Litehouse, Inc. took home top honors for two of its Simply Artisan Reserve products at the 2017 American Cheese Society (ACS) competition. The Litehouse team won both first place for its Simply Artisan Reserve True Gorgonzola and second place for its Simply Artisan Reserce Gorgonzola in the Rindless Blue Cheese category.
"Litehouse has a long heritage of making artisan cheese in a traditional way, and we’re thrilled to again earn top honors for our Gorgonzola cheeses,” said Margi Gunter, Brand Manager for Deli, in a company press release. “Though we are known for our delicious refrigerated salad dressings, our handcrafted cheeses are a point of pride for our employee-owners and loved by the families we make them for.”
Litehouse said, in its press release, that the company has held the top spot in the ACS Competition category for three years running. The Simply Artisan Reserve line, the company noted, is a category leader, and the brand’s year-over-year Gorgonzola sales have grown by more than 21 percent.
The company’s crafted deli cheeses have won accolades by industry experts and retailers. More than 280 companies submitted 2,024 products for this year’s ACS Judging and Competition, held during the ACS Annual Conference July 26-29, 2017 in Denver, CO. The goal of the ACS Judging and Competition is to award cheeses that are of the highest aesthetic and technical quality.
Following a 100-year tradition, Litehouse’s handcrafted artisan cheeses are crafted using cultures originating in the caves of Roquefort, France, and using local milk. Aged for 100 days, with single source, rBST free milk, Simply Artisan Reserve Gorgonzola is crafted, flipped, and salted by hand. Litehouse’s master cheesemaker, Marvin Sharp, has been making cheese this way for over 40 years.
Kudos to Litehouse for its victory! For more dairy, deli, and bakery news, stick with Deli Market News.
