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 Room
and board. That's all Allison Hooper
was looking for when, as an American college student in France in
the late '70s, she began writing letters to organic farmers, asking
if they could use a little help. Never mind that she had no farm
experience. She'd work hard and learn quickly – that was her
offer. A family in Brittany answered her letter, inviting her to
join them on their farm and at their table. Allison was soon enjoying
not only the satisfaction of working the land, but a full-fledged
education in the European tradition of artisanal cheesemaking.
On a path through the gentle French countryside, Allison had found
her calling. That path was about to cross with another. Bob
Reese was in a bind. As marketing director of the Vermont
Department of Agriculture in the early '80s, he was organizing a
special state dinner. The details were coming together, save one.
The French chef needed goat cheese – scarce in Vermont at
the time. Bob knew just the person to call, a state dairy lab technician
who’d spent some time in France. Allison Hooper. She could
make chèvre, couldn’t she? Indeed she could. And indeed
she did. Allison's chèvre was the buzz of the banquet. By
the time the tables were cleared, she and Bob were planning a cheesemaking
partnership.
 Launched
in 1984, Vermont Butter & Cheese Company still follows the path
Bob and Allison took years ago – crafting artisanal dairy
products in the European style through a vital link with local farms.
Based in the town of Websterville, the company supports a network
of more than 20 family farms, providing milk meeting the highest
standards of purity. While Vermont Butter & Cheese Company has
earned worldwide recognition, the company is proudest of its contribution
to the health of local agriculture. After all, as Allison learned
on a family farm in France, quality originates at the source –
with the people who work the land and the pride they take in the
yield.
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