FireFly Farms Celebrates Maryland Cuisine with the IACP and the Culinary Profession's Finest

BITTINGER, MD. April, 2004 -– FireFly Farms (www.fireflyfarms.com), award-winning producer of artisanal goat cheeses from Maryland's Allegheny Plateau, is pleased to announce its support of the 26th Annual International Association of Culinary Professionals (www.iacp.com) Conference in Baltimore, Maryland. FireFly Farms joins the IACP – and its worldwide membership of nearly 4,000 members engaged in the areas of culinary education, communication, and preparation – in welcoming this year's conference attendees and celebrating Maryland's fine culinary tradition.

FireFly Farms artisanal cheeses will be showcased at a number events during the IACP Conference, beginning April 20th as part of one of the IACP pre-conference tours and culminating April 24th with the IACP Awards Gala and Dinner.

Partnering with Maryland's oldest wine producer, Boordy Vineyards (www.boordy.com), FireFly Farm's cheeses have been paired with a selection of Boordy's wines for a wine & cheese tasting. The tasting, held at Boordy Vineyards, is the final stop of the IACP's "A Day in Maryland's Historic Hunt Country" tour. "We are so pleased to partner with such an exceptional Maryland wine producer," said Mike Koch of FireFly Farms, "our cheeses pair beautifully with the Boordy wines – together, we're certain to reinforce Maryland's place on the culinary map."

FireFly Farms is proud to join IACP President, Martha Johnston, at the invitation-only President's Reception for conference sponsors, as well as international, national, and local press. For the reception, Galen Sampson – Culinary Director at Baltimore's famed Harbor Court Hotel (www.harborcourt.com) – has designed a menu featuring the best of Maryland products including all four of FireFly Farms artisanal cheeses: Allegheny Chevrè™, MountainTop Bleu™, Merry Goat Round™, and Bûche Noir™. FireFly's cheeses will be featured in Galen's menu which includes Fresh Goat Cheese and Spinach Tartlette and Aged Goat Cheese with Dried Cherry Chutney.

Finally, FireFly Farm's head cheese maker and IACP member, Pablo Solanet, CCP, is among the nine local chefs selected to design the menu at the IACP Awards Gala and Dinner. Pablo's contribution – Maryland Crab, Fennel, and Chevrè Tart – will be served as a first course at the dinner and features FireFly Farm's Allegheny Chevrè. "It's a big honor to contribute one of my original FireFly Farm's recipes for the dinner," Pablo noted, "and working with such a talented group of chefs was terrific fun."

About FireFly's Artisanal Goat Cheeses:
Allegheny Chèvre is a traditional fresh goat cheese with a clean taste and a spreadable texture. The richness of this chèvre is due to FireFly's Nubian goatherd and the rich butterfat quality of their milk. It's perfect at any time of the day, eaten alone or used in finer cuisines.

MountainTop Bleu, 2002 First Place Winner in the American Cheese Society Judging, is a surface-ripened blue-mold goat cheese. It takes its pyramidal shape from Valencay molds imported from France. Delicate blue-veining run through the cheese and blue and white-bloomed molds cover its surface. Aged five to eight weeks, its creamy texture is perfectly balanced with its piquant flavor.

Merry Goat Round, 2002 Third Place Winner in the American Cheese Society Judging, is FireFly's playful approach to goat's milk brie. While it resembles that cheese in shape, its texture is slightly firmer and its taste is reminiscent of a young cheddar. Aged five to eight weeks, it's a delightful addition to any menu and melt beautifully.

Bûche Noir is FireFly's own black log. It is a sophisticated chèvre log coated in vegetable ash with a white-bloomed rind. Aged for several weeks to mature its flavor and soften its body, this cheese is certain to please the most discerning of palates.

About FireFlyFarms:
Established in 2000, FireFlyFarms is dedicated to the art of cheese making.     FireFly Farm's artisanal goat cheeses are made according to time-honored tradition – they are produced and ripened with handmade care. We take special care to ensure the purity, quality, and clean flavor of our milk. Our aged cheeses are ripened naturally in a specially constructed aging room – we shun short cuts and artificial techniques aimed at increasing yield or shelf life at the expense of quality. At FireFly, we believe in the interdependence of people with one another and with our environment, and we are committed to caring for the land and protecting biodiversity for today's communities and future generations.




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