Cheeses please more than 5,000 guests at fifth annual festival

Administrator | Jun 08, 2015 | Comments 1

Great tastes from coast to coast at the fifth annual Great Canadian Cheese Festival.

Perfect weather paired with the nation’s finest cheeses for the fifth annual Great Canadian Cheese Festival, at the Picton Fairgrounds over the weekend.

Georgs Kolesnikovs, founder of the show, welcomed more than 150 Canadian artisan and farmstead cheeses from more than 30 cheesemakers – including winners and finalists at the 2015 Canadian Cheese Grand Prix.

There were 5,055 visitors sampling more than 500 different fine wines, craft beers, foods and beverages at the show.

Have a look:

Jeff McCourt is The Big Cheese at Glasgow Glen Farm, from Prince Edward Island. This was his first trip to the County and he said he was thrilled to be serving “the Cheeselady’s Gouda” at the Cheese Festival.

Now THAT is a real doughnut, says Bill MacCallum, of the Peterborough area, to Rebecca Brown, of The Pink Lunch Pail Bakery. MacCallum says he can’t keep track of how many yummy things he’s tried at the Great Canadian Cheese Festival but was at this moment most thrilled to taste a doughnut “like my Gramma used to make. This is the real thing!”

Cindy Whitelock and Kaitlyn Genereaux, of the Waupoos Estate Winery, fill Tessa Schachter’s wine glass. “You have to pace yourself,” said Schachter. She recommended that above anything, save room for the samples by the Armour and Tradition group, set up in the Crystal Palace.

Kristen Kelderman and Resi Walt, of Farm and Food Care Ontario, offered crunchy apples to Cheese Festival guests on their way to and from the exhibitor buildings.

Bay Woodward and Renee Lortie, of Honey Pie Hives & Herbals, pour Mead, a traditional wine made from honey – long ago considered the drink of kings and queens. They also offered raw honey, herbal tea seasonings, soap, lip balms and lotions made at the PEC farm.

Bree Seeley was constantly pouring out her County Yum Club hot honey for visitors to her booth. She uses raw County honey and infuses it with chilies, a touch of horseradish and ginger to create her product to be used in many ways, including on pizza, vegetables, wings, ribs and of course, cheese.

Mackenzie Vanhecke, Charlotte Webb and Dannielle Davidson served up delicious County Cider Company http://www.countycider.com/ hard ciders crafted from apples grown on the company’s family farm at Waupoos.

Toronto residents Susan Nicholls and Lillian Floros made their trip to the Cheese Festival a “Girlfriends weekend” which also included trips to the Sandbanks, shopping and fresh asparagus.

Kathy Felkar served the Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory’s own bio-diversity friendly coffee. The Nicaraguan shade-grown coffee plantations support a large number of migratory bird species that travel through Prince Edward County.

Sommelier Brian Hanna pours the perfect matches for cheese. Hanna wows guests with guided tastes and tours at Huff Estates Winery, just outside Picton. https://huffestates.com/

This is the third year Angela Adams and Christine Laws, both County residents, have enjoyed the Great Canadian Cheese Festival. “We love everything about the festival,” said Angela. “I love the cheeses, the wines, the beers so it’s a great way to sample the many different kinds out there and it’s such a great atmosphere.”

Cheese Festival guests were able to meet the artisans and taste the tradition with the “Armour & Tradition Artisans du Fromage” group from Quebec. Stations were set up in the Crystal Palace for tasting and talking. A handy checklist was provided to mark off favourites to purchase.

Mmmmm warm cheese! A top favourite at the show was the St-Vallier plain grilling cheese served to satisfied crowds by Melissa Roy and Anne Marie Girard.

The line up queued early to see wine critic Michael Pinkus and cheese expert Jackie Armet guide pairings of sparkling wines with artisan and farmstead cheeses. Seminars were held in the All You Need is Cheese Annex, presented by the Dairy Farmers of Canada.