GB Fine Cheese & Charcuterie October 2014

Promoting Cheese as the StarIngredient

This issue is an important one for anyone involved in the cheese business because, in it, we discuss strategies for increasing the consumption of cheese by promoting its use in everyday cooking. In order to continue the amazing growth of the specialty cheese business, we need to go beyond having cheese be marketed as a party snack or appetizer, and start communicating the benefits of using cheese as a key ingredient in preparing healthy and flavorful meals.

The path of least resistance, as Managing Editor James Mellgren points out, is to think about all the ways that cheese of various varieties can add distinctive flavors to everyday meals. Instead of using American cheese on a burger, encourage your customers to try Gorgonzola. Why not add some Montchevre goat cheese to your salad to give it an interesting twist? Going deeper, consider offering recipe ideas at point of purchase that use cheese as a star ingredient. I am sure your cheese suppliers have lots of great recipes they can provide, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they are already printed and ready to go. I love making homemade French onion soup, as an example, and my recipe includes a great deal of Parmigiano-Reggiano as well as a healthy coating of melted Gruyere on the top. Cheese fondue is another one of my favorite meals to prepare for a group of guests, and it has to be high on the list of ultimate winter comfort meals, but it’s easy to forget to make it when the season arrives since my fondue pot is tucked away deep in the cookware section of my pantry. Perhaps merchandising the variety of great cheese accessories from Boska of Holland will help spur some of your customers to try it too.

Then there is another business in creating new uses for what may be considered scraps around the store. One of my local stores sells the ends of prosciutto and pancetta for use in soups, stocks or sauces. I am sure that these often end up in the garbage in some environments, but they sell every last ounce ... brilliant!  I have a strong Italian contingent within my family, and one of the tricks of the trade is to add the rind of the Parmigiano- Reggiano into soup stock or tomato sauce to give it a desirable flavor that many can’t quite put their finger on. Does your store grind its own hard cheeses on-site, and if so, what happens to the last centimeter including the rind?

I hope that we can inspire you to incorporate some of James’ suggestions on how to approach this challenge in your own store.

David Spencer
Publisher, Gourmet Business 

President, HousewaresDirect, Inc. 

dspencer@gourmetbusiness.com