Great American Cheese Collection

Chicago Tribune, Good Eating Section
Wednesday, November 10, 2004

The Good Eating Awards

Each year, Good Eating honors those people in the food and beverage industries who are making a difference in Chicago through their commitment, quality, passion and vision. These experts have enhanced the food scene in Chicago with their many accomplishments.

This is the fifth anniversary of the awards. Winners come from many parts of the industry, including chefs, restaurateurs, farmers, producers, community workers, retailers, wholesalers and educators. Nominations are made by readers and Good Eating staff members; staff members choose the final winners.

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Giles Schnierle

Owner, Great American Cheese Collection

A cheery and loquacious advocate for American artisan cheesemakers, Schnierle of the Great American Cheese Collection brings small-scale production cheese to restaurants, retail outlets and farmers markets throughout Chicago.

He represents 68 cheesemakers as distributor, broker, agent, representative and marketing firm. Schnierle's bueiness acumen and compassionate concern give smaller cheesemakers the ability to concentrate on what they do best.

"These cheesemakers need someone who understand their problems," Schnierle said.

"They have a vision, and they're trying to get home to it, but they're swimming upstream" against a distribution system that favors conglomerates.

Schnierle's firm is one of the largest sources of artisanal cheeses in this country. He sells more than 325 kinds of cheese made in 25 states; most go to restaurants.

A Chicago native, Schnierle was a self-taught chef before he began a successful catering business. You'll find Schnierle at the Evanston farmers market on Saturdays and the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago (CHIC) farmers market on Sundays.