Andy DeCou

Andy has a passion for his products, especially cheese, and a deep commitment to the cheese- making community. 

Andy serves on the ACS Marketing & Communications committee, and he is a dedicated volunteer within the cheese community.

Anna Thomas Bates

Landmark Creamery works with farmers to build sustainable, family-run dairies that support the local economy in Southern Wisconsin. 

Anna Thomas Bates, a local food writer and grilled cheese champion, has her finger on the pulse of Wisconsin’s local food movement, from farmers dedicated to sustainable agriculture to forward-thinking chefs. She co-owns Landmark Creamery and heads up sales, marketing and “other stuff.” She can stare at a cheese case for an hour looking at cheese labels and loves it when mongers let her taste the fancy cheese.

https://landmarkcreamery.com/

Dan Probst

Fox River Dairy is a specialty food distributor for grocery and foodservice operations of all kinds. Our story starts in 1910 at Union Market in downtown St. Louis. At that time, we were a liquid dairy stand in the famous open-air market at the corner of North Broadway and Convention Plaza, established by the Milton Krai family. After two generations of Krais, the company was sold to Don Pogue in 1980. The Pogue family operated Fox River until 1996, switching focus to foodservice cheeses and specialty products. In 1996, Ken and Dan Probst took over and doubled down on the cheeses and specialty ingredients to include a new focus on locally sourced products for foodservice and grocery items.

Over the last decade, Fox River has grown from 8 employees to 27 through the growth of the St. Louis local food scene. We now distribute products for more than 30 different producers headquartered in St. Louis and the Midwest. We are committed to the continuous growth of this movement as it becomes more important to impact our local economy with a smaller carbon footprint.

This formula brings you a source for the best brands of over 500 unique high-quality products. With many products exclusive to our company, you are sure to find the ingredients for success in your kitchen or for your grocery shelves.

https://foxriverdairy.com/

DeMetria Isabel

DeMetria is a Marketing Specialist at Prairie Farms Dairy, Inc, and is a passionate advocate for marketing education in the cheese community.

Janet Fletcher

I live, cook, garden and write on a quiet street in Napa Valley. My house is not large but my kitchen is…and my sunny garden is bigger yet. Here, I develop and test recipes for cookbooks and magazine features; evaluate cheeses for my classes and columns; and prepare dinner nightly with my winemaker husband. In my garden—a terraced landscape of roses, fruit trees and raised vegetable beds—I find inspiration for daily cooking and an antidote to deadline stress.

I discovered farmers’ markets and the pleasures of the table as a college student in Provence. Shelving plans for business school, I enrolled in cooking school instead. But it was the two years I spent as a cook at Chez Panisse that shaped my taste, honed my skills and nurtured my interest in fresh produce, small-farm issues and traditional foodways. As a San Francisco Bay Area journalist—first at the Oakland Tribune, then at the San Francisco Chronicle—I have spotlighted the trends and profiled the people who make Northern California such an exhilarating place to cook, eat and work.

I continue to write about food and wine; teach cooking and cheese-appreciation classes, often for private groups; collaborate with chefs, wineries and restaurants on book projects; and undertake custom writing and recipe projects for food and wine clients. My newspaper journalism has been honored with three James Beard Awards and the International Association of Culinary Professionals Bert Greene Award. I was also the scriptwriter on two Beard Award-winning DVDs produced by the Culinary Institute of America. In spare moments between deadlines, you can find me in the garden.

https://www.janetfletcher.com/about

Jill Giacomini Basch

Jill Giacomini Basch, together with her family, launched Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company in August, 2000 on their Marin County, CA dairy farm. The company is internationally regarded as a premier producer of award-winning, hand-crafted cheeses, including Original Blue, Bay Blue, Toma, Gouda and Quinta.

Farming responsibly has been a focus of the Giacomini family, with specific attention towards humane animal welfare, water conservation and land stewardship. In 2009 they installed a methane digester to generate clean energy while reducing the farm’s carbon footprint. In addition, multiple, on-farm reuse and recycling efforts helped garner the family the prestigious 2013 National Leopold Conservation Award.

The Fork, a culinary and educational center on the dairy, was opened in 2010. Focusing on agritourism, The Fork offers farm-to-table educational experiences for the trade, consumer and private groups.
In 2018 the company expanded to Petaluma. The Sonoma County facility houses a second creamery, warehouse and distribution center. The company’s pasteurized cheeses are produced at this location while Original Blue, made with raw milk, is handcrafted on the farm.

Jill is Chief Marketing Officer and Director of The Fork business unit, utilizing her experience in advertising and marketing in the technology industry. In addition, alongside her sisters Lynn and Diana, Jill is Co-Owner and Co-CEO of the WBENC-certified Women Owned Business. Jill’s responsibilities cross various strategic areas of the business, including dairy operations, marketing, research and development, communications, hospitality, sales, planning and brand management.

Jill is an active member of the national cheese community. She is a founding Board Director for the Artisan Cheese Festival held every spring in the North Bay. In 2006 Jill co-founded the California Artisan Cheese Guild (CACG). From 2009 to 2014, Jill was a Board Member of Marin Organic. In 2015 she completed two terms as a Board Director for the American Cheese Society (ACS). In 2017 Jill joined the Board of Directors for the Marin County Convention and Visitors Bureau and in 2018, she was elected to the board of the Specialty Food Association, based in New York City. She is currently serving her third term.

https://pointreyescheese.com/

Kari Skibbie

With over 15 years in the cheese industry, Kari is a long time ACS volunteer and current Vice Chair for the ACS Judging & Competition committee.