EPISODE 1

Madelyn Varela

Snobbery Is the Enemy of Cheese Appreciation

Cheese influencer Madelyn Varela sits down with Adam to explore how she's making cheese culture more accessible and why some industry veterans aren't thrilled about it. From her viral Rogue River Blue video (3.2M views!) to her hilarious Kraft Singles April Fool's post, Madelyn proves that cheese education doesn't have to be pretentious to be powerful.

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IN THIS EPISODE 🧀

IN THIS EPISODE 🧀

Course 1 Cheese:
Barista

Producer: Frederic Van Tricht, Belgium

Cheese Profile: pudgy, Abbey style cheese

Pairing: Hazelnut Waffer and Fresh, Raw Hazelnut

Taste: Earthy coffee tones balanced with a buttery paste become like a perfect nutella croissant with this pairing. The sweet nutty character of the wafer and dusting of microplaned hazelnut complement the roasted profile of this Belgian style.

Course 2 Cheese:
Alp Queen

Producer: Reto Güntensperger, Switzerland

Cheese Profile: Creamy, yet firm, Swiss cheese studded with Swiss stone pine flowers.

Pairing: Chopped Chestnuts and Hazelnuts

Taste: The stone pine flowers added to this cheese adds a robust herbal and savory [garlic/onion] profile. To play on this we added roasted chestnuts for texture and earthiness, creating a long flavor and nutty element to play off the base cheese.

Course 3 Cheese:
Smoked Cumin Gouda⁠

Producer: Marieke Gouda | Thorp, Wisconsin⁠

Cheese Profile: Traditional Dutch-style Gouda with Wisconsin summer sausage⁠

Pairing: Wisconsin summer sausage⁠

Taste: The midwest condensed into a single bite. Smokey spice meats a mild tangy and sweet summer sausage to transport you to bonfire in the woods. Earthy, sweet and savory in all the right places.

Course 4 Cheese:
Fourme au Moulleux⁠

Producer: Rodolphe Le Meunier | France

Cheese Profile: Wine-soaked, cow's milk blue cheese

Pairing: Blueberry cardamom jam

Taste: Wine soaked and ready to party, all this pairing needed was some supporting fruitiness from the blueberry preserve that plays on some of the earthiness of the blue cheese and cuts some of the decadence with a sweet and tangy finish.

Course 5 Cheese:
Fire On The Mountain

Producer: Jasper Hill | Greensboro Bend, Vermont⁠

Cheese Profile: Soft-ripened washed rind cheese, tinted with annatto, coated with hot sauce

Pairing: Pickled Jalapeno, Lime Tortilla Chip

Taste: A fiery and nutty washed rind, this pairing cuts the fat with complementary heat and acidity of a pickled jalapeno while the lime tortilla chip vehicle provides a salty citrus note to round out the whole pairing.

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EPISODE 2

EPISODE 8

Brad Leon

Abby Kirn