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 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 catering company in 2017.

In November 2018, She was honored to be a part of an all-woman culinary team that created a dining experience for the hallowed James Beard House.

Alice opened Cheesemonster’s first brick and mortar location, Cheesemonster Studio, in 2019, in the Brightwood Park neighborhood of DC. The Studio served as a cheese catering hub, cheese and wine cafe, and cheese and wine education center. After shutting Cheesemonster Studio down due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, Alice reopened the business in June of that same year, pivoting from catering to a retail and virtual class based model.

In spring of 2021, Alice reinvented Cheesemonster as a cheese consultancy and education business. She was thrilled to be able to bring back in-person catering and classes in the winter of 2024, once again returning to the roots of the business and her passion.

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 :)