ll let you know mid-May if we end up taking the prize.

MCoW on The Splendid Table

If you listen to public radio, you’re probably familiar with the superb food show The Splendid Table, hosted by Lynn Rossetto Kasper. Check out the show, listen to my segment, and enjoy some cheese picks, too.

We’re Up For an Award (Kinda)

The Master Cheesemakers of Wisconsin is in the running for… well… Bookseller‘s annual Diagram Prize for the Oddest Book Title of the Year. It’s mildly thrilling. Mostly just weird. But some of the other titles are truly entertaining, so it’s certainly worth a look. I’m voting for “What Kind of Bean is this Chihuahua?”

Upcoming Events in the Twin Cities

If you’re a fan of the book (or have friends and/or family who are) and you’re in the greater Twin Cities metro area, we’ll be all over the place in February.

Minnesota Food and Wine Experience
We’ll be there on Sunday, Feb. 21 at 2:30pm, signing books.

Edesia Cookbook Review
This is a monthly meeting of cooking fans convened by food writer Kim Ode of the Star Tribune; we’ll be at Barnes and Noble in the Galleria in Edina, MN at 7pm, Monday, Feb. 22.

The Minneapolis Home and Garden Show
We’ll be there Feb. 25 at noon, doing a cooking demo (a walnut/mushroom pie featuring Wisconsin and Minnesota cheese) and signing books.

Snapshot: The Isthmus Beer & Cheese Fest

Becca and I had a great time at the Isthmus Beer & Cheese Fest in Madison this past Saturday. We got to see a bunch of friends (Bruce Workman of Edelweiss and Bob Wills from Cedar Grove, the Furthermore Beer guys, Matt and Clare from Quince and Apple, and others) and meet some new ones, including Linda Falkenstein of the Isthmus, the talented folks at Bolzano Artisan Meats, the delightful power couple behind New Glarus beer, and the folks at Roelli Cheese Haus. We also tried a few some lots of beer and cheese samples.