Getting to Know Cabot Creamery Cooperative with Chef Trevor
Chef Trevor recently welcomed Cabot Creamery Cooperative to the Dennis test kitchen for an engaging discussion about quality dairy, sustainable farming, and award-winning cheese.
When it comes to understanding what makes Cabot products exceptional, there’s no better source than the people behind them. Chef Trevor sat down with two key representatives who bring unique perspectives to the story of this century-old cooperative:
Meet the Cabot Team
Craig Gile, National Food Service Sales Director at Cabot Creamery, brings 22 years of experience with the cooperative. His diverse background includes roles in R&D and as a professional cheese grader (or as he clarifies, “not grating cheese like a grater, but a cheese taster”), giving him unique insights into Cabot’s quality standards and product development.
Jenni Tilton-Flood, represents the farmer side of the equation as a first-generation dairy farmer who married into a three-generation family farm. Her operation produces an impressive 18,000 gallons of milk daily and is one of approximately 425 dairy farms that make up the Cabot Creamery Cooperative across New England and New York.
Watch Video Version Get the Podcast
The Cabot Story: A Century of Cooperation
Cabot’s story began over 100 years ago when a group of farmers decided they would be “stronger together.” As Jenny explains, “Part of the price of being a member of that co-op in 1919 outside of Cabot Village was providing a certain amount of wood to help keep the plant warm and energy flowing.”
From these humble beginnings, the cooperative has grown substantially, now including around 425 dairy farms throughout the New England and New York region. In Maine alone, one-third of the state’s dairy farmers are Cabot Creamery Cooperative owners.
Jenni’s own farm has a history nearly as long as Cabot itself, producing milk since 1927 when her husband’s grandfather, at just 14 years old, “decided that’s what he was gonna do with his time—he was gonna stay on the farm and milk the cows and deliver the cream to the plants every day before school.”
Today, her third-generation family farm supports 15 family members across six households and employs a team of 48 people—just one example of the diverse operations that make up the Cabot cooperative.
Quality Standards and Sustainability Commitment
When asked about the standards Cabot expects from their farmers, Jenny highlighted several key areas:
- Third-party verifications including the FARM program (Farmers Assuring Responsible Management)
- Multiple focus areas including workplace practices, environmental stewardship, antibiotic stewardship, biosecurity, and animal welfare
- Science-based standards ensuring practices benefit not just consumers but also soil health, air quality, and cow well-being
- Sustainability initiatives led by farmers through their Sustainable Farms Committee and supported by Cabot’s staff “Green Team”
“We have to make sure that we pay attention to what a cow needs, not what we as humans need,” Jenni emphasized, underscoring the science-based approach to animal care.
She also pointed to the cooperative’s broader commitment to community: “What you’re gonna find is those people that work on that farm have a commitment to the community, whether they are a volunteer firefighter, whether they’re on the planning board, whether they’re on the school board… that has a lot to do with just a general commitment to the triple bottom line of sustainability: economy, environment, and community.”
Staying at the Forefront of Food Service
Craig shared insights on how Cabot maintains its position as a leader in the food service industry:
“One of the things that people know Cabot for are big flavors,” Craig explained. “What makes my job a lot easier is working for farmers that keep high quality milk—you cannot make good dairy products without high quality milk.”
He emphasized the importance of consistent quality and memorable flavors: “We want our cheese to be really sharp, really dynamic… we want our sour cream to have an extremely clean flavor with a nice buttery richness… we want our yogurts to be memorable, sweet, and smooth in your mouth.”
This dedication to quality is reinforced by Cabot’s employee retention strategy. “We do a lot on our end to make sure that we keep long-term talent around,” Craig noted. Many of their cheesemakers and cultured product makers have been with the company for decades, bringing invaluable experience to the production process.
Jenni added that as farmer-owners, they continually invest in improving operations at every level—from farm efficiency to plant automation—to ensure quality throughout the entire value chain. This includes innovative sustainability efforts like using renewable energy from a family farm’s digester to power their butter plant in Springfield.
Award-Winning Products
When Chef Trevor asked why chefs should choose Cabot, Jenny emphasized, “It’s good food from a good place. You’re talking about a local food from a local farm.”
Craig highlighted how Cabot’s strategic placement of multiple production facilities across New England and New York gives them a crucial advantage: “When you have somebody like Jenny making high-quality milk, you’re on a timer instantly. You’ve got to get that to the factory and start producing your product if you want to have really fresh product.”
He also explained their rigorous quality control process: “Once the cheese is made and it’s sitting in warehouses for months on end, it’s not just hanging out there collecting dust. We are out there as cheese graders every three to four months evaluating that cheese, keeping track of all these notes, figuring out exactly what SKU that’s gonna work for… As a chef, it’s not just the flavor we’re trying to perfect—it’s making sure it’s gonna shred well for you, slice well for you.”
This attention to detail has earned Cabot recognition as “World’s Best” in numerous cheese competitions.
Why Choose Cabot?
Jenni wrapped up the conversation with a thoughtful reflection on why Cabot products stand out:
“Food is so many things. It’s emotional—you have to feel good about the food. Now you know a farmer and you know Craig—you know two people at Cabot—so that brings it closer to you.
Food also has to taste good, to delight you, and be something that you want on your plate, in your body, on your table. That starts with that whole quality and commitment to taste, and that commitment to continuing our tradition of that real tangy New England bite in everything we do.
And it has to be worth it. When someone chooses Cabot off the shelf or from the catalog, they’re making an investment in our region as a fortified, resilient food system—a community that’s committed to being better than it was yesterday, but always keeping an eye on how we were yesterday. It may be a higher price point, but it’s a better return on investment when you can tackle all three of those components of what food is on your plate.”
A Taste of Tradition, A Vision for the Future
From its neighborly beginnings with farmers contributing firewood to heat the original factory, to today’s award-winning products found in kitchens nationwide, Cabot Creamery Cooperative demonstrates the power of collaboration and commitment to quality.
What stands out in this conversation with Craig and Jenni is not just their pride in Cabot’s products, but their holistic view of what makes food truly exceptional. The cooperative’s emphasis on sustainable farming practices, community involvement, and employee retention creates a foundation that results in those distinctive flavors that chefs and consumers have come to love.
For culinary professionals seeking the finest ingredients, Cabot offers more than just premium dairy products—it provides a connection to a century-old tradition of craftsmanship, a network of dedicated family farms across New England and New York, and the satisfaction of supporting a business model where quality and sustainability go hand in hand.
As food service continues to evolve, Cabot’s blend of time-honored techniques and forward-thinking practices ensures they’ll remain at the forefront of the industry for generations to come.
Video Version
This interview has been edited for clarity and length while preserving the authentic voices of Craig Gile, Jenni Tilton-Flood, and their passion for Cabot Creamery Cooperative.