{"id":48040,"date":"2024-07-01T11:23:16","date_gmt":"2024-07-01T15:23:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/?p=48040"},"modified":"2024-07-03T16:01:46","modified_gmt":"2024-07-03T20:01:46","slug":"meet-the-man-behind-the-inn-at-little-washingtons-viral-cow-cheese-cart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/meet-the-man-behind-the-inn-at-little-washingtons-viral-cow-cheese-cart\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet The Man Behind The Inn at Little Washington’s Viral Cow Cheese Cart"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Q & A with Cameron Smith, the Ma\u00edtre du Fromage at The Inn at Little Washington<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Photo courtesy of The Inn at Little Washington Instagram<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

When you opt into the Inn at Little Washington\u2019s<\/a> $32 cheese course, you get dinner and a show, thanks to fromager and “cheese whiz” Cameron Smith. For nearly 17 years, Smith has been serving cheese with a side of comedy. His act starts the moment he wheels the cheese cart\u2014a rolling cow<\/a>\u2014into the dining room. Heads turn. iPhone cameras flash. Sure, you get to learn about cheese from a Certified Cheese Professional, but what\u2019s most impressive is how effortlessly Smith intertwines his cheese knowledge with an endless supply of dairy-themed entertainment. I caught up with Smith to discuss all things cheese.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tell me more about the famous cow cheese cart; how and when did that idea arise? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Initially, there was a regular-looking cheese cart at the Inn, but it wasn\u2019t that well-received. It was the chef\u2019s idea\u2014\u201cWhy don\u2019t we put it on a goat? That would be more approachable.\u201d But they couldn\u2019t find a goat. Instead, they found a lady who made life-size cows, so they asked her to make a smaller one. That was in 2000 (the \u201cchurn of the century\u201d), so [the cow cart is] 24. She was inspired by a Jersey cow born at the Clay County Fair in Iowa\u2014hence her name, Faira.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You have a reputation as a pun master\u2014 how did this become an integral part of the cheese course? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This comedy routine developed over time. Way back when, there was a guest who made a cheese joke, and it snowballed into a barrage of all these jokes. Chef O\u2019Connell has a theater background; he feels the dining room is the living theater, and this is my act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you curate the cheese cart, and do the cheeses rotate? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are usually around 25 to 30 cheeses on the cart; it just depends on what fits. It\u2019s all about covering
the different groups. There\u2019s always going to be a few ch\u00e8vres, goat milk cheeses, sheep\u2019s milk cheeses, blue cheeses, bloomies, washed- rind cheeses, something you can scoop out with a spoon, something really pungent, and something pungent-yet-mild. Then there\u2019s the hard cheeses. I also try to order seasonally and directly from some local farms. I\u2019ll sometimes take finished cheeses and \u201cdoctor them up\u201d to make them exclusive to us, for example cold smoking a ch\u00e8vre, or taking a cheese and rolling it in herbs. The cart will change every day; I don\u2019t buy in mass quantities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did you wind up at the Inn at Little Washington?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I used to work at my parents\u2019 B&B\u2014it was the first job I ever had\u2014and I had worked at a few restaurants in Charlottesville. But I always was trying to work my way into The Inn at Little Washington. I moved from Charlottesville to Culpeper to be close to the Inn. I\u2019d heard about the Inn from other guests coming to the inn where I had been working. I had heard about the stars who\u2019d visit and I knew of the reputation. So, once I was in the restaurant world and I knew it was close to me, I decided \u201clet\u2019s see how I can work there eventually.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is your favorite part of your job?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favorite part of the job is watching guests laugh. The satisfaction from putting on a performance and having people say \u201cbravo!\u201d If they are about to fall out of their chair because they\u2019re laughing too hard and they can\u2019t even eat their food, then I know I did a good job. Life is all about having fun and enjoying what you do for a living. Maybe I could make more money doing something else, but I really love what I do, and it puts a lot of smiles on people\u2019s faces. And then you get to taste a lot of great cheese on top of that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you think makes the Inn\u2019s cheese service unique\/special?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a performance and a tasty plate of cheese. It is the theatrics that make it different. That\u2019s something I\u2019ve never heard of with other cheese presentations. It\u2019s also about the education and all the information and science behind cheesemaking. They really appreciate when you explain how these cheeses are made; it\u2019s eye-opening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you serve alongside the cheese?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The accompaniments change seasonally. I\u2019m looking for things that spark curiosity and may be different for customers, such as an Ethiopian honey and a 100-day sous vide beet. I\u2019ll also include some more classic accompaniments, like Marcona almonds, jam\/marmalade, and dried fruit. We also offer specific crackers and bread just for the cheese course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is your absolute favorite cheese?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Honestly I can\u2019t figure it out, because that\u2019s what\u2019s so interesting about them. If we had this one best cheese, why even have a cart? That is the whole glory of life, all the different experiences. However, you can crave something, I have craved certain kinds of alpine cheeses\u2014like Ch\u00e4llerhocker and Scharfe Maxx. But I feel like all the other cheeses are crying \u201cI thought you loved me.\u201d It’s like picking my favorite workout at the gym; I don\u2019t want to go to the gym and just do biceps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are your favorite cheese accompaniments?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I really like this vegetable marmalade from the chef\u2019s garden. I\u2019m still on the hunt for something creative to fill the space of the Marcona almonds that might take that to the next level. Also, we\u2019re lucky enough to have this exclusive bakery at the Inn, so we have lots of different breads to offer with the cheese, including this sourdough bread that\u2019s incredible and mini-French baguettes. I\u2019ve even done tea pairings with the cheeses; it doesn\u2019t always have to be wine. We\u2019re looking into doing water pairings, as well. As far as alcohol goes, I like low-alcohol, aromatic red wines, like a Gamay Noir wine or some wines from Greece we\u2019ve had recently. Nothing too tannic or with too much alcohol because I feel like it\u2019s too strong, and I like a wine to have finesse and be graceful.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Q & A with Cameron Smith, the Ma\u00edtre du Fromage at the Inn at Little Washington<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":114,"featured_media":48042,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"coauthors":[34597],"class_list":["post-48040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMeet The Man Behind The Inn at Little Washington's Viral Cow Cheese Cart - culture: the word on cheese<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/meet-the-man-behind-the-inn-at-little-washingtons-viral-cow-cheese-cart\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Meet The Man Behind The Inn at Little Washington's Viral Cow Cheese Cart\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Q & A with Cameron Smith, the Ma\u00edtre du Fromage at the Inn at Little Washington\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/meet-the-man-behind-the-inn-at-little-washingtons-viral-cow-cheese-cart\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"culture: the word on cheese\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-07-01T15:23:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-07-03T20:01:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Screen-Shot-2024-07-01-at-11.20.04-AM.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1180\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1470\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Alyssa Langer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Alyssa Langer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/meet-the-man-behind-the-inn-at-little-washingtons-viral-cow-cheese-cart\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/meet-the-man-behind-the-inn-at-little-washingtons-viral-cow-cheese-cart\/\",\"name\":\"Meet The Man Behind The Inn at Little Washington's Viral Cow Cheese Cart - culture: the word on cheese\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/meet-the-man-behind-the-inn-at-little-washingtons-viral-cow-cheese-cart\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/meet-the-man-behind-the-inn-at-little-washingtons-viral-cow-cheese-cart\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Screen-Shot-2024-07-01-at-11.20.04-AM.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-07-01T15:23:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-07-03T20:01:46+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/#\/schema\/person\/c6f30d34c6f2063310fa149b98046249\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/meet-the-man-behind-the-inn-at-little-washingtons-viral-cow-cheese-cart\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/meet-the-man-behind-the-inn-at-little-washingtons-viral-cow-cheese-cart\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/meet-the-man-behind-the-inn-at-little-washingtons-viral-cow-cheese-cart\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Blog\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/category\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Meet The Man Behind The Inn at Little Washington’s Viral Cow Cheese Cart\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/\",\"name\":\"culture: the word on cheese\",\"description\":\"Culture, America's magazine for cheese lovers, delivers stories about cheeses, cheesemakers, travel to gorgeous cheese regions, and practical tips on buying, presenting, and cooking with cheese.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/#\/schema\/person\/c6f30d34c6f2063310fa149b98046249\",\"name\":\"Josie Krogh\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/fc133ec1b3f135a010a6805ffb359752\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/josie-150x150.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/josie-150x150.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Josie Krogh\"},\"description\":\"Josie Krogh is culture's Digital Strategy Lead. She earned her master's degree in Agricultural and Applied Economics from The University of Georgia. Josie developed a love of food while working at farmstands in the D.C. area as a young adult, and discovered her love of cheese while living and working on a dairy farm on Martha's Vineyard. Josie currently lives in Catskill, NY.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.josiekrogh.com\/\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/josiekrogh\/?hl=en\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/josiekrogh\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/author\/josie-krogh\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Meet The Man Behind The Inn at Little Washington's Viral Cow Cheese Cart - culture: the word on cheese","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/meet-the-man-behind-the-inn-at-little-washingtons-viral-cow-cheese-cart\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Meet The Man Behind The Inn at Little Washington's Viral Cow Cheese Cart","og_description":"A Q & A with Cameron Smith, the Ma\u00edtre du Fromage at the Inn at Little Washington","og_url":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/meet-the-man-behind-the-inn-at-little-washingtons-viral-cow-cheese-cart\/","og_site_name":"culture: the word on cheese","article_published_time":"2024-07-01T15:23:16+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-07-03T20:01:46+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1180,"height":1470,"url":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Screen-Shot-2024-07-01-at-11.20.04-AM.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Alyssa Langer","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Alyssa Langer","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/meet-the-man-behind-the-inn-at-little-washingtons-viral-cow-cheese-cart\/","url":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/meet-the-man-behind-the-inn-at-little-washingtons-viral-cow-cheese-cart\/","name":"Meet The Man Behind The Inn at Little Washington's Viral Cow Cheese Cart - culture: the word on cheese","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/meet-the-man-behind-the-inn-at-little-washingtons-viral-cow-cheese-cart\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/meet-the-man-behind-the-inn-at-little-washingtons-viral-cow-cheese-cart\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Screen-Shot-2024-07-01-at-11.20.04-AM.png","datePublished":"2024-07-01T15:23:16+00:00","dateModified":"2024-07-03T20:01:46+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/#\/schema\/person\/c6f30d34c6f2063310fa149b98046249"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/meet-the-man-behind-the-inn-at-little-washingtons-viral-cow-cheese-cart\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/meet-the-man-behind-the-inn-at-little-washingtons-viral-cow-cheese-cart\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/meet-the-man-behind-the-inn-at-little-washingtons-viral-cow-cheese-cart\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/category\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Meet The Man Behind The Inn at Little Washington’s Viral Cow Cheese Cart"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/#website","url":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/","name":"culture: the word on cheese","description":"Culture, America's magazine for cheese lovers, delivers stories about cheeses, cheesemakers, travel to gorgeous cheese regions, and practical tips on buying, presenting, and cooking with cheese.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/#\/schema\/person\/c6f30d34c6f2063310fa149b98046249","name":"Josie Krogh","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/fc133ec1b3f135a010a6805ffb359752","url":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/josie-150x150.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/josie-150x150.jpg","caption":"Josie Krogh"},"description":"Josie Krogh is culture's Digital Strategy Lead. She earned her master's degree in Agricultural and Applied Economics from The University of Georgia. Josie developed a love of food while working at farmstands in the D.C. area as a young adult, and discovered her love of cheese while living and working on a dairy farm on Martha's Vineyard. Josie currently lives in Catskill, NY.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.josiekrogh.com\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/josiekrogh\/?hl=en","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/josiekrogh\/"],"url":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/author\/josie-krogh\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48040","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/114"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48040"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48040\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48040"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=48040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}