City slickers at Jasper Hill Farm. Photo: Dimitri Saad

The cows knew something good was going on. There they were, chewing their cud and jamming out to R&B. One was visibly swaying to the beat.

The beasts behind a few of the brilliant cheeses at Vermont's family-owned Jasper Hill Farm and its extraordinary, 22,000-square-foot cheese-aging cave, built right into the earth (one of only two like it in the nation), are up on their current pop for two reasons. As sales and outreach specialist Zoe Brickley told a group of self-proclaimed dairy enthusiasts, it's both because "the barn boys like it" and because the cows do: "If cows are stressed out, their production goes down. Happy, contented cows are best for milk quality."

Jasper Hill seems intent upon making its fellow cheesemakers happy and contented too, by providing aging facilities for 10 to 12 farmers throughout New England. With their enormous cave, they have recreated an atmosphere that has been "historically used" to create cheese, which is a boon for many local cheesemakers, who traditionally had to rely essentially upon tricked-out refrigerators. Owned by two couples (brothers Mateo and Andy Kehler), Jasper Hill is helping keep artisanal cheese alive in New England, and sustaining some of the top fromagers in the country.

After the jump, how they do it and a look at the caves and aging process.

According to the popular blog TV Squad, Top Chef has plans embark on a national tour.

The tour will begin June 21, and pass through 20 cities. A few cheftestants will be present in every city, offering cooking demonstrations, food tastings, and tips to their adoring public. Check out the more info from the press release here, plus a schedule of the tour after the jump.

Are you a chocolate lover with nothing to do this weekend? Well, perhaps a chocolate tour would be fun.

The Los Angeles Times Daily Travel Blog brought us a post about chocolate tours in some cities. San Francisco was the first one mentioned, but you can also find tours in Boston, New York, Seattle, and Chicago. Unfortunately, but understandably, the tours are limited to big cities.

If you're going to be in one of these places this weekend, or plan on it in the future, maybe looking into a chocolate tour would be something to think about. I'm going to be in San Francisco this summer, and I'll definitely be on that tour.

TurnHere is a media company that has videos that try to capture the real essence of their subjects, which range from "insider" tours of neighborhoods around the country and the world and tips on activities and restaurants. Basically, they're short films on where to go, what to do and why you would want to do it.

The restaurant and food videos are particularly interesting (of course) because video review/tour of a restaurant can show you so much more than just a photo or written review can. Many of the restaurant videos include interviews with customers, chefs and shop owners. Some of the videos are sponsored and some are not, but even the sponsored ones seem much more "real" than anything you'd see on the Food Network. For a preview, check out a guide to the Gourmet Ghetto in Berkeley, a look at Canter's Deli in Los Angeles and the all-dessert restaurant ChikaLicious in New York.

The New York Times recently featured a story about the tastings and tours offered by several California olive farms. Located mostly around Napa, many of these olive-growing, olive-oil-producing farms allow visitors to check out their facilities and sample what they produce. The article also gives some insight into the blend of old and new technology involved in harvesting olives and creating a variety of nuanced oils. There's also talk of the proper way to taste olive oil, which, if done correctly involves lots of slurping and coughing.

[Photo: Peter DaSilva/NYT]

Kids come up with some interesting ideas. How about a Blueberry Syrup Waffle Popsicle, or a Caramel Apple Carnival Pop? These are two of the winning flavor combinations from last year's Flavorologist contest.

If your son or daughter is between 6 and 12 and has his own ideas about what ice cream should taste like, he or she is eligible to enter this year's Nestle's Flavorologist contest. By submitting an original flavor combination for a frozen popsicle, a flavor name and description of the appearance of the popsicle, along with short "resume" describing their experience playing with foods, they could win a batch of custom popsicles! There are 10 winners and included in each prize package are a $1000 US savings bond and a school ice cream party. One grand prize winner will get a behind the scenes factory tour and an all-expenses paid trip for 4 to California.

It is perhaps every baker's dream to take a tour of the KitchenAid factory, but to do so by invitation is something that most bakers can only dream of. When you are the author of more than one wildly successful cookbook, though, it looks like the company will extend an invitation without even having to be asked. Food blogger, author and chef, the ex-pat American in Paris, David Lebovitz was lucky enough to get just such and invitation. He visited the factory in Greenville, Ohio, took a private tour and put on a demonstration of a few things, including rocky road and ice cream for other visitors. Yes- they do offer tours to non-professionals.

They generously allowed David to take photos along the way, so every photo in his post is an exclusive look inside the factory. He checked out some of the very first stand mixers, the assembly lines and the newest colors, like "Meyer Lemon, Martha Green (named after...), Caviar (black with silver flecks), a cheerful Green Apple, Olive, and colorfully-red Bing Cherry." According to David, each mixer takes one day to assemble and each employee assembles around 90 mixers per day. One of the things that I like about KitchenAid is that, in addition to the high quality of their products, nearly everything they sell is made in the United States, not overseas.

He said that it was one of the most fun tours he's taken, with interesting information and a very helpful staff. Be sure to drop in the next time you're passing near Cincinnati:

The KitchenAid Experience
423 South Broadway
Greenville, Ohio
Tel: 1-888-886-8318

I recently read a story about this man, Mark Dolan, a photojournalism professor at Syracuse University who took leave last year to tour the U.S. and document barbecue throughout the country. Apparently Dolan isn't out to find the best 'cue, just to take pictures and capture the stories of those who've made the original slow food their lives. According to The State, Dolan started in New England last Thanksgiving and plans to work his way through the South to Florida and then across Texas to California. Dolan's site, BBQPilgrim.com, has more background and details about some of his stops so far.

On another barbecue-related note, Paste Magazine ran a short barbecue primer in one of their recent issues. It's probably nothing that an aficionado doesn't already know, but it's worth a read nonetheless.