Chef David Scheifel enjoys a 12-week-old cheddar. Not to nibble, but to carve.

Cheddar of that age really works best, explains Scheifel, who lives in McFarland and is a culinary specialist at St. Mary’s Hospital.

“If it’s too young, it’s too soft and mushy,” he said. Much older and it gets crumbly, he said.

Scheifel will demonstrate his art Saturday as part of Stoughton’s Fine Artsy Fair where he will carve three 40-pound blocks of cheese.

Scheifel, who used to own David’s Restaurant in Monona, has been carving cheese for more than 20 years, winning competitions at the Wisconsin State Fair four years in a row.

He’s also created cheese sculptures for the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board and at several state fairs throughout the United States, carving such structures as the Taj Mahal, the Eiffel Tower and King Tut’s funeral mask out of aged cheddar.

“My mom used to let me play with my mashed potatoes,” Scheifel said of how he got started carving cheese.

But his interests in art, architecture and food also play a part in his dairy-based hobby. Scheifel said he hasn’t done a lot to prepare for the demonstration, aside from visiting the hunks of cheese and drawing a few sketches.

Practicing at home can be a challenge because he doesn’t “... have a space (big enough) to keep it cold.”

Saturday's demonstration runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Cheesers, 183 E. Main St., Stoughton, where he plans to carve the Cheesers logo — a gnome sitting on a wedge of Swiss — along with a view of downtown Stoughton and a third sculpture he has yet to determine.

“You have about three hours that you can work on the cheese before it starts getting too soft,” he said, but “you can get quite a bit done.”

He’ll use knives, X-Acto blades, clay and woodcarving tools to create his cheddar art. “It’s kind of like working with clay,” he said, “but you can eat it.”