After a long, hot, summer off, we can’t wait to see everyone at the first gathering of the 2023/2024 meeting season! This year, we’re kicking things off with a legend-dairy affair: a special wine & cheese tasting presented by Dairy Council of Nevada.
We’ll kick off the educational portion of our meeting with some a-moosing facts about dairy.
According to the USDA Economic Research Service, milk consumption per capita has been on the decline for the past seven decades. This is likely due to generational differences in the consumption of milk. Older generations grew up with milk, but as more products are introduced to the market, new generations are drinking less and less milk.
However, Milk is filled with 8g of protein and 13 essential nutrients that help our bodies function properly such as repairing muscle tissue, maintaining strong bones and teeth, and supporting a healthy immune system. Want to know more? Sip on 13 Ways Milk Can Help Your Body.
The USDA furthers “The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020–2025, recommend individuals consume 2- to 3 cup-equivalents of dairy products per day depending on their age, gender, and level of physical activity … Despite Government and industry efforts, about 90 percent of the U.S. population does not meet the Dietary Guidelines’ dairy recommendations. Although U.S. per capita cheese and yogurt consumption has more than tripled since 1970.”
As chefs, we are not here to make overall dietary choices for customers, we simply want to provide high-quality dishes meant to be enjoyed. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t be a part of the solution by including more nutritious options. The person who does the cooking controls the ingredients, and as chefs, we have a responsibility to use better ingredients in our recipes. We hold the power and can choose more healthful ingredients that help our guests meet dietary guidelines.
So how do we do that? Milk by itself isn’t exactly a popular beverage in restaurants, but there are plenty of dairy-based products that can be incorporated. One answer lies in Cheese. Despite the decrease in overall dairy consumption, the USDA also states that consumption of cheese and yogurt has tripled since the 1970’s. And who doesn’t love a good Brie?
We hope you will join us on September 13 for this educational meeting mixer with a fun, interactive, and delicious cheese & wine tasting. We promise it will be legend-dairy!