After some culture at the Pabst Museum, we drove directly to Foamation, Inc., where we went on a cheesehead factory tour.
Other than expecting it would be a pretty cheesy tour, we didn’t know what to expect. It ended up being a lot of fun. Before the tour, you decide what cheese item you want to make during the tour. Travis selected a cheesehead cowboy hat (figuring he lives in Texas and all) and Doug selected a Christmas Tree topper (Doug planned for packing).
As the tour starts, you don an apron and a cheesehead visor. Our “Commander in Cheese”, Chris swears us in (we promise to be safe and at least pretend to laugh at all the cheese puns). She then starts telling us the history of the building, as well as how the original cheesehead was invented by the Big Cheese, Ralph Bruno. Apparently, it started when Ralph was reupholstering his mom’s sofa. He started cutting the foam padding and inspiration took hold. Before long, he was burning holes in the wedge and painting it yellow. He wore it to a baseball game that night and was a big hit with all the women, who wanted to buy one.
Ralph was able to get trademark protections (or patents - it wasn’t clear) because the head was shaped like Gouda, had holes like Swiss, and was the color of Cheddar. Before long, he’d quit his job, and the rest is cheesehead history. While it started as mostly a baseball thing, when Green Bay went to the Super Bowl in the early nineties, he took a load of them to the game to sell and that’s when things really blew up.
After a tour of the facility, we’re suddenly making our own treasures. The photos below outlines the process.
We have our safety gear on and are ready for the tour
Our Commander In Cheese, Chris
The safe in the building holds the original handmade cheesehead
The Original - AKA part of Mom’s sofa
Travis preparing to make his cowboy hat 🤠
The computer automatically pours the correct quantities for the hat
Travis’ assistant mixes it using what looks like a malt mixer
Once mixed, the “cheese” immediately starts to expand and Travis must get it int the mold pretty quickly
Now with the top of the mold on and under pressure, Travis waits for the cheese to set up
It’s a hat! Travis must now squeeze love into it (he’s actually squeezing air out of the thing)
Last step is the trimming room. They call it the smelliest room on the tour because everyone is cutting the cheese.