By now the critics have spoken. We know the year’s best movies, books, albums and restaurants. But who will speak for the cheese? I shared my own favorite tastes from the past 12 months in last week’s post. This week, some of the nation’s top mongers weigh in. These front-line folks are going to tell us what their customers flipped over. I also asked them what cheeses in their shop deserve more love than they got. Sometimes even a fabulous cheese fails to find an audience.
Read moreBehave Yourself!
Several years ago, I spent a day behind a busy cheese counter, just for enlightenment. My dad was a retail merchant, but I apparently did not inherit that gene. The cheese store’s customers drove me crazy. I left with renewed respect for the smiling cheese-counter people who put up with our annoying requests and quirky behavior. Today, it’s their turn. I’ve asked a few key retailers about the customers they like best.
Read moreWe Have a Winner
She is California’s first-ever winner of the Cheesemonger Invitational, and she prevailed in a landslide. Jessica Lawrenz, you rock. The 32-year-old monger from San Diego vanquished 34 other contestants from around the country in this grueling test of talent. She cut, she wrapped, she paired, she plated. And then, she almost blew it.
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