In Good Company
In Good Company
Good cheesemongers love one thing as much as cheese: people. Born in La Crosse and raised on a farm in Mauston, Wisconsin, Kowalski's Cheese Specialist Liz Nerud grew up with a keen understanding of the connectivity between people and the food they eat.
"Living in the country was very instrumental in shaping my worldview," Liz says. "Neighbors are important, and knowing where my food comes from is important as well. I carry these values to my work with cheese every day.
Liz curates a collection of specialty products and shares her love of cheese with customers at the Kowalski's Woodbury Market. There one of the most special things in the Specialty Cheese Department isn't inside the case. Hanging on the wall just over Liz's shoulder is some pretty impressive paperwork: a certificate from the American Cheese Society proclaiming Liz as one of a rare few ACS Certified Cheese Professionals. The American Cheese Society is a community that provides educational resources and opportunities while encouraging the highest standards of cheesemaking with a focus on safety and sustainability. The ACS administers the Certified Cheese Professional exam annually. Attaining the CCP certificate is a true achievement that reflects a commitment to expertly caring for cheese and to serving cheese lovers with passion. It evaluates candidates' skills in very specific job-related activities as well as their knowledge of cheese. At the time Liz took the CCP exam in 2013, there were only 100 people who had passed the national exam, including just three in Minnesota. Today CCPs are an elite group of less than 900, only 24 of whom are from Minnesota. These truly are the best of the best cheese professionals in the country. Like Liz, they're an extremely dedicated and enthusiastic bunch.
"I take my responsibility as a cheesemonger seriously," Liz says. "I am the bridge between the cheese and the customer."
A few years after receiving her CCP, Liz received another honor when she was asked to compete at the Cheesemonger Invitational in San Francisco in January 2015. This annual invite-only competition is held in front of rabid cheese fans and includes a written exam, a blind taste test, cutting and wrapping tests, a sales challenge and a pairing event. Though she wasn't crowned the ultimate winner, the experience included a moment Liz calls one of the "proudest of my life." Challenged to cut 0.25 lbs. of cheese in one fell swoop in front of a roaring crowd, she pulled off an impressive 0.24.
It's this level of technical prowess combined with passionate salesmanship and encyclopedic knowledge of cheese that makes Liz a shining star in the Kowalski's cosmos, a place she describes as "very vibrant and happening. It's such a pleasure to be a part of it."
Her extraordinary credentials are evidence of Liz's true passion for quality cheese and her commitment to serving her customers. "Specialty cheese is not meant for sustenance. It is meant for experience," she says. "A customer can easily go to the dairy case and grab a chunk of commodity something and say they had cheese. But cheese should be an occasion. It marks a point in time when we pause and sigh and think of our good life."
Visit Liz and her cheese selection at our Woodbury Market.
