Fresh off the Farm - Q&A with Dawn Boucher of Green Mountain Blue/Boucher Family Farm

Dawn Boucher makes beautiful blue cheeses in Highgate, Vermont on a dairy farm that has been in her husband Daniel's family for generations. Her Boucher Blue and Gore-Dawn-Zola have become chef favorites, and inspire dishes at many area restaurants. We asked Dawn about why it's important to have her cheese on the menu.

What was your first experience like selling cheese to a chef/restaurant?

In the beginning (15 years ago) we did all our own deliveries - and would order the cheese plate at Smokejacks Restaurant afterward (dining outside) enjoying a local brew, just to see how our blues held up against all the other delicious cheeses on the menu.  So strange to pay for what we ate nearly every day.., but it gave us the confirmation that they really knew how to store and serve cheese.

How has working with chefs influenced your business or your cheese?

We have always been committed to bringing unique tastes to chefs.  Making commodity cheese is not where we wanted to go with our business.  We make 3 different blue cheeses, including aged versions (up to a year) just to fill that niche.

Has a chef ever taught you something new about your cheese?

I would have never thought of pairing our blue cheese with sweets, but I’ve seen it over and over on menus through the years.

What is the coolest, tastiest, or most interesting way you've seen your product used on a menu? Where was it?

I first had my own blue cheese at Shelburne Farms Inn during a memorable birthday dinner with friends--it was paired with honey and bread. Brilliant!