Editors's View

GB Fine Cheese & Charcuterie January 2015

Happy New Year to everyone. All of us at the Gourmet Business family of magazines are preparing to attend the Winter Fancy Food Show across the bay from me in San Francisco. A dearth of rooms in the city has our crew staying over on this side of the Bay Bridge and so I thought it was about time I write about the amazing food scene in the East Bay, in hopes that more attendees will venture across to experience what I think of as the culinary Tao of Berkeley. There are a lot of great food shops and restaurants here in Berkeley, some quite famous, and I detail a few of them in my special report this month on page 10.

With the show in mind, we have a preview showcasing a few great products and companies that you would do well to look out for when you’re in the aisles this month, starting on page 18. We’re also debuting a new focused product gallery called The Sideboard (page 15). Our premiere edition looks at crackers, one of the most important categories in any good deli. There is an astounding array crackers in the market today and we have a few of them here.

We’re talking a lot about traditional cheeses this month. First, in Passport to Fine Cheese (page 5), we
examine authentic Fontina d’Aosta, a delicious and versatile cheese that many people say they have had but in reality have only had a pale imitation of the real thing. We also have a special report on the Cheese of Choice Coalition (CCC) in “Who Stole the Cheese?” on page 23. The CCC is helping to keep discussions alive with the FDA and bring common sense and the latest science to the conversation regarding the importing of many traditional raw-milk cheeses that have once again come under fire.

We hope everyone has had a successful holiday season and that 2015 is off to a good start. We also hope to see many of you in the aisles of the Moscone Center this month or at our booth 4300. Safe travels and we’ll see you in San Francisco, and maybe Berkeley too!

James Mellgren
Managing Editor,
Fine Cheese & Charcuterie

jmellgren@gourmetbusiness.com