Cheese Artist to Chop the Pig Using 75 Pounds of Cheddar

It probably doesn't get any cheesier than this: Piggly Wiggly in Saukville will hold a 3-hour event on June 8 during which a 75-pound cheddar statue of the store's mascot will be carved.

Troy Landwehr has been carving cheese statues for 25 years, and said one of his favorite places to practice the hobby is at grocery stores.

"I started carving cheese for Cheese Fest in Little Chute Wisconsin," he said. "They had offered a one hour lesson along with a few other kids, Nancy a professional cheese carver taught us the basics. Over the years I carved more and more for different events but I enjoy carving at grocery stores the best. Seeing the interaction with the people makes carving cheese fun."

Lori Fox, owner of Piggly Wiggly, first saw Landwehr's cheese carving skills at a holiday show where he was carving turkeys.

"We decided to do (bring Troy here) in celebration of June (as) dairy month," she said. "We like to … make (customers) shopping experience a fun experience."

The process starts with drawing a design, then cutting chunks from biggest to smallest as well as a smoothing and detailing process, Landwehr said.

"Each carving has to meet a few engineering requirements so the finished carving doesn't fall over or rip apart," he said. "A young to mild cheddar works the best because of the consistency and density of the cheese. Other cheese is to soft and will droop and other cheese is to hard and you can't get a smooth finish. Cheese like swiss don't carve well with the holes in the product."

Landwehr will be carving from 9 to noon on June 8 at the store, 835 E. Green Bay Ave. The statue will be made from a 75-pound Wisconsin Mammoth Cheddar provided by Henning's Cheese.

What will happen with all that cheese when the period of statue admiration is over?  Fox said the store will eventually slice it up and donate chunks to a food pantry.