Cheesemonster
CHEESEMONSTER
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About

Cheesemonster Studio is a woman-owned, full service cheese catering company, a space for specialty cheese and wine classes and a private event venue located in Brightwood, DC. The Studio is regularly open on Thursday-Saturday evenings for wine and cheese service featuring a carefully curated selection of seasonal offerings for our friends and neighbors to enjoy. Our Studio is also a hub for local cheesemongers and beverage professionals to be able to deep dive into specific aspects of the industry they feel passionately about and share with our customers.  

About

Cheesemonster is an artisanal-cheese centered business focused on cheese education, cheese display building, shop and restaurant consulting, social media collaborations, and occasional cheese writing and recipe development. Cheesemonster, founded and operated by Alice Bergen Phillips, has specialized in connecting customers with artisanal cheese and accompaniments made by incredible producers since 2017.

Alice Bergen Phillips

Owner, Founder, Head Cheesemonger

Alice Bergen Phillips is a cheesemonger in the Washington, D.C. area. Originally hailing from Chicago, Alice grew up in a food-loving home. Some of her fondest childhood memories took place on her maternal family’s farm in northern England, where she milked goats and gathered eggs with her grandparents.

After graduating Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, Alice moved to Washington, DC to work in the international development world. After a side job at a coffee shop introduced her to the field of specialty food, Alice eventually found her way into cheese. Working at cheese counters since 2012, Alice has had to pull on complex knowledge of history, culture, science, artistry and math, developed over her years in food service and centered on her childhood experiences with food.

Her broad-ranging cheese knowledge was put to the test when she competed in the 2016 Cheesemonger Invitational – an all-day event comprised of various tests and challenges designed to try even the most seasoned cheese professional. She was a competition finalist, one of the proudest moments of her career to date.

After working as the head cheesemonger at Via Umbria, an Italian specialty food store in Georgetown, Alice started Cheesemonster as a mobile cheese education and cheese catering business in 2017. Over the years she has had the opportunity to teach cheese classes at the Smithsonian, create cheese displays for the hallowed James Beard House in New York City, be featured in the Washington Post, and bring cheese joy to thousands of people throughout the DC area and beyond.

Alice delights in being a cheese confidant for her customers, pushing herself to stay on top of a market that is constantly changing and evolving. Her favorite cheese is currently Colston Bassett Stilton. But honestly, it depends on the day :)