School of Business > UPDATE > Fall 2002 > Article

Business Alum Still Says "Cheese"

Business school alum John Laurin was the cheesemaster of a "battle of the cheeses" between Wisconsin and California this fall.

John Laurin, BBA '49, may live in Santa Rosa, California, but his heart's still in Wisconsin. This fall, Laurin had the honor of serving as "Cheesemaster" for a cheese-tasting contest held as part of the 63rd annual picnic of the Wisconsin Club of Sonoma County (California), a lively group of Wisconsin expatriates.

As cheesemaster, Laurin was in charge of a blind cheese-tasting competition that was held for the first time this year. It pitted the best sharp cheddar Wisconsin could produce against its California counterpart.

According to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, which covered the good-natured battle: "Organizers said the tasting was a response to the California Milk Advisory Board's $30 million-plus-a-year advertising campaign that compares ostensibly happy California cows to their ostensibly unhappy Wisconsin cousins...Wisconsinites at the picnic--many of them California residents for decades--could only scoff, and scoff and scoff."

Laurin said the strength of his taste buds earned him the prestigious post of cheesemaster. To be honest, he was not unbiased, since Laurin, an octogenarian, attributes his longevity to his lifelong Wisconsin cheese consumption. (Laurin spent his career working in Wisconsin and California. He retired from the brokerage firm of Marsh & McLennan in San Francisco in 1985. After three months of retirement, he went back to work for 11 years, before retiring again in 1996.)

"The contest was limited to Wisconsin natives since they have more experienced and discriminating palates than Californians when it comes to cheese," Laurin was quoted as saying in a firmly-tongue-in-cheek press release about the hard-fought competition.

For those who attended, a little bit of Wisconsin was transplanted West. Accordion players strolled throughout the picnic while "On Wisconsin" and "Varsity" were sung in various keys. In addition to the cheese, 360 brats, 114 ears of corn and three kegs of Milwaukee-brewed beer were consumed.

Which cheese won? To no one's surprise, the Wisconsin entry took top prize. "The vote was 115 for Wisconsin to 50 for California. The attorney who counted the votes was surprised it was that close," Laurin recalled. He added, "The California Milk Advisory Board has made known that they will have additional watchers next time." California will have another (slim?) chance to redeem the honor of its cheese next year, when the club hosts another picnic.