In addition to cheesemongering, Steve’s experience includes directing the cheese department for Provvista Specialty Foods Inc., one of the nation’s most admired wholesale purveyors of fine cheeses and specialty products; brokering for a group of Oregon artisan cheesemakers; and interning in affinage and marketing with Neal’s Yard Dairy in London.
As a consultant and repeat instructor with the Food by Hand’s The Craft and Business of Retailing Artisan Cheese seminar and the Cheese School of San Francisco, Steve has shared his enthusiasm for cheese and retail expertise with aspiring cheese mongers. He has also designed and led numerous classes in a variety of venues on cheese basics and cheese pairings with beer, wine, and chocolate.
Steve has been active with many local and national cheese organizations. He is a founding member of The Wedge, the biannual Portland cheese festival, and in 2009 was half of the winning team in the American Cheese Society’s (ACS) first annual Cheese Mongering competition. Steve’s long background in beer exploration and pairing includes classes and collaborations with many microbreweries. Steve is also a founding member of the Portland Firkin Fest.
Steve has served multiple times as a judge for the ACS annual competitions, as well as the American Dairy Goat Association. He has volunteered as a panel member and presenter on many occasions for the ACS annual conference and other organizations/events, including the Oregon Cheese Guild, International Association of Culinary Professionals, World Food Travel Association’s Foodworx conference, Bon Appetit’s Feast Portland, Oregon Pinot Camp, International Pinot Noir Celebration, Foods of Oregon Symposium, and Slow Food Portland. In 2011, Steve competed with 40 cheesemongers from around the world to win the 2nd Annual Cheesemonger Invitational in Long Island, New York. Steve has appeared in local and national media outlets, including Portland’s Live Wire radio show and National Public Radio’s The Splendid Table.
