Fine Cheese & Charcuterie May 2013

It’s been an exciting month of travel. First, I was honored to be included among a sterling group of retailers and distributors for a tour of cheese facilities in Wisconsin. “America’s Dairyland” makes more cheese than most countries, and

it is certainly the largest producer among our 50 states. Anyone who’s been paying attention in the past 20 years knows that the state has also been home to a rising group of artisan and farmstead cheesemakers who are turning out award-winning examples of the kind of cheeses that have helped change the way people think about American cheese.

We were hosted by two representatives of the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board (WMMB), Heather Porter Engwall and Marilyn Wilkinson, both of whom made every effort to ensure that everyone got the most out of the experience. Heather organized the trip, supplied us with pertinent information about

all the cheesemakers we visited, kept us on schedule, and led us to some of Wisconsin’s finest eating spots; and she made it all seem effortless. I’d like to offer kudos and eternal thanks to Heather, Marilyn and the WMMB.  

A day after arriving home from Wisconsin, I flew to Israel as the guest of the Israel Export Institute (IEI) for a tour of some of the country’s finest food manufacturers. For five days, I traveled around the country with Michal Neeman, business development manager for food & beverages at the Israel Export Institute, and Irit Kogan, also of the IEI. I got to visit all the companies that will be exhibiting this summer in the Israel Pavilion at the Fancy Food Show in New York. This is very exciting for two reasons: one, because these companies are some of the leading lights in the Israeli food scene; and two, because it has been several years since there has even been an Israel Pavilion at the show. I’ll be sharing my experiences and profiling some of the companies and their products in our Summer Fancy Food pre-show issue of Gourmet Business that will be sent out a few days before the show (you can read it on your iPad on your way to the show). Please take a look and be sure to stop by the Israel Pavilion, say hello to Michal, and taste all the wonderful foods that Israel has to offer.  

Our feature this month is about signage (page 8), one of the most important tasks in retail, and we offer some great examples of attention-grabbing signs, some of them from Steven Jenkins and Fairway Market in New York. Steven is the grand guru of sign-making and has influenced and inspired merchants young and old in the art of producing effective, product-selling signs.

We also say farewell to one of our columnists this month. John Bode pens his last column for us on page 16, as he is leav- ing the Cheese Importers Association of America (CIAA) to become the CEO of the Corn Refiners Association. We wish him well. Fortunately, his wife Denise will remain as executive director of the CIAA and will continue the column, “News From the CIAA.” We extend a warm welcome to Denise Bode.

Thanks for joining us and, as they say in Israel, l’chaim!

James Mellgren 

Managing Editor, Fine Cheese & Charcuterie

jmellgren@gourmetbusiness.com