Jeffrey Roberts

A resident of Montpelier, Vermont, Jeff Roberts is president of Cow Creek Creative Ventures, which is dedicated to developing solutions in the areas of agriculture and food policy, conservation, the environment, and community economic development.He was cofounder and principal consultant at the Vermont Institute for Artisan Cheese at the University of Vermont. His book The Atlas of American Artisan Cheese (Chelsea Green, 2007) was the first comprehensive survey of small-scale producers. He is a member of Guilde Internationale des Fromagers. He teaches the history and culture of food at the New England Culinary Institute, is a visiting professor at the University of Gastronomic Science, provides consulting services to a wide array of small-scale food producers, and is a frequent speaker in Europe and the United States on artisan food, sustainable agriculture, and the working landscape. His new book, Salted and Cured (Chelsea Green, 2017), examines the history and culture aspects of dry-cured meat from 1630 to the present.

During his career, Jeff was a meteorologist, museum curator and historian, and director of development at the Morris Arboretum in Philadelphia. From 1987–1994, he was associate dean at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. From 1995–1998, he was vice president of external affairs at the Vermont Land Trust.

For more than a decade, Jeff was active in Slow Food International and USA, including service as a director and treasurer of the national board. Locally he served as a director of the Central Vermont Community Land Trust, Vermont Arts Council, and Vermont Fresh Network.