Cheese carving has taken Coronado resident Sarah Kaufmann to every destination imaginable.
This year, Kaufmann, who may more prominently be known as the “Cheese Lady,” was invited to carve at the Kentucky Derby in a glass skybox party overlooking the race track with a direct view of the finish line.
Her unique career path stemmed from an innate talent, one she didn’t know she had until her first job out of technical college.
I just drew a lot as a kid, and my whole family are artists.”
-Cheese Lady Sarah Kaufmann
“I never really had art class,” Kaufmann said. “I just drew a lot as a kid, and my whole family are artists. My sister makes jewelry, my other sister is a florist and a party planner. My other sister is a master gardener and my brothers are welders.”
Junior college to American Dairy Assoc.
After her crafty upbringing in Manitowoc, Wisc. with virtually no organized art classes, Kaufmann attended Madison Area Technical College and graduated with an Associate’s degree in Commercial Art.
From there, she got a job at the American Dairy Association of Wisconsin working in design, advertising, illustration and visual communication.
Cheese carving had yet to cross her mind.
In 1981, while creating a huge slideshow about the art of cheese-making and being at a loss for what to use as the cover slide, Kaufmann got creative.
She carved the cover slide out of cheese and began moonlighting a few years after that.
Breaking world records
As one of the country’s only cheese carvers, Kaufmann’s story is well-known, and her cheese artwork is even more so.
She has won two Guinness World Records, breaking her own first record by carving a 4,000-pound cheddar wheel into a 3,121-pound final product.
And she only uses a small, hand-held tool to craft thousand pound cheese blocks into masterpieces.
She works hard, attesting to times she has carved all day long at the Indiana State Fair and then napped for a few hours on a sleeping bag next to her product, only to begin carving again the next day.
Kaufmann said she loves carving animals based on reality and then charming them up by giving them an irresistible personality.
Kaufmann has also sculpted many football team mascots and countless NFL and college official-sized cheese footballs, which have produced tears from devoted fans.
I can make grown men cry.”
-Sarah Kaufmann.
“I can make grown men cry,” Kaufmann said.
Her work has taken her everywhere—the Superbowl, Disneyland, Martha Stewart’s show with Snoop Dog, Harry Connick Jr. ‘s show and to Maui for the PGA golf tournament last January.
“I’ve had great jobs,” Kaufmann said. “You can’t work enough because they’re such neat projects.”
Most recent project: The Kentucky Derby
Most recently, Kaufmann was invited to carve at the Kentucky Derby.
Working with the private chefs, Kaufmann carved in the “Mansion” overlooking breathtaking and streamlined views of the race.
She carved six pieces ahead of time and four on-site, ranging from the Kentucky Oaks logo to a headshot of Secretariat.
Kaufmann has been invited for the 150th anniversary of the Kentucky Derby next year.
From Wisconsin to Coronado
Kaufmann came to San Diego in 2004 for the home porting of the Ronald Reagan Aircraft Carrier, in which she did a cheese carving on the base.
On the plane ride here, she ended up sitting next to Coronado resident Bill Parry, the man whom she would eventually marry.
She said she moved to Coronado in 2008.
Kaufmann sources a lot of her cheese from Boney’s Bayside Market in Coronado, but does most of her carving out of state.
“I’ve been doing this for 25 years,” Kaufmann said. “I’m happy to do it and I love it. I can do this until I drop dead in the harness. How can you say no to going to Maui? How can you say no to going to the derby?”
Visit https://sarahcheeselady.com/ to check out more of Kaufmann’s work.
