For most, the word “top secret” conjures up images of dark sun glasses, suits, and government files stamped “CONFIDENTIAL” in big red letters. Classrooms and cheese platters are nowhere in this picture. And yet, here in Shorewood High School’s very own science department, top secret meetings are being held to enjoy the diverse flavor profiles of the world’s cheeses and socialize with staff and faculty. 

Andrew Bagley, long-time teacher at Shorewood, founded Cheese Wednesdays in the early 2000s along with a few other members of the science department. “Cheese Wednesday is a decades-old invite only club that has existed at Shorewood High School since as long as I have been here,” he said. This meeting of cheese enthusiasts is also known by a different name. “Cheese Wednesdays of the Most Excellent Kind is our official name,” said Danny Wilks, another participant in Cheese Wednesday festivities. 

The purpose of Cheese Wednesday is to bring together the different departments at Shorewood. “It’s really a time that the science department invites other departments for social time together. For example, Science may invite PE to eat lunch with us and we provide cheese and crackers,” said Wilks. 

Members of the “inner cheese circle” must complete a highly confidential process to choose which department will be invited to the upcoming Cheese Wednesday meeting. “So what we do is we have a science department meeting, and usually at some point in the meeting, we access those mystic realms and by various different secret means the group that is to be invited for the next one appears,” Bagley said. Notifying the chosen department is also a mysterious ordeal that Bagley was duty-bound to conceal. “It certainly doesn’t have anything to do with Mr. Wilks sending out emails at the last minute. That would be much too logical,” he said. 

During these meetings, visitors are engaged in intellectual conversation in addition to the consumption of various cheeses. This serves as an opportunity for the lucky guests to receive a re-invitation. “The assessment is a series of questions about their area of expertise that a standard threshold of knowledge is required for them to get back into the cycle of invite. We find that adds enough academic pressure that they come prepared and have thought about their specialty so they can vie for a re-invite,” said Bagley.

However, Cheese Wednesdays are more than academic discussion and cheese enjoyment; they are an opportunity for staff members to connect philosophically. “When we invite people in, it is inviting them into our inner circle where we expose ourselves and our vulnerabilities as staff members together, then we leave the room enlightened. I cannot talk about what happens in the room but… those that have a chance to join us, leave with a deeper knowledge and a better expansion of the world,” said Wilks.

For a more personal taste of Cheese Wednesdays, Bagley and Wilks shared their favorite cheeses, and the best way to prepare them. Bagley’s current cheese obsession is one you can obtain in just a short 3 minute walk from Shorewood. “It can vary with the seasons, but right now it’s from Trader Joe’s, it’s called Port Salut. It’s a soft European cheese. I highly recommend it. You don’t need anything else,” he said.  

Wilks opts for a blue cheese, only aged in the Combalou caves of Southern France. “My favorite cheese would have to be the stinkiest roquefort that you could possibly find, smeared gently on rye bread that has been lightly toasted with a slight drizzle of honey,” he said. 

Despite the mystique and confidentiality of Cheese Wednesdays, we can still appreciate the core values the club holds; meaningful connection between peers, and appreciation of good food. Currently, Cheese Wednesday is a staff and faculty only event. Luckily, if the idea of Cheese Wednesday appeals to you, founding member Bagley enthusiastically supports the creation of new cheese appreciation efforts as a vehicle for intra-Shorewood club bonding. So, go forth and eat cheese!