One of the University Wisconsin-Madison’s largest student organizations packed a lecture hall in Ingraham with over 200 students in attendance last week. The Badger Cheese Club’s goal is to bring Wisconsin’s cheese culture to their 500 official members.
The club of cheese connoisseurs — established in 2006 — offers its members a smorgasbord of cheese each meeting, educates its members on the differences between all the unique types of cheese made in Wisconsin and builds a strong community among its members with a variety of special events.
“[Badger Cheese Club] is about fostering a community of cheese lovers who don’t care about background or beliefs and instead just bond over a mutual love for cheese,” Cheese Club President and UW-Madison sophomore Max Rosencrans told The Daily Cardinal.
At that packed inaugural meeting, long lines snaked around to the back of the lecture hall, and attendees slowly filed towards the front of the room where a line of folding tables were stationed, heaping high with cheese. Members of the club were asked to take “just” 15 pieces while they waited in line.
While those in the front row got cheese right away, those at the back waited for over an hour.
There was so much cheese leftover several attendees brought home extra bags. While some students left after the cheese buffet, others stayed in the lecture hall to watch videos on cheese factory production and play cheese-themed Kahoots for prizes.
The club’s cheeseheads flocked to Ingraham for different reasons.
“When I was walking out from the club fair, I saw it from the corner of my eye, and I was like wait, what does that mean, ‘Cheese Club?’ I go up and it's exactly what I dreamed — you just go and eat cheese,” UW-Madison freshman Alexander Korff said.
Freshman Noah Thompson said that as a Wisconsin native, he figured there would likely be a Cheese Club at UW-Madison.
“I want to try and get a leadership position in a club here. Might as well be one I’m passionate about like cheese,” Thompson said.
Each year the club hosts the Curd Crawl, where participants visit bars and restaurants around Madison serving cheese curds. The crawl is open to non-club members — participants have to split up in many groups so as not to overwhelm establishments.
Knoelke also said starting this year, the club plans to donate any extra cheese products from their events to those in need in the city of Madison. The club’s all-new executive board also plans to get in contact with local organizations to orchestrate food pantry donations.
Oliver Gerharz is the arts editor and former podcast director for the Daily Cardinal. He is a journalism major and former host of the Cardinal Call. Follow him on Twitter @OliverGerharz.
