Summer’s almost here and that means different things to different retailers, depending on where you are. For some, it’s the start of the dog days when the locals go out of town and everything slows down; while for others, it’s just the beginning of a bustling tourist season. No matter what kind of summer season you have in your area, a challenge for most everyone is convincing people to buy and eat cheese when the temperature is high, or when they’re trying desperately to fit into a bathing suit. In our feature this month, “Hot Time, Summer in the Deli,” page 11, we’ll dispel some myths about cheese and look at some ways to merchandise and use cheese through- out the summer months. Just because the mercury’s high doesn’t mean the cheese sales have to be low.
Also in this issue is the second part of the report of my Wisconsin cheese tour, page 6. Earlier this year, in April, I was invited to go to the Dairy State for a tour of cheesemakers with a wonderful group of retailers and distributors. I have to give a shout out to a sterling group of cheese professionals who were my companions for three days as we drove around the southern third of the state in a luxurious bus, including retailers Nicole Benjamin of Provenance Food & Wine in Chicago; Marnie Clarke of the Cheese Cave in Los Angeles; Nichelina Mavros of Deppaneur in Brooklyn, N.Y.; Sarah Dvorak of Mission Cheese in San Francisco; Benjamin Roberts of St. Paul Cheese Shop in St. Paul, Minn.; Colin Dalough of Standard Market in Chicago; Jon Fancey of Cheese Plus in San Francisco; Elena Santogade of Campbell Cheese & Grocery in Brooklyn, N.Y.; Steven Rosenberg of Liberty Heights Fresh in Salt Lake City; Courtney Nulicek of Olivias Market in Chicago; and Sean Hartwig and Lisa Roberts of Zingerman’s Deli in Ann Arbor, Mich. Representing the foodservice side were Alex and Kelly Young of Zingerman’s, and Angela Kuzma and Dan Schuman of 5oz Factory in New York. Two cheese distributors were along from Food Matters in New York, Brad Dube and Eric Kemenes, and finally my colleague from Cheese Connoisseur, Jan Fiakow. I couldn’t have asked for a better, more knowledgeable group of cheese lovers, and I’d like to thank them all for making the trip so stimulating, educational and fun.
I’d also like to thank again our lovely hostesses, Heather Porter Engwall and Marilyn Wilkinson, both of the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, and Joanna Miller from Stephan & Brady. I don’t think I could ever get tired of traveling with any of them anywhere.
I didn’t have space to talk about everything we did on the trip, such as a visit to Fromagination, a fantastic cheese, wine and gourmet food store on Capital Square in Madison around the corner from our hotel; or Alterra Roasters in Milwaukee, one of the most interesting coffee roasters I’ve ever visited; or the excellent restaurants Sanford and Nostrano, where we were regaled with outstanding food and wine. Madison is a charming and beautiful city, and I’m very excited to be going back there at the end of July for the annual conference and cheese competition of the American Cheese Society. I hope to see many of you there, too.
This month, my colleagues and I are head- ing off to New York for the Summer Fancy Food Show, the largest specialty food exhibition in the United States, and surely the largest in the world, that is focused solely on the gourmet/specialty market. I’m sure I’ll be seeing many of you there in the aisles and at various events surrounding the show, and I look forward to it. I’ll be report- ing back in the next issue about the show and some of the exciting products I will no doubt discover there.
In the meantime, I wish you all a happy and successful summer. I raise a cool gin & tonic in a toast to well-behaved tourists, reliable air conditioning, and to hoping all your customers include cheese and charcuterie on their summer menus. Cheers!
James Mellgren
Managing Editor
Fine Cheese & Charcuterie
jmellgren@gourmetbusiness.com