Mars Cheese Castle stocks up on the latest award-winning cheeses

KENOSHA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The American Cheese Society Awards is one of the most prestigious competitions for cheese makers. Wisconsin cheese makers are always on the list of winners. You can get your hands on many of the winning cheeses right in Kenosha at Mars Cheese Castle.

"At any one given time we'll carry between 500 and 1000 different cheeses," said Michael Ventura, an owner and the general manager of Mars.

From the finest brie cheese made in France to a Raclette cheese aged in Oak Creek.

Alpinage, a boyfriend/girlfriend duo from Oak Creek won gold at the 2023 American Cheese Society Awards. Nearly 100 medals went to Wisconsin cheese makers.

It's the cheese monger's job to seek out the best, highly sought after cheeses to fill the shelves and kitchen at Mars Cheese Castle.

"You never know who's going to take that first, second or third prize, and of course we want to get the winners," said Ventura. "So that's one of our cheese monger's jobs, to place that order really early as soon as that cheese is announced, because we want to get a lot of that cheese in here."

Mars Cheese Castle has more than a cheese shop. It's also a bakery, a kitchen, a tavern and a place to find other gourmet items. They use the finest cheeses in all of their foods.

"So, our Rueben for example, instead of just using a generic Swiss, we use a higher-grade Swiss and every part of that sandwich is an upgraded version," said Ventura.

Here are some cheese recipes you can make at home using award winning cheeses.