April 27, 2025 • 10 mins
Cheesy and Fondue learn cheese festivals around the world. We talk about eating, curling and rolling . Find out why Ryan Secrest should stick to hosting rather than chasing the wheel. We find out . And of course, we tell a very cheesy joke!
Find us at www.justcheesy.com and everywhere you enjoy social media! https://linktr.ee/JustCheesy
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Why is cheddar the most dangerous of all the cheeses? Because it is very sharp!
Show Notes
https://www.deliciousitaly.com/piemonte-food-wine/bra-cheese-festival
https://www.deliciousitaly.com/lombardia-food-wine/cheese-in-forme-in-bergamo
https://academyofcheese.org/9-cheese-festivals-in-2025-cheese-lovers-shouldnt-miss/?utm
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_Cheese_Olympics?utm
galtuer.com/en/events-activities/topevents/international-alpine-cheese-olympics_event_22989989
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_Popolo
https://frenchduck.com/latest/cheese-festival-rocamadour/
https://tulipfestivalamsterdam.com/dutch-cheese/
Great Canadian Cheese Festival | May 24 - May 25
https://downtowncarypark.com/things-to-do/calendar/w_pimento-cheese-festival-2025
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Just Cheesy (00:02):
The Podcast presented by Just Cheesy Productions
Hi there. I'm your host, Fondue.
I'm Cheesy.
In this week's episode, we'regoing to learn all about cheese festivals
around the world. We'retalking about places like Italy,
(00:25):
France, Spring, Switzerland,and the United States. We're going
to talk about eating, curlingand rolling. We're going to find
out why Ryan Seacrest shouldstick to hosting rather than chasing
the wheel.
Okay.
And of course, we're going totell a very cheesy joke. Stay tuned
for episode 180 festival. AnjaTV, the podcast. A few weeks back,
(00:51):
a friend of the show actuallysent us a link to something called
cheesecon.org and while thisconvention is mostly for cheesemakers,
it got us to thinking, whatother kind of festivals are there
dedicated to cheese? One thatwe haven't missed yet, apparently,
is a very big one. Accordingto deliciousitaly.com in the city
of Bra, there is a cheese festival.
(01:14):
Really?
The festival is usually heldaround the third week of September
and they say it attractsaround 200,000 people.
Holy cow.
I just can't fathom a cheesefestival attracting two hot men.
I guess I can, because I lovecheese. 200,000 people.
So many.
That is so many.
Yeah, it is.
Not only does this place havea cheese festival, but it also is
(01:37):
known for its sausage.Apparently they have sausage produced
with Ve that received a royallicense from King Charles Albert
of Savoy in 1847. They had anact that prohibited the production
of bovine sausages except forthe one produced in Bra. They say
here it's an ancient recipehanded down from one generation to
(01:58):
the next, and it includes vealmeat combined with bacon. According
to the article, coming up inMay, on the 24th and 25th, there
is an artisan cheese fair inMelton, Mowbray, UK. There are going
to be about 50 to 60 artisancheese makers from across the UK
and Ireland and they makebetween them about 300 different
(02:20):
cheeses.
300.
Of course. In Bern,Switzerland, on the 13th to 15th
of November is the worldCheese Awards. This one is just immense.
Yeah, there are going to beabout 5,000 cheeses from about 50
countries.
Holy cow.
Who will compete for thecoveted super gold medals on the
23rd through 25th of May.There's one in Australia called Mould
(02:45):
M O U L D. And they're goingto showcase about 50 varieties of
the very best Australianartisan cheeses. This one costs $60,
but it gets you festivalaccess. All the chees pinot tasting
and a Cooler bag for keepingyour cheese at the perfect temperature.
A wine glass and a tote bag.In September, there's something called
(03:08):
the International AlpineCheese Olympics. This one is going
to have a hundred differentdairies from Austria, Germany, Italy
and Switzerland and they'regoing to compete with their best
cheeses and be judged.
Wow.
Of course, visitors to theOlympics get to try the cheeses.
There's a festival in Francecalled and you know the drill here,
(03:29):
I'm going to butcher it.Rocamadur. This one has competitions,
demonstrations, music, andover 40 artisan cheese makers.
Yummy.
People talk a lot about theTulip Festival in Amsterdam, but
there's also a big display ofwheels of cheese. According to tulipfestivalamsterdam.com
(03:49):
the Dutch export hundreds ofmillions of tons of cheese every
year. And the Dutch people eataround 7 pounds per person every
year. They recommend visitingthe cheese markets Amsterdam. And
there's also a tour you cantake which is called the Cheese and
Windmill Tour. Not to beoutdone, Canada's in the game.
(04:10):
Oh, Canada.
(05:02):
On Saturday, May 24 andSunday, May 25 in Kingston, Ontario,
there's a festival called theGreat Canadian Cheese Festival. And
there you can go, you cansample, try and buy from over 100
vendors. This one is happeningright now. Yesterday and today there
is one in Oregon called theOregon cheese festival. For $30 you
(05:26):
can get a ticket that's goodfor sampling cheese food as well
as beer, wine, cider andspirits. And there's one that we
missed. It was on April 12,but it was called the 2025 Pimento
Cheese Festival and this washeld in North Carolina. We recommend
Googling Cheese Festival tosee which ones are closest to you.
Unfortunately, cheesefestivals are not a sponsor, but
(05:48):
if they were, their ad wouldgo right here one day. I'd like to
actually go to this one justto watch, of course, and not participate.
Yeah.
And I think you all rememberthe Gloucester Cheese Rolling Festival.
Oh no.
Hands down, still the craziestthing I've ever seen.
Oh yeah.
It started around 1826. Sothis long standing tradition is thought
(06:08):
to be about 600 years old.
Yeah.
According todesignmynight.com, this festival
is going to take place thisyear on Monday, May 26. You have
to be 18 or over to race andthere are separate races for men
and women. Now there is a kidsrace, but they race uphill. Thankfully,
thankfully, there's a gianthill. These people run down the hill
(06:29):
to chase a giant wheel ofcheese. They say the the hill is
180 meters, for those of youthat are not metric, that's 200 yards
or around two football fields long.
Holy cow.
The cheese gets rolled downthe hill. They say here it can reach
speeds of up to 80 miles an hour.
Whoa.
And of course, the goal is forthe competitors to run down the hill
(06:52):
and basically be cheese to thefinish line.
Okay.
Every year, and I'm notjoking, every year someone is injured
from broken bones to basicallygetting zapped by lightning. It says
here, luckily no one's died,but someone is always injured. They
have medical people on handjust in case.
Yeah, they do.
They say here to look out forloose rocks. Yeah. Twigs and stinging
(07:16):
nettles. And to make sure towear protective clothing.
Yeah.
Now, I've seen pictures andvideos of this and protective clothing.
No. Is wearing that. T shirts,jeans, just stretch pants. I don't
know why anybody would dothis, but I think it would be a hoot
to watch. According to visitTuscany.com there is another contest.
(07:38):
This one takes place on thelast Sunday of October. And it's
another cheese rolling contest.
Oh, no.
It doesn't look quite as dangerous.
Oh, okay, good.
The runners in this one aregoing to face off with what they
call wooden pallets. Andthey're skillfully getting their
cheese around hay bales thatare placed as obstacles. Okay. Tasked
with getting the cheese wheelacross the finish line as quick as
(08:01):
possible.
Of course.
According to cheeseconoeur.comthere's a festival in Arthur, Illinois
that was established 20 someyears ago back when ice curling was
added to the Olympics. Andit's part of their festival on Labor
Day weekend every year. Andit's the international cheese curling
competition.
Wow.
This is a sanctionedcompetition. It uses four pound wrapped
(08:24):
wheels of cheese, usually ababy Swiss. They use a broom and
a team of four curlers. Theofficial rink is a slippery mat which
looks like a big giant tarp.
Like a trash bag.
They do say here it'sregulation size.
Okay.
And they have the standardthree ring curling target.
Okay.
Points are assigned based onthe final resting place of the cheese
(08:46):
stones. One of the teammembers is a broomer, and they use
their broom to influence thestone on its way toward the target.
Like curling.
There's no entry fee for theteam and they get to keep their cheese
stone at the end. Thisfestival gives away more than 800
pounds of cheese and crackers.It has a cheese eating contest, a
cheese carving contest, and acheese curd spitting contest. I think
(09:10):
this one needs to go on our list.
Yeah.
It's time for my favoritesegment this week in cheese. Now,
I don't usually chuckle atpeople falling down, but this one
was pretty funny.
Okay.
According to tvinsider.comWheel of Fortune's Ryan Seacrest
was. Let's say he wasreenacting the England Cheese Rolling
contest.
(09:31):
Oh, no.
Vanna rolls a fake block ofcheese across the stage. Ryan goes
to chase it, and then Faceplant.
Faceplant.
I'm pretty sure he shouldstick to spinning the wheel and not
chasing it.
I'm ready for a joke fondue.
Okay. Why is it hard to findcheese at a festival?
I don't know.
Because it melts into thecrowd. Get it? Melts into the crowd.
(09:52):
Oh, cute.
Oh, I like that one. And itwas a little bit cheesy. Thanks for
listening to episode 180 festival.
Thank you.
We're glad you could join uson our journey through cheese.
Yeah.
And we're going to have a lotof links this week so that you can
enjoy some festivals near you.
And stay cheesy, everybody.
The Podcast presented by Just Cheesy Productions
Hi there. I'm your host, Fondue.
I'm Cheesy.
In this week's episode, we'regoing to learn all about cheese festivals
around the world. We'retalking about places like Italy,
(00:25):
France, Spring, Switzerland,and the United States. We're going
to talk about eating, curlingand rolling. We're going to find
out why Ryan Seacrest shouldstick to hosting rather than chasing
the wheel.
Okay.
And of course, we're going totell a very cheesy joke. Stay tuned
for episode 180 festival. AnjaTV, the podcast. A few weeks back,
(00:51):
a friend of the show actuallysent us a link to something called
cheesecon.org and while thisconvention is mostly for cheesemakers,
it got us to thinking, whatother kind of festivals are there
dedicated to cheese? One thatwe haven't missed yet, apparently,
is a very big one. Accordingto deliciousitaly.com in the city
of Bra, there is a cheese festival.
(01:14):
Really?
The festival is usually heldaround the third week of September
and they say it attractsaround 200,000 people.
Holy cow.
I just can't fathom a cheesefestival attracting two hot men.
I guess I can, because I lovecheese. 200,000 people.
So many.
That is so many.
Yeah, it is.
Not only does this place havea cheese festival, but it also is
(01:37):
known for its sausage.Apparently they have sausage produced
with Ve that received a royallicense from King Charles Albert
of Savoy in 1847. They had anact that prohibited the production
of bovine sausages except forthe one produced in Bra. They say
here it's an ancient recipehanded down from one generation to
(01:58):
the next, and it includes vealmeat combined with bacon. According
to the article, coming up inMay, on the 24th and 25th, there
is an artisan cheese fair inMelton, Mowbray, UK. There are going
to be about 50 to 60 artisancheese makers from across the UK
and Ireland and they makebetween them about 300 different
(02:20):
cheeses.
300.
Of course. In Bern,Switzerland, on the 13th to 15th
of November is the worldCheese Awards. This one is just immense.
Yeah, there are going to beabout 5,000 cheeses from about 50
countries.
Holy cow.
Who will compete for thecoveted super gold medals on the
23rd through 25th of May.There's one in Australia called Mould
(02:45):
M O U L D. And they're goingto showcase about 50 varieties of
the very best Australianartisan cheeses. This one costs $60,
but it gets you festivalaccess. All the chees pinot tasting
and a Cooler bag for keepingyour cheese at the perfect temperature.
A wine glass and a tote bag.In September, there's something called
(03:08):
the International AlpineCheese Olympics. This one is going
to have a hundred differentdairies from Austria, Germany, Italy
and Switzerland and they'regoing to compete with their best
cheeses and be judged.
Wow.
Of course, visitors to theOlympics get to try the cheeses.
There's a festival in Francecalled and you know the drill here,
(03:29):
I'm going to butcher it.Rocamadur. This one has competitions,
demonstrations, music, andover 40 artisan cheese makers.
Yummy.
People talk a lot about theTulip Festival in Amsterdam, but
there's also a big display ofwheels of cheese. According to tulipfestivalamsterdam.com
(03:49):
the Dutch export hundreds ofmillions of tons of cheese every
year. And the Dutch people eataround 7 pounds per person every
year. They recommend visitingthe cheese markets Amsterdam. And
there's also a tour you cantake which is called the Cheese and
Windmill Tour. Not to beoutdone, Canada's in the game.
(04:10):
Oh, Canada.
(05:02):
On Saturday, May 24 andSunday, May 25 in Kingston, Ontario,
there's a festival called theGreat Canadian Cheese Festival. And
there you can go, you cansample, try and buy from over 100
vendors. This one is happeningright now. Yesterday and today there
is one in Oregon called theOregon cheese festival. For $30 you
(05:26):
can get a ticket that's goodfor sampling cheese food as well
as beer, wine, cider andspirits. And there's one that we
missed. It was on April 12,but it was called the 2025 Pimento
Cheese Festival and this washeld in North Carolina. We recommend
Googling Cheese Festival tosee which ones are closest to you.
Unfortunately, cheesefestivals are not a sponsor, but
(05:48):
if they were, their ad wouldgo right here one day. I'd like to
actually go to this one justto watch, of course, and not participate.
Yeah.
And I think you all rememberthe Gloucester Cheese Rolling Festival.
Oh no.
Hands down, still the craziestthing I've ever seen.
Oh yeah.
It started around 1826. Sothis long standing tradition is thought
(06:08):
to be about 600 years old.
Yeah.
According todesignmynight.com, this festival
is going to take place thisyear on Monday, May 26. You have
to be 18 or over to race andthere are separate races for men
and women. Now there is a kidsrace, but they race uphill. Thankfully,
thankfully, there's a gianthill. These people run down the hill
(06:29):
to chase a giant wheel ofcheese. They say the the hill is
180 meters, for those of youthat are not metric, that's 200 yards
or around two football fields long.
Holy cow.
The cheese gets rolled downthe hill. They say here it can reach
speeds of up to 80 miles an hour.
Whoa.
And of course, the goal is forthe competitors to run down the hill
(06:52):
and basically be cheese to thefinish line.
Okay.
Every year, and I'm notjoking, every year someone is injured
from broken bones to basicallygetting zapped by lightning. It says
here, luckily no one's died,but someone is always injured. They
have medical people on handjust in case.
Yeah, they do.
They say here to look out forloose rocks. Yeah. Twigs and stinging
(07:16):
nettles. And to make sure towear protective clothing.
Yeah.
Now, I've seen pictures andvideos of this and protective clothing.
No. Is wearing that. T shirts,jeans, just stretch pants. I don't
know why anybody would dothis, but I think it would be a hoot
to watch. According to visitTuscany.com there is another contest.
(07:38):
This one takes place on thelast Sunday of October. And it's
another cheese rolling contest.
Oh, no.
It doesn't look quite as dangerous.
Oh, okay, good.
The runners in this one aregoing to face off with what they
call wooden pallets. Andthey're skillfully getting their
cheese around hay bales thatare placed as obstacles. Okay. Tasked
with getting the cheese wheelacross the finish line as quick as
(08:01):
possible.
Of course.
According to cheeseconoeur.comthere's a festival in Arthur, Illinois
that was established 20 someyears ago back when ice curling was
added to the Olympics. Andit's part of their festival on Labor
Day weekend every year. Andit's the international cheese curling
competition.
Wow.
This is a sanctionedcompetition. It uses four pound wrapped
(08:24):
wheels of cheese, usually ababy Swiss. They use a broom and
a team of four curlers. Theofficial rink is a slippery mat which
looks like a big giant tarp.
Like a trash bag.
They do say here it'sregulation size.
Okay.
And they have the standardthree ring curling target.
Okay.
Points are assigned based onthe final resting place of the cheese
(08:46):
stones. One of the teammembers is a broomer, and they use
their broom to influence thestone on its way toward the target.
Like curling.
There's no entry fee for theteam and they get to keep their cheese
stone at the end. Thisfestival gives away more than 800
pounds of cheese and crackers.It has a cheese eating contest, a
cheese carving contest, and acheese curd spitting contest. I think
(09:10):
this one needs to go on our list.
Yeah.
It's time for my favoritesegment this week in cheese. Now,
I don't usually chuckle atpeople falling down, but this one
was pretty funny.
Okay.
According to tvinsider.comWheel of Fortune's Ryan Seacrest
was. Let's say he wasreenacting the England Cheese Rolling
contest.
(09:31):
Oh, no.
Vanna rolls a fake block ofcheese across the stage. Ryan goes
to chase it, and then Faceplant.
Faceplant.
I'm pretty sure he shouldstick to spinning the wheel and not
chasing it.
I'm ready for a joke fondue.
Okay. Why is it hard to findcheese at a festival?
I don't know.
Because it melts into thecrowd. Get it? Melts into the crowd.
(09:52):
Oh, cute.
Oh, I like that one. And itwas a little bit cheesy. Thanks for
listening to episode 180 festival.
Thank you.
We're glad you could join uson our journey through cheese.
Yeah.
And we're going to have a lotof links this week so that you can
enjoy some festivals near you.
And stay cheesy, everybody.
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