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Janet Fletcher

180 Stonecrest Dr
Napa, CA, 94558
(707) 265-0404
{ Janet Fletcher / Food Writer }

{ Janet Fletcher / Food Writer }

Janet Fletcher

  • Home
  • About
    • About Janet
    • Media
    • Client List
    • Contact
  • Planet Cheese
    • Planet Cheese Blog
    • Planet Cheese Signup
    • Cheese Library
  • Store
    • All Items
    • World Cheese Tour
    • Books
  • Classes
    • World Cheese Tour Classes
    • Other Classes & Events
    • Custom Class/Event Request
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The Cheeses to Beat

November 9, 2022 janet@janetfletcher.com
Cheeses from Gourmino

Gourmino board: (l to r) Ur-Eiche, Emmentaler AOP, Bleu de Combremont, Le Gruyère AOP

The wins just keep coming for Gourmino. This Swiss marketing co-op has 13 cheesemaker members who seem to have a lock on the top prize at major international competitions. Last week, a Gourmino Gruyère prevailed at the World Cheese Awards in Wales, besting 4,433 entries. Earlier this year, a Gourmino Gruyère from cheesemaker Michael Spycher was named World Champion Cheese —for the third time. I can’t overstate how remarkable that is.

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In From: Switzerland, Milk: Cow Tags World Cheese Awards, Gourmino, Le Gruyère AOP, Gruyère, raw-milk cheese, Swiss cheese, Emmentaler, Michael Spycher, Urs Leuenberger
10 Comments

Gruyère Fights Back

January 18, 2022 janet@janetfletcher.com

Switzerland’s most famous cheese took it on the chin recently when a U.S. judge ruled that Gruyère is generic. American dairies have made Gruyère for years, he reasoned, so how can the Swiss claim the cheese is theirs? “The factual record makes it abundantly clear,” the judge wrote, that American consumers think of Gruyère as a type of cheese, not a product from a specific place. The Swiss will appeal, so the matter isn’t settled, but it’s a setback for those who believe we should respect European names like Asiago and Fontina. I wondered how the ruling was going down with people who sell both imported and domestic cheese.

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In From: Switzerland, Milk: Cow Tags Swiss cheese, Gruyère, World’s Best Cheese, Rainbow Grocery, Wisconsin cheese, PDO
34 Comments

Fondue Champion Tells All

February 9, 2021 janet@janetfletcher.com
Planet Cheese 133 _DSC3198.jpg

I did not think I had much to learn about fondue until I spoke to Joe Salonia, a FonDuel champion. This friendly annual competition among people in the cheese business—mostly retailers and distributors—is the Olympics of melted cheese, with the public invited to taste and judge the entries. FonDuel took a pandemic pause last year, but Salonia has earned first and second place finishes in the past. (The latter result, he assures me, was “very close.”) With Valentine’s Day looming, it seemed like a good time to get some tips from a master on a dish that’s meant to be shared.

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In Milk: Cow, From: Switzerland Tags fondue, Valentine’s Day recipes, Swiss cheese, melted cheese, raclette, Gourmino, FonDuel, Gruyère
6 Comments

Here We Go Again

March 9, 2020 janet@janetfletcher.com
Photo: Kral Photography

Photo: Kral Photography

For the second time, a team of expert judges has voted Michael Spycher’s Gruyère the World Champion Cheese. It’s a head-spinning achievement given the size of the field: 3,667 entries from around the world. If you think of Gruyère as an ordinary sandwich cheese sold in every supermarket—well, this ain’t that.

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Tags World Champion Cheese, Michael Spycher, Swiss cheese, raw milk cheese, Gruyère, Gourmino
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Welcome to my world: a fragrant, fascinating universe devoted to great cheese. In this and future Planet Cheese posts, you’ll find profiles of the world’s best cheeses plus insights into everything cheese: shops, recipes, interviews, pairing discoveries, classes, videos, travel. If you haven’t already done so, sign up here - it’s complimentary - and join me in learning something new about cheese every week.


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     Photographs: Douglas Fletcher, Ed Anderson, Megan Clouse, Faith Echtermeyer, Eva Kolenko,
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