Top Chef Hosted Its First-Ever Cheese Festival: "It's Everything You Want It to Be"
Season 21 of the competition series takes place in Wisconsin, so it's only right to celebrate these award-winning cheeses.
On the April 3 episode of Top Chef, the high-stakes competition series did something it’s never done before — hosted the first-ever Top Chef cheese festival in partnership with Wisconsin Dairy Farmers and Wisconsin Cheese.
As cheftestants set out to create mouth-watering dishes inspired by 13 of the state’s finest cheeses, they were welcomed by two of Wisconsin’s top cheesemakers: Andy Hatch, the co-owner and head cheesemaker of Uplands Cheese, and Pam Hodgson from Sartori Cheese, who host Kristen Kish pointed out is one of only two women in the country to hold the title of master cheesemaker.
“In Wisconsin, we take dairying very seriously,” said Pam.
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After drawing knives, each cheftestant was assigned a cheese to feature in a dish they’d serve to the guests of the cheese festival. The chefs were instantly inspired to create tasty goodness thanks to the options up for grabs: Cheddar Curds, Mount Raclette, Glacier Gorgonzola, Oaxaca, Triple Cream Brie, Merlot BellaVitano, 15 Year Cheddar, Brick Cheese, Pleasant Ridge Reserve, Gouda Reserve 1000+ Day, Dunbarton Blue, Canela, and Sancho Cruz. The challenge's additional twist? The crowd-favorite dish would take the win.
"I love cheese. It's ooey. It's gooey. It's stringy... it's everything you want it to be," gushed Kaleena Bliss, who was working with Sartori’s Merlot BellaVitano to create a fabulous pasta dish. “It seems like it’s going to have that beautiful melt that a cheddar does, but it has a much bolder, complex flavor. I feel like I kind of got the best of both worlds with this cheese.”
A handful of contestants opted to whip up some delicious French-inspired fried croquettes, while others looked to a variety of cuisines for ideas. From Oaxacan cheese quesadillas with whipped avocado to Sancho Cruz potato dumplings, each dish highlighted the versatility of the most awarded cheese in the world as an ingredient.
“What’s really great, when you think about cheese, is it all comes from milk. And look at it, it’s all just so different,” noted judge Tom Colicchio.
The cheese festival proved you can really never have too much cheese. In fact, at one point, when Kristen critiqued a dish for having "too much cheese," Tom jokingly suggested she "get out of Wisconsin."
To see which chef impressed the judges – and who unfortunately had to pack their knives – check out Episode 3 of Top Chef Season 21.
Watch new episodes of Top Chef on Wednesdays at 9/8c on Bravo or stream the next day on Peacock.
