Champlain Valley Creamery, What's Your 'Local'?
We’re so damn lucky to live in Addison County, the land of milk and honey. Here, our local means we have relationships with the people who produce the food we eat. The chickens in our freezer come from Scott at Singing Cedars Farmstead. Our CSA veggies come from Spencer and Jennifer at Elmer Farm. We get our lamb and pork from Bay at Doolittle Farm. Chris stops in to chat when he picks up cheese for his winery and we show up at Lincoln Peak’s music nights whenever we have the chance. We have a bottle of rum from our upstairs neighbors, Lars and Chuck at Appalachian Gap Distillery, and our coffee comes from Paul, our neighbor over the hill, at Vermont Coffee Company.
Most of the cheese we eat is made in Addison County, and our local community of cheesemakers is amazing. We’ve joked and griped about the cheese business with Michael and Emily at Twig Farm. We’ve shared rennet with Greg and Hannah at Blue Ledge. The kind folks at Cabot, just down the street, helped us out of a huge jam when we were having equipment issues.
Our local means we’ve gotten to know our local cheese mongers. We can walk into busy restaurant kitchens and briefly catch up with chefs and cooks. We’ve been asked to sample new recipes as well as unique beers and hard ciders, and we always eagerly, happily agree to be the guinea pigs.
Cheesemaking is never going to make us wealthy. Our riches are our children, Lila and Nate, our friends and our connection to this place. Our local is smart, funny, hardworking people producing phenomenal food. We are fortunate to know them and to enjoy their goods.
Moira Cook & Carleton Yoder
Champlain Valley Creamery
http://ChamplainValleyCreamery.com
