Cheesemonger Hunger Games

Last month, I witnessed the WWE smackdown of the cheesemonger world. You had staged attire...adrenaline-fueled battling...rowdy yelling...drunks. Substitute a rink with a cold-storage warehouse in Queens, elbow drops with wrapping contests, and hot dogs with a Raclette machine. Cheese elite from everywhere gathered to let loose for a little "friendly" competition. Behold the 3rd Annual Cheesemonger Invitational. 

For the last three years, cheesefolk have gathered in New York every summer for what some of us call the cheesemonger Hunger Games. Nobody dies, but everyone takes it VERY seriously...and knives are involved. Each cheesemonger showcases their skills in various levels of competition: blind taste-test cheese identification, written exam, quarter-pound cutting skills, wrapping skills, marketing/selling skills, and cheese plate pairings. 

The crowd of cheesemongers, makers and enthusiasts get to really nerd out, wildly cheering for a cheesemonger's consecutive perfect quarter-pound cuts as if a hologram of Tupac just appeared onstage. Except at the end of the day nobody understands how cool that was except for us. It's the little things in cheese. 

The eventual victor hailed from Cowgirl Creamery in my old hood of Washington, D.C. The multi-hour competition concluded, and a dairy-fueled dance party ensued. 

It was an opportunity to hang out with old cheese friends (the awesome Cato Corner crew and Bedford Cheese Shop homies) and make new cheese friends (who will probably never remember my name after their last trip to the open bar). As the excitement for cheese grows in this country, so do the creative, celebratory events that allow us to come together and really enjoy each other and what we do. Next year, though, I'd like to see more headbutts and clotheslining.