For the first time in the 32-year history of the World Cheese Awards an American cheese has taken the top spot and we've got it here at The Firehouse, right now.
The "Rogue River Blue" from Rogue Creamery in Central Point Oregon did America proud by beating the cheese snobs from France, Italy, and England this year with their blue cheese. But not just any blue cheese, this is a cow's milk blue cheese which is hand wrapped in Rogue Valley wine grape leaves, that are macerated in organic pear liqueur and then, it is cave aged for at least eight months. One can almost smell the price tag coming (or perhaps that's just the penicillium roqueforti) and you'd be correct, because this wheel of cheese is nearly as expensive as some of the above bottles of wine.
Obviously, we were pretty excited to get our hands on a few wheels because it's pretty much sold out - like everywhere - until the next batch drops sometime in 2020. We will be serving it for the first time at dinner tonight (Friday, November 22nd) on our cheese plate and atop tonight's house special: a Filet Mignon with mashed potatoes, french beans, and peppercorn sauce. We may offer it as a supplemental upgrade to other dishes as well.
There is a wonderful New York Times article from earlier this month that can tell you a lot more about the Rogue River Creamery's epic win. One fun quote from that article was by Cathy Strange who is the vice president of specialty foods at Whole Foods and was one of 16 judges for the award. She said that when the cheese was placed in front of her, she thought it might be Rogue River Blue. She tasted it, gave it a perfect score, and then said in an interview: “That cheese tasted so darn good.”
You can (and should) follow Rogue River Creamery on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for more info on when the next batch will be available. They do sell the Rogue River Blue directly on their website as well. But of course, not right now because it's sold out. So come in to the Firehouse this weekend and get some of the World's Best Cheese before it's all gone.
