SCHUMER REVEALS COOPERSTOWN CHEESE TO BE SERVED AT THE PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURAL LUNCHEON – PRESIDENT WILL GET A TASTE OF THE SOUTHERN TIER
Schumer, Chairman of the Inaugural Ceremonies, Reveals the Selection of Cooperstown Cheese to Be Served at Inaugural Luncheon Following Swearing-in of President and Vice President
President, Vice President, House & Senate Leaders, Cabinet Members and Supreme Court Will All Taste Otsego County’s Finest at Inaugural Ceremonies
Schumer: Cooperstown Cheese Will Be a Grand Slam at the 2013 Inauguration
Last week, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer, Chairman of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC), announced that Cooperstown Cheese Company products will be served at the 2013 Presidential Inaugural Luncheon. Cooperstown Cheese Company, in Otsego County, will provide two different chesses, their Jersey Girl Colby and their award-winning Toma Celena, both of which will be served at the Presidential Inaugural Luncheon. The cheese will be used in the dessert, featuring a Hudson Valley apple pie with sour cream ice cream, aged cheddar cheese and honey.
“Using the great products from Cooperstown Cheese Company at the Inaugural Luncheon highlights the strength of the dairy industry of New York,” Schumer said. “President Obama, Vice President Biden, members of Congress, the Supreme Court, and the Cabinet will all get a taste of the delicious cheeses New York State can produce. Cooperstown may be better known for the Baseball Hall of Fame, but I can promise this cheese is going to be a home run.”
“We are really very excited and truly honored to have so many exalted people, namely our President, try our cheese,” said Sharon Tomaselli, co- founder of Cooperstown Cheese.
Cooperstown Cheese was founded five years ago when two scientists, Sharon Tomaselli and Bob Sweitzer, left their positions in management in the paper industry to pursue the very exciting endeavor of cheese making. They purchased a facility in Milford, NY that had been previously built for cheese making, but never reached utilization until they brought their aspirations there. On the first day of production, they came up with the renowned Toma Celena and never looked back. For the past five years they have produced a wide variety of cheeses that highlight the strength of New York’s dairy industry.
In addition to Jersey Girl Colby and Toma Celena cheeses, the luncheon menu will feature a number of New York products, including the third course, a Hudson Valley apple pie with sour cream ice cream, aged cheddar cheese, and honey. The apples are from Golden Harvest Orchards in Valatie, Columbia County. The honey will come from Seaway Trail Honey in Rochester. Two of the wines to be served along the first and second course also hail from New York. Three vineyards in the Finger Lakes Region, Anthony Road Winery, Fox Run Vineyards, and Red Newt Cellars, have collaborated to produce a Tierce 2010 Finger Lakes Dry Riesling. A 2009 merlot from Bedell Cellars, from the North Fork of Long Island, will be served alongside the second course.
The luncheon menu reflects Schumer’s choice of a theme for the 57th Inaugural Ceremonies. “Faith in America’s Future” commemorates the United States’ perseverance and unity and marks the sesquicentennial year of the placement of the Statue of Freedom atop the new Capitol Dome in 1863. When the Civil War threatened to bring construction of the Dome to a halt, workers pressed onward, even without pay, until Congress approved additional funding to complete the Dome that would become a symbol of unity and democracy to the entire world. The menu features American agricultural products that have long been popular in our cuisine, but with an added modern touch. It is a celebration of American farms and agriculture, with a nod to their bright future and continued place in our culture.
The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC) is responsible for the oversight and planning of the Presidential Inauguration and related ceremonies on the U.S. Capitol grounds.
The Joint Committee was authorized by S. Con. Res. 35, which passed the Senate on March 1, 2012, and the House on March 5th. Members of JCCIC are appointed by the Vice President and the Speaker of the House. In accordance with tradition, the Senate representatives on JCCIC are Majority Leader Harry Reid, Rules Committee Chairman Charles E. Schumer, and Rules Committee Ranking Member Lamar Alexander. The House members of JCCIC are Speaker John A. Boehner, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi.
S. Con. Res. 35 established the date of the 2013 Inauguration as Monday, January 21, 2013, since January 20, 2013 falls on a Sunday. This is the seventh time in U.S. history that the constitutionally mandated Inauguration date has fallen on a Sunday. The last time was for President Ronald Reagan’s second Inauguration in 1985. When this occurs, the public ceremonies traditionally are held on Monday.
In addition, January 21, 2013 is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. It will be the second time that this federal holiday has coincided with a Presidential Inauguration. The first was President Bill Clinton’s second Inauguration in 1997.
You can follow the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies on our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/#!/JCCIC and on Twitter at @jccic2013.