AUSTIN, Texas: Whole Foods Market has received a unique birthday gift to share with shoppers – two award-winning artisan cheesemakers from California, Cypress Grove and Cowgirl Creamery, have partnered with the company to create cheeses honoring its 30th birthday.

"These are two long term partners who started as local vendors in our Northern California stores and have grown with us. Whole Foods Market is celebrating these amazing artisan cheesemakers just as much as they are honoring our 30th birthday," said Cathy Strange, Whole Foods Market global cheese buyer.

Cowgirl Creamery's Buckaroo is a versatile washed-rind cow's milk cheese aged at least 60 days and made from organic milk from nearby Straus Family Creamery. Buckaroo, found solely at Whole Foods Market, is creamy with fruity and savory components and is perfect in a grilled cheese sandwich or over shaved vegetables like this recipe: wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/2744. To watch Strange and co-CEO Walter Robb making Buckaroo at the creamery, visit youtube.com/watch?v=Wqg-qwAfHEU.

"Cheese lovers are in for a treat with Buckaroo, which is a very different style than we normally produce. Our idea was to create a small production organic cheese in a great price range that you could either use in cooking or as a table cheese," said Peggy Smith, Cowgirl Creamery co-founder. "We are thrilled to help Whole Foods Market celebrate its 30th with a supple-textured, floral and flavorful gift."

Cypress Grove's Lil' Ziggy is inspired by ancient ziggurats, which were pyramidal structures with flat tops designed to provide a structure between heaven and earth. A mixed mold, soft-ripened goat's milk pyramid cheese made exclusively for Whole Foods Market, Lil' Ziggy is created from a new proprietary blend of cultures. The cheese is bright and complex with overtones of fresh cream and pairs well with a dark wheat beer or Sauvignon Blanc.

"Cypress Grove began as a farmstead cheesemaker just a few years after Whole Foods Market. While we have not grown as fast, we have grown side-by-side with similar missions," said Mary Keehn, Cypress Grove founder and master cheesemaker. "I am extremely proud to be able to create something special for our friends at Whole Foods Market. The ziggurat's purpose is to bring the temple closer to the heavens, and that's what we hope this cheese will do."

SOURCE Whole Foods Market