Instructors

Christoph Wiesner was born and raised in Vienna, Austria. He has been breeding and raising Mangalitsa hogs since 1999. Christoph was trained by Austria’s best butcher, Marcel Kropf, in animal slaughter and seam butchery. In 2004 he became president of Austria’s Mangalitsa Pig Breeder’s Union. At their farm in Göllersdorf, Arche De Wiskental, Christoph and Isabell breed rare, native Austrian farm animals, and grow local agricultural crops.

Isabell-Christina Zernitz-Wiesner attended the College for Occupation in Service Industries Management and studied at the University of Agriculture. She has been farming full time with Christoph since 2006 and organizes regular events at the farm, and directs the marketing for the farm’s produce.

Brian Polcyn is an award-winning chef and nationally recognized charcuterie expert. In addition to running two of Michigan’s best restaurants, he is also a chef instructor at Schoolcraft College in Livonia. He and Michael Ruhlman were co-authors of the 2005 book, Charcuterie, considered by many to be one of the most accessible books available on the topic. Both Brian and this book have been nominated for James Beard awards.

In 2009, Camas Davis, a magazine editor and writer, traveled to Gascony in southwest France to study the art of butchery and charcuterie. Upon her return she founded the Portland Meat Collective, a one-of-a-kind meat school and culinary resource that has changed the way citizens of Portland, Oregon think about their food, their community, and their local economy. In the past year, Davis has helped three other communities on the West Coast start their own Meat Collectives and she is about to launch a website that will teach communities and individuals across the country the ins and outs of starting a collective. Davis continues to write about her experiences in the world of meat, including a story that was recently featured on the radio show, This American Life. Davis has also found herself and the Portland Meat Collective the subject of media stories from the New York Times Magazine to Martha Stewart Living.

Kate Hill, a published author and professional cook of 30 years, founded Camont as a cooking school  and retreat in 1991 after moving to this fruitful spot in France from the US.  Kate is willingly mentor, coach and teacher. Her programs have grown from her relationships with Gascony’s thriving food community - particularly its butchers and charcutiers. This teaching has placed Kate at the forefront of the global nose-to-tail butchery movement.  Former head of Butchery & Charcuterie at the British School of Artisan Food she designed a field to table, 10-month diploma course, and offers international workshops with French farmer/butcher Dominique Chapolard. Kate Is also founder of the International Grrls Meat Camp. Kate also teaches and consults with professionals like Michael Ruhlman for Conde Nast Traveler, and the BBC’s French Odyssey series with chef Rick Stein, which was filmed at Camont. Her work has been featured in Food & Wine, Bon Appétit, Dish, Appellation and Maison Sud Ouest magazines, as well as the New York Times, the LA Times, London Times and the Boston Globe. Kate welcomes students to Camont throughout the year. 

Kate is joined by Dominique Chapolard as they present both theory and practical study of whole carcass butchery specifically for making French charcuterie. For three generations on their Ferme Baradieu, the Chapolards have reared their own pigs, butchered their meat, made beautiful charcuterie and sold the produce directly to loyal customers at local farmers’ markets. They offer a singular artisan approach from farming to retail- we call it seed-to-sausage. Kate has been working with Dominique and his family as a cook, teacher and writer for nearly 20 years.

Dirigo Quality Meats is based in Maine (Dirigo is the state motto and is Latin for “I lead”) and run by Dr. Michele Pfannenstiel.  She’s a service connected veteran and runs DQM  to bring the food safety skills she learned in the US Army Vet Corps to producers and processors across the country.   Dr. P received her BA from Wellesley College and she received her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Georgia.  She is a certified HACCP auditor through ASQ.  She serves as the President of the Maine Chapter of the Farmer Veteran Coalition, and as the Director of Food Safety for the national  Farmer Veteran Coalition.  Dr. P specializes in food safety planning for meat processors and value added meat production.