Behind the walls of a Dearborn Street building with attached dairy tanks, there’s a lot of fine cheese making going on. So fine in fact, that one of the cheeses crafted there just took home “Best in Class” honors at the 2008 World Championship Cheese Contest sponsored by the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association.

The prize was in the ricotta category with Providence Specialty Products besting 18 other cheeses from around the U.S. and Canada. The hand-dipped whole milk ricotta was made by cheese maker Ronald Pozo from a recipe created by company owner Mark Federico Sr. and his team.

This is not Federico’s first award. At the 2007 U.S. Championship Cheese contest his feta took home the top prize in that category. It is only sold through wholesale so you might find it used by your favorite restaurant.

Word of the big win came from Louella Hill, Rhode Island’s newest cheese maker. She makes and ages her Narragansett Creamery products, including an old-world feta brined in sea salt called Salty Sea, the Latin-inspired Queso Blanco, and her Italian jewel, aged Atwell’s Gold, at Federico’s plant.

After training with artisans in Tuscany and state-side with the Maine Cheese Guild, Hill learned about the wholesale cheese makers of Providence. Today Federico is her mentor and Hill his biggest fan. Without his immaculate facilities, making her artisan cheeses would be nearly impossible. It was a Rhode Island health inspector who directed her to Federico. She now keeps a “cheese tent” in the building where she ages her Divine Providence Italian cheese. It is her dream to have a cheese cave, but regulations would make the cost prohibitive for setting up her own cheese company. So this teaming of a low-profile company and the woman who wants the world to know there are award-winning cheese makers in our midst is a marriage made in cheese heaven.

Federico worked as an accountant until he followed a dream and began Providence Specialty 19 years ago. Leaving a job delivering tax news which never pleased anyone to making cheese which everyone enjoys was the perfect decision for this man.

“Cheese making is a science and an art,” he said as a team of artisans working with steam and shovels made the day’s final batch of Ricotta Impastata. This cheese is used for ravioli and manicotti fillings as well as for pastries such as cannolis. It will be packaged and sold to bakeries and pasta makers but can be found at a few retailers including Venda Ravioli under the Benevento private label.

He calls his win in the ricotta category “unbelievable” because of the international competition. While the Impastata placed well, it was the hand-dipped ricotta, which can be served with fruit or an antipasto as a tasting cheese, that won the prize. It is available under the Benevento label at Tony’s Colonial on Federal Hill in Providence.

Making the award-winning ricotta is an art, he said. And he honed that on visits to Italy where cheese makers in Parma helped him learn the art firsthand. He was buying Italian equipment, which helped open doors into the world of cheese makers.

“I actually made ricotta while testing the equipment,” he said.

Now, winning at the World Championships opens doors for Federico’s products.

“Once you win that gold medal you can use it your whole life,” Federico said. “It will help us market our products and grow.”

The award also tells future customer that they’re concerned about safety and quality but that they don’t just want to make a commodity. They want to make the best. Since the win, potential clients have approached the company about bringing the products to their restaurants. Some of his products are also private labeled for retail sale..

Meanwhile, Hill and her Narragansett Creamery are doing their own part to create small-batch artisan cheeses, which are sold locally at retail outlets. They can be enjoyed grated on pasta (Atwell’s Gold), sprinkled on salad (Salty Sea) or enjoyed alone (perhaps the Queso Blanco and Divine Providence, a semi-aged gouda-style cheese, and Patty Parker, a raw milk cheese). She also makes a small-batch Renaissance Ricotta.

Federico said Hill has added a lot to the business as she shares his team’s passion for cheese.

Next on the menu is the addition of a fresh mozzarella from Providence Specialty and more cheese aging in Hill’s tent.

Find the cheeses from Providence Specialty and Narragansett Creamery at these Providence spots: Venda Ravioli (Impastata ricotta and Atwell’s Gold): Tony’s Colonial (the winning ricotta): Eastside Marketplace (Salty Sea, Atwell’s Gold and Queso Blanco); Farmstead, the cheese shop at Wayland Square (Salty Sea, Patty Parker and Angelito, a yogurt spread. Farm Fresh Rhode Island holds a wintertime Farmers’ Market every Saturday from noon to 3 p.m. at AS220, 115 Empire St., Providence, and Narragansett Creamery cheeses are on the menu.

Learn more at www.provsp.com and www.richeeses.com.

gciampa@projo.com