Beecher's Handmade Cheeses opened November 2003 in the Pike Place Market. Since opening, they have gotten a lot of attention. The press they received is enough to make any passionate cheese maker trying to make a living envious. After being open for a little over a year, they are mentioned in Saveur's American Artisanal Cheese issue next to names like Dean & Deluca and The Cheese Board Collective. And why not? They have a beautiful store and I like that they feature regional artisan cheese. A cool feature of the store is the big-glassed wrapped cheese making room visible from the street for all to see. Their website is slick and professional with lots of information. They have the Beecher's Flagship Program benefiting pure and all-natural food education which emphases their support of all-natural, wholesome foods. They have a well funded marketing department. What more needs to be said? Oh... yeah, cheese... They also make artisianal cheese.
Last November 2004 Beecher's Flagship was released with much fan fare. According to Beecher's web site, Kurt Dammeier, Beecher's founder wanted Flagship to have a certain taste. Before the cheese was created his vision of the cheese was so clear he could taste it. A year later the final product is described as a semi-hard cheese with a uniquely robust, nutty flavor.
Unique is not a word I'd use to describe this cheese. The reason Kurt could taste his vision is because it's knock-off of Cougar Gold made by Washington State University The same school Kurt learned the process of making fine cheese. There is nothing wrong with copying a certain flavor profile, but give credit to where the inspiration comes from. Making it sound as though it was a clear vision and a unique concept leads me to question the passion behind making cheese. If anything it would be a great example to show how artisan, wholesome, all-natural cheese tastes better then cheese that comes in a can.
Unless, of course you don't want people questioning what you consider all-natural...
to be continued...
I ran across your blog today. Thanks for the positive comments about our store!
In regards to the motive questioning, I would be happy to talk with you any time to let you ask any question you want.
In regards to our Flagship cheese tasting like Cougar Gold, in several articles I have been very open about it being our inspiration (see Washington State Magazine). In the article you are quoting, I really told the reporter I could taste the difference between Cougar Gold and Flagship. Cougar Gold has a fruity taste that we did not want and regarded as a flaw.
We really did go through a two month "taste the world" of cheese process and ended up targeting a variant of Cougar Gold.
Anyway, I appreciate your passion for cheese and just wanted to stand up for our stuff....
Posted by: Kurt Dammeier | August 22, 2005 at 09:08 PM