In Lilith Spencer’s Hardwick household, it’s hard to say who loves cheese more: 37-year-old Spencer, who has worked in cheese since college, or Greta, the miniature dachshund.
Spencer is currently the cheesemaker responsible for aging Jasper Hill Farm’s washed-rind cheeses, including Winnimere, the American Cheese Society 2026 Best of Show winner. But the tiny, Holstein-splotched dog has her own Jasper Hill favorites. “She loves Willoughby and Whitney,” Spencer said. “She will smell it across the house. She hears me opening the wrapper, and she’ll come downstairs.”
Spencer is one of dozens of passionate cheese lovers featured in a new documentary, The Big Cheese. (Greta, sadly, does not appear.) The movie follows a diverse group of U.S. cheesemongers as they dare to compete against the world’s top cheese experts in the Mondial du Fromage in France. It was released on major streaming platforms September 1 and will be screened on Saturday, September 19, at Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center in Burlington.
The evening includes a fondue reception and a question-and-answer session with Spencer and the documentary’s central character, Adam “Mister Moo” Moskowitz, a third-generation cheese importer, who founded the U.S. Cheesemonger Invitational. Greensboro’s Jasper Hill Farm is hosting the screening event as part of this year’s Vermont Cheese Week, which includes seven days of tastings, tours, restaurant specials and other public events from Brattleboro to Burlington, all leading up to the sold-out 14th Annual Vermont Cheesemakers Festival in Shelburne on September 20.
Spencer, who uses they/them pronouns, moved to Vermont to work at Jasper Hill Farm in 2018 and has participated in competitive cheesemongering as a winning contestant, judge and coach for more than 15 years. They won a 2025 Daphne Zepos Teaching Endowment, a prestigious honor in the world of cheese, with which they are studying the science and culture of washed-rind cheese brines around the world.
Seven Days chatted with Spencer about the comfort of melted cheese for dinner, the harm Velveeta has done to the reputation of American ’mongers — while still having its own value — and the cheese musical they’re writing.
How did you become a cheese champion?
I took a college course in nutritional anthropology, connecting science and history and people. The professor said, “Pick your favorite food. You’re going to write an anthropological research paper and a scientific research paper about a nutritional aspect.”
I picked cheese, because it’s always been my favorite food. I was pretty picky as a child. One of our easy, go-to dinners was fondue, those prepackaged kits made with real Gruyère. My mom would be like, “Cool, we’re just gonna eat melted cheese for dinner.”
I quickly realized that cheese was a huge topic that I could spend the rest of my life studying. That opened the gates for me.
When I was in college, a new co-op opened, and they were looking for someone to help run the cheese department. I started working at the cheese counter and fell in love with talking to people about cheese, cutting it nicely, taking care of it.
I heard about the Cheesemonger Invitational, the very first one in 2010. And my brain just went like, How do I do that? I’m an overachiever with imposter syndrome, so I feel the need to prove myself a lot. I remember thinking, Wow, you can win at cheese. Who knew?
Why is it important that American cheesemongers win the Mondial du Fromage?
Americans historically have been perceived as industrial, soulless cheese producers. One of the greatest food innovations that our country has made was Velveeta. It’s incredible that we figured out how to make something perishable nonperishable, something affordable that everyone could buy and eat. There’s a time and a place for every cheese and, in my heart, for Velveeta as well: in a queso. One can of RO*TEL [diced tomatoes and green chilis], half a block of Velveeta, and you’re good to go.
But internationally, that’s not an amazing reputation when you’re looking at these traditional, old-school, hands-on cheesemakers, making cheeses that have been made for hundreds, maybe thousands, of years. Despite the fact that we have so many incredible artisan cheese producers here that are doing it “the European way,” [Europeans] still don’t believe it. They don’t think we make real cheese, so there’s no way we could be good cheesemongers.
It’s less about winning and more about showing the world that we do know what we’re talking about. I’m hoping that seeing how good we can be as ’mongers also opens up people’s minds to what we’re selling.
You’ve helped produce some Jasper Hill Farm music video parodies. You’re aiming to write and stage a full-length cheese musical, right?
I studied music composition in college, too, and I’ve been joking about writing a cheese musical for years. Then [The Big Cheese] was getting made, and I was like, I think it’s story time. I think people are ready for this.
The aim is to teach the audience some cool basics about cheese, but, secretly, it’s actually about mental health stuff and the beauty of our community.
Basically, cheese serves as an excellent metaphor for the human condition: Every wheel is a little different. Sometimes it’s ugly before it’s pretty. Different cheeses take different amounts of time to become their best selves. Sometimes, it’s about having the right pairings.
It will be all-original music. So far, there’s kind of a disco-vibe song, a couple really theatrical ballads, and I’m planning a Muppet microbe dream sequence. ➆
This interview was edited for clarity and length.
The original print version of this article was headlined “Cheese Champion | Three questions for Jasper Hill Farm’s Lilith Spencer, featured in the documentary”
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