mike geno - portfolio | cheese portraits

Ben Lomond

Series: Cheese Portraits

Description: This fun-shaped cheese is from Bonnie View Farm, in Northeast Vermont. I was intrigued by this half wheel of raw cow's milk curiosity because of it's great shape. I later learned the mold was non-traditional and unexpected and perhaps something I couldn't share publicly. Let's just say that the mold looks very similar to some plastic bowls found for $.88 at walmart.... Regardless, it's a mild and delicious experience and made by Neil Urie, who clearly embraces his Scottish heritage on the sheep dairy as a fourth generation farmer. Their website and cheese names are all very Scottish and worth checking out. "The name "Ben Lomond" is actually the name of a mountain in Scotland, accessible from Glasgow"

Origin: USA, Vermont

Tags: Neil Urie, Bonnie View Farm, VT, sheep

Price: $600

Jack's Blue

Series: Cheese Portraits

Description: Named after Jack, the late beloved Aussie Shepherd. He was of a breed of herding dog known for its playfulness, and so this appropriately named blue is a bright, and pleasant homage fromage. Parish Hill Creamery makes this beautiful raw milk blue in smaller 5 pound wheels made with curds from the first day of the West West Blue make. Jack’s is somewhat milder, but also has the edible rind and dense paste with streaks of blue mold, creamy texture and a mildly spicy, earthy flavor.

Origin: USA, Vermont

Tags: jack, raw, cow

Price: $600

Crottin d'Ecole

Series: Cheese Portraits

Description: "Crottin d'Ecole" aka "school cheese", is a beautiful little cheese button made for a teaching demonstration by Peter Dixon, acclaimed artisan cheese maker, consultant, owner of Parish Hill Creamery and essentially one of the most respected cheesemaking schools in the country: Westminster Artisan Cheesemaking. While in the Philadelphia area teaching, I was fortunate to have Peter and Rachel, his beautiful cheesemaking wife, join a group of cheese friends at my house. This is one of the benefits of having such friends; cheese gifts! This specific specimen was made from raw cow's milk from the Putny School at Elm Lea farm, in Vermont. It was made for an "advanced bloomy and washed rind" workshop. It continued to age in my studio fridge for over a month before I remembered it was in there! I cut it open and discovered that when back-lit, this halved wheel glows like a soft boiled egg. I was instantly charged with the need to paint it.

Origin: USA, Vermont

Tags: Dixon, cow, bloomy, glow

Price: $700

Whitney

Series: Cheese Portraits

Description: This is 2022's highest ranked cheese in North America. Winning "Best of Show" 1st place at the American Cheese Society competition. For several years, from 2012-2019, I was honored to be invited to the American Cheese Society's annual conference and competition. In exchange for my involvement I painted the 3 best of show winners and that collection of portraits of the highest ranked cheeses made in North America belongs to the ACS. Since the pandemic, there's been a lot of changes. I may no longer be attending the conference but I'm still glad to paint this champion cheese portrait with the first place blue-purple ribbon colored background. Jasper Hill Farm is no stranger to this place on the list of champions. Whitney is a beautiful alpine-style cheese that is perfect for melting, ready for a raclette machine, though I found it melted just as easily on my tongue. The raw cow milk mountain-style cheese is named after Tim Whitney, a dedicated team member who has been with Jasper Hill since 2004 and it's absolutely beautiful to tasste. Congratulations Jasper Hill Farm!

Origin: usa, Vermont

Tags: cow, jasper hill farm, ACSBOS , best of show, Acs

Price: $800

Rupert

Series: Cheese Portraits

Description: This handsome wheel was sent to me from Consider Bardwell Farm in West Pawlet, Vermont. Leslie Goff, the cheesemaker at CBF shared with me that Rupert was first devleloped about 10 years ago and was the largest of its size made by an American artisanal cheesemaker. It weighs around 25-30 lbs and was joked that it's a "whale" of a cheese. A creative couple then working at the creamery had fun introducing the cut out plastic stamp to produce the embossed whale on the rind of each wheel and it has become a part of its identity since. This raw cow's milk cheese is modeled after great European Alpine cheeses like Gruyere and Comte. It certainly shares with them the delicious, nutty sharp depth of flavor likely a result of being aged from 6-12 months. This long aging cheese, appropriately, was named after one of Vermonts oldest towns, settled in 1761.

Origin: USA,Vermont

Tags: Cow, Raw milk

Price: $900

St. Albans

Series: Cheese Portraits

Description: Vermont Creamery has created an American answer to the hard-to-get, or more like impossible-to-get, St. Marcellin, a French classic. Similarly, this delicious and delicate soft wheel comes in its own ceramic crock and is named after the town of St. Albans where the high-quality cows' milk comes from. This is Vermont Creamery's first 100% cows milk cheese yet it's no surprise this is as creamy and indulgently spreadable as any of their incredible goat cheeses they're famous for. I knew from the first time I had a taste of this, at a preview exhibit earlier in the year, that I would need to paint it. How incredibly lucky am I not only to receive a gift of these but to paint a new American cheese the very month it is first released to the public! Also, it goes without saying, cheese lovers will more often validate their impulse grab of this more often when one factord in getting another handy crock for your kitchen collection! I love them almost as much as the cheese. This painting, of a rather small intimate subject, became one of my larger cheese portraits because it seemed undeniable that a spoon had to enter the narrative when a good cheese friend interpreted her impression of this new classic.

Origin: USA, Vermont

Price: $1200