Kentucky Derby hat features St. Saviour cheese
What’s the first thing you think of when you pick up a block of cheese?
Charcuterie! Sandwich! Grapes! Wine! Hat adornment! — Wait, what?
Unless you’re one of a growing collection of cheese sculptor artists or lucky enough to be schooled in the craft of cheesemaking, odds are your relationship with cheese is one solely of taste and texture. But it turns out there’s yet another purpose for fromage, and we’re totally on board.
Milliner Christine A. Moore, in partnership with Dairy Famers of Wisconsin, released a collection of iconic Kentucky Derby hats this April. Her muse? Award-winning Wisconsin cheeses.
The aptly named Rinds and Roses collection includes nine unique designs featuring: Hoard’s Dairyman St. Saviour (woo, woo!), Marieke® Gouda Foenegreek, Roth Canela, Roelli Cheese Haus Red Rock, Sartori® Merlot BellaVitano®, and Landmark Creamery Herbes de Provence Fontina.
The hats mimic clubhouse-worthy cheese boards: They’re speckled with placebo wedges, rinds, fruit, and flowers. Exclusively made by Moore for Wisconsin Cheese, these hats capture both the essence of the Kentucky Derby and of artisan cheesemakers: that of excellence, originality, and style.
The St. Saviour in Kentucky Oaks hat description reads: “Just as the Kentucky Oaks radiates elegance, so too does this fuchsia and pink hat, inspired by St. Saviour’s refined indulgence. Designed for those who appreciate luxury and craftsmanship, it brings a bold yet graceful presence to any occasion.”
The Kentucky Oaks race precedes the Kentucky Derby by two days and is, alongside the Derby, the oldest continuously contested sporting event in American history. The Oaks is a 1 1/8 mile race for three-year-old thoroughbreds; the Derby, famous for being the “most exciting two minutes in sports” is a 1 ¼ mile race, also for three-year-old filly thoroughbreds.
NHL and NBA playoffs, who? I want to know if Luxor Café and Journalism will maintain their top twenty spots for the May 3rd race. (Those are horse names, by the way, not me narrating my morning gameplan.)
Part of the Kentucky Derby’s appeal is its cultural singularity — more narrowly: its dress code. Attendees’ attires are nearly as intriguing as the equines themselves. (Did we mention these animals are the best of the best?) Show up at Churchill Downs day-of in jeans and a hoodie and you might as well plead lost tourist. (This isn’t a joke — the Derby specifically prohibits denim to be worn anywhere but the infield.)
Its no wonder, then, that milliners such as Moore turn to top-tier artisan foods for inspiration. Feathers are nice, but what’s old is old. Those who opt for a headdress of such exclusive association as Wisconsin cheese are the real, shall we say, cheeseheads. Talk about a conversation starter.
Whether you’re watching from reserved seating, the infield (denim or death), at home, or not at all, be sure to track down your own sample of St. Saviour to mark the occasion. Wear it or don’t — the cheese is just as Guernsey-milk-good either way.