From farmers and makers to sellers and chefs, Wisconsin has so much to say about its very special cheese. 

It’s a TASTE road trip! Aliza, Matt, and producer Clayton traveled all across the great state of Wisconsin to dig deep into the wide world of Wisconsin Cheese, from fresh to aged to blended with Indian spices. Wisconsin Cheese is one of America’s national treasures, and we wanted to take some time to dig into what makes it so special, documenting all the action in two very entertaining episodes of This Is TASTE. 

We visited Mark Crave and the farmstead operation of Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese in Waterloo, and we peeked inside the cheese caves at Roelli Cheese Haus in Shullsburg, where award-winning cheddars and alpine cheeses are aged by Master Cheesemaker Chris Roelli. Tandoori gouda? It’s as good as it sounds, and we spoke with Huma Siddiqui-Seitz of White Jasmine about creating her unforgettable cheese.

But it’s not only about how the cheese is made, it’s about how the best Wisconsin chefs utilize the local farmstead products. We caught up with iconic Wisconsin chefs Tory Miller of L’Etoile and Graze in Madison and Luke Zahm of Driftless Cafe in Viroqua about how they harness the power of Wisconsin Cheese to make distinctly local cuisine. We also talked with Ken Monteleone of the beloved Madison cheese shop Fromagination about selling craft cheese on the Capitol Square for over 17 years. And, we put our cheese-tasting skills to the test with American Cheese Society–certified cheese professional Shannon Berry. Finally, it’s three things, Wisconsin cheese edition.  

These very special episodes are supported by Wisconsin Cheese.