In late July, 2016, some of our staff attended the American Cheese Society’s annual conference. Zach Robertshaw, the Prepared Foods and Specialty Department Manager at Southern Village, shares his experience.
One of the great things about working at WSM is that you’re exposed to SO MANY wonderful things to eat and drink. From beers to tomatoes to hot bar carnitas to energy bars to cheese. Whatever the opposite of a food desert is called, that’s what we’ve got. Because good choices are the norm, and because it’s the WSM staff’s job to read order boards and count back-stock and make phone calls, personally I sometimes find myself losing sight of how special these products are.
A month ago I was lucky enough to go to the annual American Cheese Society conference in Des Moines, Iowa. Going to the conference was a wonderful experience. It’s not often that you can taste a cheese while standing across from the person who made it. Now multiply that by 300 and you’ve got an idea of how special the conference was. There were hundreds of stories to be heard and hundreds of cheeses to be eaten, each one unique. Having an experience like that was a delicious reminder that many of the products we sell are the result of somebody’s years of dedication to their craft. It was humbling and inspiring at the same time. It reminded me that lots of WSM products have great stories behind them and that it’s our obligation to the producers to pass those stories along to our customers.
In addition to all the cheese eating, I attended many educational sessions. I spent time with 40 other retailers, and we talked about everything from merchandising to hiring to sampling. I could barely keep up with the presentation detailing how many variables go into making a cheese and how these variables make it difficult to make a consistent product. I got to tour the La Quercia processing plant outside of Des Moines. Now I know what 35,000 hams in one place look like. In the “science of taste” session, I learned that I have trouble picking our sour but am sensitive to salt. There was a lot to learn, and I went to all the sessions I could.
Along with the cheese makers, many attendees were cheese buyers and sellers like me, from buyers at the wholesale level, to merchandisers for 20 stores, to a guy who works with one other person in their little shop. One neat experience was sitting at a dinner table with the award-winning Goat Lady Farms cheese makers, a wholesale account rep, and Peg, our WSM merchandiser. We all have different jobs in the chain of shepherding this product from the farm in Guilford County to our customers’ homes.
Overall, the energy at the conference was fantastic. There was a sense among everyone that we needed to get the most out of every moment. Even standing in line gave you the opportunity to meet a stranger and hear a story. I met an Australian who makes farmstead goat cheese in Japan. Who knew?! The conference was a great experience, and I can’t wait for the opportunity to go again someday.