Episode 3: Beer and cheese

Theater artist and educator Erica Halverson has seen every episode of "Top Chef" from Season 1 to now. This week, the UW-Madison professor and host of the podcast Arts Educators Save the World shares thoughts on the Miller Caves beer snacks challenge, why she considers chefs to be artists, and which "Top Chef" challenge is her favorite. (It involves a blindfold.)Then I'm talking with Andy Hatch, maker of Pleasant Ridge Reserve at Uplands Cheese in Dodgeville. Andy was a featured guest at the Top Chef Cheese Festival, highlighted on this week's "Top Chef" episode (Ep. 3). We talk about what makes a cheese challenging to cook with and how it felt to represent Wisconsin dairy. For the spoiler-averse, we don't share any names of winners and losers (yet).  With side quests about pretzel cake with mustard icing, where "Manitowoc Minute" host Charlie Berens is really from, and the difference between reality TV and playing in a band.