The United States Championship Cheese Contest, hosted by the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association, recently announced the winners of their 2019 Cheese Contest, awarding Shullsburg Creamery’s Cheesemaker Arthur “Bill” Stocker both a “Best of Class – Gold” and a “Third Place – Bronze” for his Marbled Curd Cheese.
Far from a novice in the industry, Bill Stocker began his cheese making career when he was nine years old, working alongside his father, Arthur Stocker Sr., in the original Shullsburg Creamery Cheese Factory, which was built in 1937.
Arthur Stocker, Sr. purchased Shullsburg Creamery in 1972 from the founder, Tony Peterson, a native of Denmark. Shullsburg Creamery, under the direction of the Stocker family, grew the business 100-fold over the next 30 years and sold assets to Midwest Dairymen’s Cooperative in 2006.
Today, Shullsburg Creamery is proudly owned by 100 family dairy farms and continues to manufacture, market and distribute its fine cheese throughout the Midwest and beyond.
This year’s contest experienced a record-breaking 2,555 entries. A team of 60 elite cheese judges evaluated entries from 35 states based on technical merits, including flavor, texture, appearance, and taste. Awards were presented at the event’s annual convention on April 18 in Green Bay, WI.
The U.S. Championship Cheese Contest, initiated in 1981, is the nation’s premier technical cheese, butter, and yogurt competition and this year marks the 20th biennial event.
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