Recognition rolled in the first two weeks of March for artisan cheeses produced by Sprout Creek Farm.

The week of March 14, two of the farm’s cheeses, Ouray and Barat, received honors at the 2004 World Championship Cheese Contest, which drew 1,500 entries from around the world.

The week before, producers for BravoTV’s program “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” selected the farm’s Ouray cheese as one of the featured foods on a segment of the show.
In the cheese contest, Sprout Creek Farm’s Ouray cheese placed 16th and Barat cheese placed 32nd in the open class (unflavored) hard cheese category. An international panel of judges included experts from Denmark, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Germany, the United States and Australia. The farm’s cheese expert, Allison Lakin, entered the products in the competition.

The path to television was less direct.

Margo Morris, one of four RSCJ who oversee agricultural and educational projects at the farm, said producers for “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” had obtained some of the farm’s cheese, along with products from several other cheese makers, at Murray’s Cheese Shop in New York City and had selected the farm’s Ouray cheese to serve. On the show, one of the “Fab Five” who do the show’s renowned makeovers followed up his compliments for the cheese with, “Yeah, and it’s made by nuns!”

Previously, Florence Fabricant of the New York Times had described Ouray as “buttery and herbaceous” and Barat as “nutty with hints of bleu.”

“They told us they would use our cheeses again,” Morris said.

Related: Hooray for Ouray! (November 2003)