The custom board, which spanned 35 feet long and 7 feet wide, was adorned with 4,437 pounds and 145 different varieties, types, and styles of Wisconsin's unique specialty and artisan cheeses. The grand centerpiece of this display was a 2,000 pound mammoth cheddar wheel from Henning's Wisconsin Cheese.
“We wanted to showcase the amazing breadth of the award-winning cheeses in Wisconsin and we thought – what better way to do that than to create the world's largest cheeseboard,” says Suzanne Fanning, Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin VP of Marketing Communications. “Wisconsin's licensed cheesemakers put the art in artisan, drawing from their rich European heritage, cheese making traditions, and impressive innovations, and we're thrilled to share their masterful creations with the world in a unique and fun way.”
After being judged by Guinness officials and witnessed by a crowd of over 45,000, the cheese display was enjoyed by attendees. The first 2,000 people in line received a curated cheese plate to-go with no cheese going to waste. Spectators entered a raffle to win full wheels of cheese with 100% of the proceeds going to the Great American Milk Drive and the remaining cheese being donated to the Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin, both benefiting families in need.
Better Block Foundation, a nonprofit that uses urban design to foster community, custom made the gigantic cheeseboard using CNC technology – a computerized process that’s a cross between woodcutting and 3-D printing.
