MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – June 03, 2024 – The American Cheese Society (ACS) is thrilled to announce that the largest judging and competition for American-made cheeses, the ACS Judging & Competition, kicks off today from June 3-7, 2024, at Huntington Bank Stadium at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. This marks the third consecutive year the ACS Judging & Competition is held in Minneapolis and separately from the annual ACS conference, emphasizing the event's significance.

"We are delighted to have a consistent venue for the American Cheese Society Judging & Competition in Minneapolis," said Tara Holmes, Executive Director of ACS. "This beautiful city, with its rich cheese-making history, offers the perfect setting for this prestigious event. We eagerly anticipate continuing to highlight the dedication and talent of cheesemakers in the vibrant Minneapolis community for years to come." In the past two years, Minneapolis has proved to be an ideal central location for the diverse group of expert judges, and ACS is excited to return.

This year, 1,596 American-made cheeses will be evaluated by a distinguished panel of experts across 133 categories, hoping to earn the coveted "Best of Show" title. The competition will feature cheeses and cultured dairy products from 228 companies and producers, demonstrating the prowess of cheesemakers from the United States, Canada, and the Americas as leaders within the international cheese industry.

The ACS Judging & Competition not only celebrates the art of cheesemaking but also provides cheesemakers with invaluable feedback on sales, marketing, technical aspects, and sensory evaluation to help them enhance the quality of their products.

Winners of this year's ACS Judging & Competition will be announced and celebrated at the Awards Ceremony during the ACS 2024 Annual Conference, held July 10-13 in Buffalo, NY.

For a list of past J&C winners, please visit: https://www.cheesesociety.org/competition#winner_archive

For the 2024 Judging & Competition media kit access the Google Drive here.  Please note that the photo album is currently empty and will be populated while onsite this week. 

For an exclusive, behind-the-scenes tour for media on Thursday, June 7th, please contact Endsley Eggert, ACS Marketing Manager, at endsley.eggert@civicamanagement.com for more details.

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